Resources
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Don’t Forget to Check Those Text Messages! After-acquired Cause Upheld for its “Criminal” Nature in Safety Sensitive Industry
June 2015
In Van den Boogaard v. Vancouver Pile Driving Ltd., 2014 BCCA168, the B.C. Court of Appeal unanimously affirmed that a supervisor’s conduct of procuring drugs from an employee under his/her supervision will support a finding of just cause, even when the employer discovers the misconduct after….
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Freedom of Association Now Protects the Right to Strike
March 2015
In Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v. Saskatchewan, 2015 SCC 4, the Supreme Court of Canada reversed its 1987 decision and concluded that the right to strike is protected under section 2(d) of the Charter: freedom of association.
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Drug Detection Dogs Fail Smell Test
May 2015
In United Steelworkers Local 7552 v. Agrium Vanscoy Potash Operations (Grievance 16-10, Random Drug Searches/Interviews), [2015] S.L.A.A. No. 1 (Norman), a Saskatchewan employer’s practice of periodically deploying drug detection dogs to screen individuals entering its safety-sensitive worksite was held to be in breach of the collective agreement.
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Beware The Administrative Suspension with Pay! It May Result in a Successful Constructive Dismissal Claim
March 2015
In a recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada – Potter v. New Brunswick Legal Aid Services Commission, 2015 SCC 10 – the majority concluded that where the terms of an employment contract do not include the authority to place an employee on administrative suspension and…
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Major Clarification in Law around Dismissal of Non-Union, Federally Regulated Employees: Wilson v. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, 2015 FCA 17
March 2015
The Federal Court of Appeal recently clarified that without cause dismissals of employees covered by the Canada Labour Code (the “Canada Code”), such as those working in banking, broadcasting, telecommunications and the railways, are not automatically “unjust” simply by virtue of the fact that no cause is asserted.
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Drafting Employment Contracts: Avoiding Surprise and Liability
February 2015
If drafted properly, employment agreements can go a long way towards mitigating potential employer liability upon termination. However, if contracts are drafted poorly, or not drafted at all, employers may be left with nothing more than a false sense of security.
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Being Clear about Contractual Rights and Obligations Benefits Employers
October 2015
A recent case out of Ontario demonstrates the importance of incorporating precise, unequivocal terms in an employment contract. In Kielb v. National Money Mart Co., 2015 ONSC 3790, the defendant employer successfully relied on clear contractual language in order to exclude the payment of a bonus at the time of termination of employment.
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