Resources: Litigation
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“It Don’t Matter If You’re Black Or White”*… It’s Illegal to Discriminate
December 2018
In 1991, Michael Jackson’s hit single, “Black or White”, topped the Billboard Hot 100 just three weeks after its release. Perhaps it was the universally positive anti-racism message, as much as the music itself that propelled its popularity. Regardless, one would have thought that by 2018 it would have been well understood that the fact that an employee was white/Caucasian does not create a defence for an employer’s racist conduct. Sadly, Spruce Hill Resort and Kin Wa Chan must not have been Michael Jackson fans.
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“It Don’t Matter If You’re Black Or White”*… It’s Illegal to Discriminate -
Breach of Telecommute Agreement Resulted in Constructive Dismissal: Hagholm v. Coreio Inc., 2017 ONSC 7713, varied 2018 ONCA 633
November 2018
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently affirmed a decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice which found that an employee had been constructively dismissed when the employer revoked her telecommute agreement and arbitrarily reduced her annual bonus.
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Breach of Telecommute Agreement Resulted in Constructive Dismissal: Hagholm v. Coreio Inc., 2017 ONSC 7713, varied 2018 ONCA 633 -
Candour in the Context of Employment References: A Review of Kanak v. Riggin, 2018 ONCA 345
November 2018
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently upheld an important lower court finding that employers can be shielded from liability for giving negative employment references.
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Candour in the Context of Employment References: A Review of Kanak v. Riggin, 2018 ONCA 345 -
An Employer’s Duty to Provide a Discrimination-Free Workplace
November 2018
A recent B.C. Human Rights Tribunal decision serves to remind employers of their duty to provide a discrimination-free workplace.
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An Employer’s Duty to Provide a Discrimination-Free Workplace -
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 -
Back To School — Does Retraining Count As Reasonable Mitigation Of Damages?
August 2018
In Benjamin v. Cascades Canada ULC, 2017 ONSC 2583, the plaintiff had worked as an unskilled labourer with the defendant company for 28 years. The company had eliminated all of its production functions at one of its plant locations, resulting in the dismissal of 41 employees, including the plaintiff.
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Back To School — Does Retraining Count As Reasonable Mitigation Of Damages? -
“Investigation is the New Arbitration”: Thoughts on Our Changing Workplaces
July 2018
Every seasoned human resources professional is aware that “investigation is the new arbitration”. When addressing issues of all but the most serious and blatant misconduct, employers are now routinely counselled that if they shoot first and ask questions later, they do so at their peril.
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“Investigation is the New Arbitration”: Thoughts on Our Changing Workplaces -
Big News About Small Claims
March 2017
Civil Resolution Tribunal. As of June 1, 2017, with just a few exceptions, civil claims of up to $5,000 will no longer be heard and decided by the B.C. Provincial Court (Small Claims Court). Instead, they will be resolved through British Columbia’s new online tribunal, the Civil Resolution Tribunal. This will be mandatory.
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Big News About Small Claims