Resources: Labour
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Arbitrator Determines that Employee Did Not Have Reasonable Expectation of Privacy When Using Work Computer to Run Charity
September 2017
In Toronto (City) v. CUPE, Local 79 (Wright Grievance), [2016] O.L.A.A. No. 445 (Misra), an Ontario arbitrator considered whether an employer can rely on documents obtained from an employee’s work computer to uphold the termination of her employment for using employer resources and time to run her own charity.
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Arbitrator Determines that Employee Did Not Have Reasonable Expectation of Privacy When Using Work Computer to Run Charity -
Restricting Illegal Picketing – The “Flexible Wrongful Action Approach”
September 2017
Over the last decade there have been numerous cases which rely on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to protect and arguably expand a union’s right to picket during a labour dispute. Despite this trend, the courts have consistently stated that those protections do not apply to “illegal picketing”, which contains tortious or criminal conduct. The courts have also applied a “flexible wrongful action approach” in granting injunction orders to prevent illegal picketing.
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Restricting Illegal Picketing – The “Flexible Wrongful Action Approach” -
Complaints by Cisgendered Men Alleging Discrimination on Grounds of Gender Identity or Expression Dismissed by Ontario Human Rights Tribunal
July 2017
The B.C. Human Rights Code was amended in mid-2016 to include “gender identity or expression” as protected grounds. As of the date this article was written, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal has not interpreted or applied the amendment in any of its decisions.
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Complaints by Cisgendered Men Alleging Discrimination on Grounds of Gender Identity or Expression Dismissed by Ontario Human Rights Tribunal -
Significant Changes to Workplace Legislation Expected in Alberta
June 2017
On May 24, 2017, the Alberta Legislature introduced Bill 17: Fair and Family–friendly Workplaces Act. The bill is part of the Government of Alberta’s effort to ensure that Albertans have “the same rights and protections enjoyed by other Canadians, and have fair and family-friendly workplace laws that support a strong economy and help businesses stay competitive.”
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Significant Changes to Workplace Legislation Expected in Alberta -
Dishonesty is Not the Best Policy: Employees Have the Obligation to Always be Honest with Their Employer
April 2017
Dishonesty on the part of an employee casts a dark shadow on the employment relationship and may throw the ongoing viability of that relationship into serious question, especially if the dishonesty involves theft or is premeditated, intentional, or sustained over a period of time. In some industries and for specific jobs, honesty is of paramount importance and an employee’s dishonest conduct can result in summary termination of employment for just cause.
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Dishonesty is Not the Best Policy: Employees Have the Obligation to Always be Honest with Their Employer -
Non-Culpable or Innocent Absenteeism?
February 2017
In the recent arbitration decision of Vancouver Coastal Health Authority v. Hospital Employees’ Union, Arbitrator John Sanderson, Q.C. upheld a grievor’s dismissal for non-culpable or innocent absenteeism because he failed to show he could attend at work regularly in the foreseeable future and the accommodation process was exhausted.
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Non-Culpable or Innocent Absenteeism? -
Is This the New Standard For Family Status Discrimination?
February 2017
It is now accepted that “family status” protections under human rights legislation cover persons who are in a parent-child relationship, as well as the obligations which flow from that relationship, such as child or elder care.
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Is This the New Standard For Family Status Discrimination? -
Labour Arbitration Preferred Over Human Rights Adjudication
January 2017
A recent decision out of Manitoba, Northern Regional Health Authority v. Manitoba (Human Rights Commission), 2016 MBQB 89, examines the overlapping jurisdiction between labour arbitration boards and human rights tribunals with respect to complaints of prohibited discrimination in employment.
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Labour Arbitration Preferred Over Human Rights Adjudication -
Refusal of Work Not For Safety Reasons: Discharge For Just and Reasonable Cause Upheld
September 2016
In a recent decision, Arbitrator Lorne Slotnick upheld the discharge of an employee who attempted to improperly use medical restrictions and the right to refuse unsafe work under occupational health and safety legislation as the basis for refusing a work assignment.
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Refusal of Work Not For Safety Reasons: Discharge For Just and Reasonable Cause Upheld -
Culpable Inefficiency and a Smorgasbord of Issues
August 2016
Arbitrator Larry Steinberg faced a plethora of issues in the recent case of Toronto District School Board v. CUPE, Local 4400 (Naccarato Grievance), [2015] O.L.A.A. No. 429. The decision makes for an interesting read and contains a number of chestnuts that are useful for practitioners in the world of labour arbitration.
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Culpable Inefficiency and a Smorgasbord of Issues