Resources
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COVID-19 Update – March 18, 2020
March 2020
British Columbians, as with people the world over, are in uncharted territory. This crisis is unprecedented. Schools, business and government buildings throughout the country are closed down, multiple provinces have declared states of emergency, and our leaders are holding press conferences to update us on the situation as it develops, seemingly by the hour.
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How to Make One Year’s Salary Without Working a Single Day
February 2020
In its recent decision in Quach v. Mitrux Services Ltd., 2020 BCCA 25 [Quach], the BC Court of Appeal offered some helpful guidance and clarity on several important employment law issues, in particular relating to fixed-term employees.
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Saucy Tweet Results in For Cause Termination of Employee
February 2020
Fastenal Canada terminated B.C. employee Hussien Mehaidi for expressing his outrage on Twitter for the company’s Christmas gift of Gets Sauced BBQ sauce and a company
branded wooden scraper. Mehaidi tweeted from an anonymous account with zero followers a tweet which read: “what kind of multi-billion dollar company gifts its Canadian employees barbecue sauce as a holiday gift? Yet the USA employees stuff their face with an actual holiday gift box!”Read More +
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Coronavirus: Information Bulletin for Employers
January 2020
As of today’s date, January 28, 2020, more than 100 people have died from the Wuhan coronavirus – a novel (new) coronavirus – and more than 4,500 others have been infected. A warning has been issued to travellers to avoid all non-essential travel to China and cases of infection have been reported in countries other than China, including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States.
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Ontario Court of Appeal Refuses to Recognize Freestanding Tort of Harassment
January 2020
In Merrifield v. Canada (Attorney General), 2019 ONCA 205, the plaintiff was a longstanding member of the RCMP who alleged that his supervisors had discriminated against him for years. The strained relationship began when the plaintiff had run for public office. He was considered to be in a potential conflict of interest following his investigation of threats against a political rival.
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Being A Gracious (And Responsible) Employer And Employee: Holiday Parties And Other Work-Related Social Gatherings
December 2019
As an employer, if you organize a company party or similar work-related social gathering for your employees, you have certain legal responsibilities. An employer can be held liable for not taking adequate precautions to protect its employees from foreseeable and preventable harm.
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Not Every Failed Return to Work is a Failure of the Duty to Accommodate
December 2019
In Gaucher v. Fraser Health Authority and others, 2019 BCHRT 243, the Human Rights Tribunal dismissed without a hearing the human rights complaint of a nurse regarding her attempts to return to work following an extended disability leave. In reaching that decision, the Tribunal made several helpful comments about the scope of the duty to accommodate and what constitutes harassment under the Human Rights Code.
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Conduct of Transgender Complainant Leads to Dismissal of Complaint of Discrimination in the Provision of Waxing Services
November 2019
Jessica Yaniv is a transgender woman who filed seven human rights complaints against multiple defendants relating to the denial of waxing services. In five cases, she requested waxing of her scrotum. In two, she requested waxing of her arms or legs. In each case, Ms. Yaniv told the Respondent that she was a transgender woman and the Respondent then refused to wax her.
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Employment Standards Claims Cannot be Pursued in B.C. Courts
November 2019
A recent summary trial decision from the B.C. Supreme Court confirms that claims arising from breaches of the B.C. Employment Standards Act (ESA) cannot be pursued in a civil action and denies the application of the tort of intimidation to a threatened breach of an employment contract.
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Buyer Beware: The Labour Relations Board Deals With New Successorship Provisions in the BC Labour Relations Code
November 2019
Bill 30 introduced new contract retendering successorship provisions in section 35 of the Labour Relations Code (the “Code”). Our firm has commented previously that the new provisions will have a significant impact on certain contractors in BC.
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