Resources

  • Expensive Secret Telling: When Damages May Be Available for Breach of a Confidentiality Clause in a Settlement Agreement

    November 2014

    by Sandra Guarascio

    Employers often enter into settlements in order to avoid litigation. Sometimes, the confidentiality of the settlement is crucially important to the employer. While simple confidentiality clauses are often included in settlement terms and coupled with enforcement mechanisms (what happens if a breach occurs), it is uncommon to see cases that address..

    Read More +

  • Non-Competition Provision Results in Increased Notice Period

    November 2014

    by James D. Kondopulos

    In the recent case of Ostrow v. Abacus Management Corporation Mergers and Acquisitions, 2014 BCSC 938, the B.C. Supreme Court followed an approach taken in a small handful of cases (predominantly out of Ontario but including an appellate case out of B.C.) and confirmed….

    Read More +

  • Equal, not Better, Treatment: Accommodating Employees with Disabilities

    November 2014

    by Michael R. Kilgallin

    In Jardine v. Costco Wholesale Canada, 2014 BCHRT 214, the employer was able to accommodate an employee, while holding its ground on certain requests from the employee.

     

     

    Read More +

  • B.C. Employers Need a “Reasonable Basis” to Conduct Employee Surveillance: Unifor, Local 433 v. Crown Packaging Ltd. (Giesbrecht Grievance), 2014 B.C.C.A.A.A. No. 43 (Dorsey)

    November 2014

    by Danielle Scorda

    Unifor, Local 433 v. Crown Packaging Ltd. (Giesbrecht Grievance), [2014] B.C.C.A.A.A. No. 43 (Dorsey) is a recent arbitral decision considering the admissibility of surveillance evidence in British Columbia.

    Read More +

  • “To Assume is to Accept as Truth Without Checking”: The Cost of Paying Lip Service to Respectful Workplace Policies

    November 2014

    by Jennifer Hogan

    In Boucher v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp., 2014 ONCA 419, Wal-Mart paid a high price for failing to properly investigate an employee’s complaint.

    Read More +

  • Disabled Employee Entitled to Equal Treatment, Not Better Treatment

    October 2014

    by Michael R. Kilgallin

    A recent case from the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal addressed the protections afforded to an employee who could no longer work at a full-time level on account of her disability. In particular, the issues of guaranteed hours of work and the right to full-time benefits were canvassed.

     

    Read More +

  • Be Thorough, Thoughtful and Careful in the Accommodation Process: Rajigadu v. University of British Columbia (No. 3), 2014 BCHRT 157 (McCreary)

    October 2014

    by Gabrielle Scorer

    Ron Rajigadu was employed as an electrician at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He filed a complaint with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal, alleging that UBC discriminated against him on the basis of physical and mental disability by failing to accommodate him and terminating his employment.

     

    Read More +

  • Handle with Care – Non-Competition Provision Results in Increased Notice Period

    September 2014

    by James D. Kondopulos

    Before incorporating a non-competition provision into an employee’s contract of employment or reminding a departing employee that a non-competition provision precludes the employee from competing and will be enforced against him or her, employers should carefully consider the value of proceeding in such a fashion and all of the ramifications.

     

    Read More +

  • Recent Decision from B.C. Court of Appeal Cautions Employees to Consider Skeletons in The Closet Before Suing for Wrongful Dismissal

    August 2014

    by Jennifer Hogan

    In a recent decision, Van den Boogaard v. Vancouver Pile Driving Ltd., 2014 BCCA 168, the B.C. Court of Appeal upheld the discharge of a senior manager who, in the period of time following his dismissal without cause, was discovered by the employer to have been soliciting illegal drugs from a subordinate employee.

    Read More +

  • And the Employee Said to the Employer: “You Can’t Touch This”

    March 2014

    by Jennifer Hogan

    On December 13, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) issued its decision in IBM Canada Ltd. v. Waterman, 2013 SCC 70, confirming that employers may not deduct earned pension benefits from wrongful dismissal damages.

    Read More +

  • ' '