Resources: Labour
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ESA: Five Days Paid Personal Illness or Injury (Sick) Leave, as of January 1, 2022
November 25, 2021
On May 28, 2021 we issued an update regarding Bill 13 Employment Standards Amendment Act (No. 2), 2021 (“Bill 13”), which amended the British Columbia Employment Standards Act (the “ESA”). Bill 13 added temporary paid COVID leave (ending December 31, 2021) and added paid leave for personal illness or injury commencing January 1, 2022 (“Paid Sick Leave”), with the amount of days to be determined.
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Vaccination Status and the “New Normal”
August 13, 2021
As governments and businesses seek to avoid closures that have so heavily impacted the economy and everyday life, many are looking to vaccine passports and/or considering mandatory vaccination in the workplace to facilitate a return to “normal” operations.
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The BC Human Rights Commissioner Weighs in on Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policies
August 6, 2021
As vaccination rates increase, and the province continues to progress through each phase of its reopening plan, one of the biggest questions facing employers is whether to implement a mandatory vaccination policy for employees and, in some cases, customers. This is a complex and highly context-specific question that engages human rights issues, privacy issues, and workplace safety considerations.
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COVID-19-Related Misconduct is Nothing to Sneeze At
July 29, 2021
In a decision issued on May 10, 2021[1], Arbitrator Paul Love dismissed a discipline grievance related to COVID-19-related misconduct. The discipline was issued at a time when, in the words of the arbitrator, “there was a dearth of arbitral jurisprudence” with respect to such misconduct.
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Employee Reinstated Despite “Ongoing Pattern of Disrespect” for Employer’s COVID-19 Safety Protocols
March 2021
Previously printed in the LexisNexis Labour Notes Newsletter.
In the recent decision of Trillium Health Partners v. CUPE, Loc. 5180, 2021 CanLII 127 (Jesin), an Ontario arbitrator, Norm Jesin, reinstated an employee to employment after he was suspended and subsequently discharged for failing to adhere to the employer’s COVID-19 safety protocols.
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No Free Lunch: Just Cause Dismissal Upheld in the Case of Misconduct and the Employee’s Dishonesty in the Investigation of that Misconduct
December 5, 2023
In Mechalchuk v. Galaxy Motors (1990) Ltd., 2023 BCSC 635, the B.C. Supreme Court upheld the just cause dismissal of an employee who had: (1) submitted receipts which he suggested to be business-related but he knew to be personal expenses; and (2) perpetuated his dishonesty during the employer investigation which ensued.
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Right to Union Representation During an Investigation Process
October 24, 2023
In Vancouver (City) Fire and Rescue Services v. Vancouver Firefighters’ Union, [2022] B.C.C.A.A.A. No. 85 (Saunders), Arbitrator Ken Saunders considered an employee’s right to union representation during an investigation process, including the right to remain silent pending the provision of representation.
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B.C. Pay Transparency Act – Update
October 27, 2023
The Pay Transparency Regulation, B.C. Reg. 225/2023 is now available and provides more information about the pay transparency reports that are required under the new legislation. [1]
[1] Pay transparency reports will be required for organizations with 50 or more employees.
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Doctrine of Res Judicata: Applied with Reference to the Context
September 6, 2023
In the recent case of Kurik v. CAS Ventures Ltd, 2023 BCSC 488, the B.C. Supreme Court considered the doctrine of res judicata in the context of related claims – one being pursued in the courts and the other having already been pursued before the B.C. Employment Standards Tribunal. The Court ultimately declined to strike the pleadings on the basis of res judicata, and allowed the civil claim to continue.
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