Resources: Labour
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Tailored Pre-Employment Testing Given the Green Light
October 2018
In BC Hydro and Power Authority -and- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 258 (Arbitrator John Hall) (May 23, 2018), the employer implemented a pre-employment drug and alcohol testing requirement for new applicants applying for safety-sensitive positions under the hiring hall provision of the collective agreement.
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Tailored Pre-Employment Testing Given the Green Light -
Have I Constructively Dismissed an Employee by Putting Them on Unpaid Administrative Suspension?
October 2018
A recent decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed that suspending an employee without pay (i.e. an “administrative suspension”), including while the employer conducts an investigation, can constitute constructive dismissal. The Court provided guidance on when and how employees can be placed on suspension during an employer’s investigation.
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Have I Constructively Dismissed an Employee by Putting Them on Unpaid Administrative Suspension? -
Post-Incident Drug Testing Policies in the Age of Cannabis
September 2018
What do low speed collisions, marijuana, and post-incident drug testing have in common? Those are the facts that were before the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench in Canadian Energy Workers’ Association v ATCO Electric Ltd, 2018 ABQB 258.
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Post-Incident Drug Testing Policies in the Age of Cannabis -
Resolving Complaints in Multiple Forums
August 2018
Mr. Sebastian was employed by Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (“VCHA”) as a medical imaging technologist. He was represented in his employment by the Health Services Association of British Columbia (the “Union”).
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Resolving Complaints in Multiple Forums -
The Grievor Was Reinstated, Or Was He?
July 2018
In the case of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union 1620 v. Lower Churchill Transmission Construction Employers’ Assn. Inc. (Uprichard Grievance), [2017] N.L.L.A.A. No. 4, the arbitrator was faced with a reconsideration of his earlier decision to uphold the discharge of an employee for his failure to disclose medical marijuana use.
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The Grievor Was Reinstated, Or Was He? -
On “Ambushes” and the Rules of Engagement for Statutorily Protected Leaves of Absence
July 2018
A late 2017 arbitration decision out of British Columbia — Kone Inc. v. International Union of Elevator Constructors, Local 82 (Kelpin Grievance), [2017] B.C.C.A.A.A. No. 128 (McEwen) — confirmed that employees cannot “ambush” employers with an after-the-fact claim that going AWOL was actually a legislatively protected leave. In this case, the leave claimed was B.C. “family responsibility leave”.
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On “Ambushes” and the Rules of Engagement for Statutorily Protected Leaves of Absence -
Introducing The Smell Test: Disciplining An Employee For Body Odour
July 2018
Summer is here. And with it comes the awkward but very real workplace issue of employee hygiene. The question is, what can employers do about an employee with body odour and hygiene issues? A recent decision of the BC Human Rights Tribunal, Southwell v. CKF Inc., 2017 BCHRT 83 (“Southwell”) provides guidance.
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Introducing The Smell Test: Disciplining An Employee For Body Odour -
Perception of Retaliation Does Not Breach the Human Rights Code
June 2018
In Gichuru v. Pallai, 2018 BCCA 78, the most recent decision in the long-running saga between an individual and his former landlord, the BC Court of Appeal clarified the test for retaliation under section 43 of the BC Human Rights Code, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 210 (the “Code”).
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Perception of Retaliation Does Not Breach the Human Rights Code -
Termination for Failure to Comply with Attendance Policy Not Discriminatory
June 2018
In Rajuc v. Omega Tool Corp., 2017 HRTO 818, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal provided employers with valuable guidance regarding how to deal with workplace attendance problems.
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Termination for Failure to Comply with Attendance Policy Not Discriminatory -
Failing a Breathalyzer Test in a Company Vehicle: Just Cause for Dismissal?
June 2018
The B.C. Supreme Court recently determined in Klonteig v. District of West Kelowna, 2018 BCSC 124 that an assistant fire chief was wrongfully dismissed when his employer terminated his employment after he failed two breathalyzer tests while driving his employer’s vehicle.
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Failing a Breathalyzer Test in a Company Vehicle: Just Cause for Dismissal?