On May 30, 2023, Manitoba’s Bill 235, The Employment Standards Code Amendment Act, received Royal Assent and came into force. Bill 235 amended The Employment Standards Code by expanding the length of unpaid leave on the...more
In Alberta Health Services v Johnston, 2023 ABKB 209, the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta recognized a new tort of harassment.
Background -
Alberta Health Services (AHS) and two individual plaintiffs claimed they were...more
An arbitrator recently issued the first award in Ontario to address and uphold the reasonableness of a hospital vaccination policy that provides for the termination of employment for non-compliance. In Lakeridge Health and...more
6/8/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety ,
Wrongful Termination
In Teljeur v Aurora Hotel Group, 2023 ONSC 1324, a wrongful dismissal case, the court awarded the plaintiff-employee seven months’ damages for reasonable notice, and $15,000 in moral damages due to the employer’s bad-faith...more
The decision of the British Columbia, Canada Civil Resolution Tribunal (Tribunal) in Besse v. Reach CPA Inc., 2023 BCCRT 27 is especially relevant now that remote work has become common. The Tribunal found the employer had...more
5/31/2023
/ Canada ,
Electronic Monitoring ,
Employee Monitoring ,
Employee Tracking ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
International Labor Laws ,
Remote Working ,
Timekeeping ,
Wage and Hour
On May 11, 2023, British Columbia, Canada’s Bill 13, Pay Transparency Act (Act), received Royal Assent. Section 2 of the Act, which addresses the employer’s obligations regarding publicly advertised job opportunities, comes...more
5/24/2023
/ Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pay Transparency ,
Pending Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Wage and Hour
In Pham v. Qualified Metal Fabricators Ltd., 2023 ONCA 255, the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) found that unless an employee’s employment contract provides otherwise via an express or implied term, an employer’s unilateral lay...more
In Soave v. Stahle Construction Inc., 2023 ONCA 265, the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) allowed an employer’s appeal of the trial judge’s finding that an employee who was on a temporary leave at the time of an injury was...more
5/16/2023
/ Canada ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employment Litigation ,
Health Insurance ,
International Labor Laws ,
Leave of Absence ,
Long Term Disability Insurance ,
Ontario ,
Wage and Hour
In Corporation of the City of Calgary v Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 583, 2023 CanLII 20867 (AB GAA), Arbitrator James T. Casey dismissed the union’s grievance of an employee’s job termination, finding that his off-duty...more
5/8/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Canada ,
Co-Workers ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Filing Grievances ,
Grievance Process ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Sexual Assault ,
Unions
In Chu v China Southern Airlines Company Limited, 2023 BCSC 21, the court held that an employer that attempted to manufacture just cause for the termination of a vulnerable employee breached its duty of good faith and fair...more
Section 32.07(1)(a) of Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) provides that one of an employer’s duties relating to a workplace harassment complaint is to ensure an investigation occurs that is “appropriate in...more
In Safavi-Naini v. Rubin Thomlinson LLP, 2023 ONCA 86, the Court of Appeal for Ontario (OCA) upheld the dismissal of a defamation action under s. 137.1 of Ontario’s Courts of Justice Act (CJA). The decision provides guidance...more
4/10/2023
/ Anti-SLAPP ,
Canada ,
Defamation ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Press Releases ,
Public Interest ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Workplace Investigations
On March 29, 2023, the province published Regulation 61/23 amending Regulation 213/91: Construction Projects under the Occupational Health & Safety Act (Regulation). The amendments will come into force on July 1, 2023....more
This month, the federal government made two announcements that are relevant to federally regulated, private-sector employers regarding the minimum age for employment and the minimum wage. Canada provides this list of...more
On March 23, 2023, Ontario released its 2023 Ontario Budget: Building a Strong Ontario (2023 Budget). The Budget provides that Paid Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (Paid IDEL) will expire on March 31, 2023....more
3/27/2023
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Employees ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
On March 20, 2023, Ontario introduced Bill 79, Working for Workers Act, 2023 for First Reading. Bill 79 contains amendments to the province’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA),...more
On March 13, 2023, Ontario announced that it is proposing two amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and related regulations.
Employees Who Work Solely from Home to Become Eligible to Receive Enhanced...more
3/16/2023
/ Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Notice Requirements ,
Ontario ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Remote Working ,
Telecommuting ,
Termination
The first deadline for compliance with the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) and its regulations is only two and a half months away. By June 1, 2023, federally regulated employers that had 100 or more employees in 2021 must comply....more
On March 9, 2023, British Columbia’s Bill 2, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Act (Bill 2) received Royal Assent. Bill 2 came into force on the date of Royal Assent.
Bill 2 amends British Columbia’s Employment...more
In Croke v. VuPoint Systems Ltd., 2023 ONSC 1234, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice decided that an employee’s refusal to comply with mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements resulted in the frustration of the parties’...more
3/14/2023
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Frustration of a Common Purpose ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Vaccinations
In a recent decision under the Labor Relations Act, 1995, Arbitrator Adam Beatty dismissed four union grievances concerning the National Day of Mourning, which was declared following the death of Queen Elizabeth. The grievors...more
3/7/2023
/ Canada ,
Collective Agreements ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Holiday Pay ,
Holidays ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Relations ,
Ontario ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
The Global Guide Quarterly (GGQ) is a newsletter Littler publishes on a quarterly basis to provide a general update on global labor and employment (L&E) law developments in key countries in the American, EMEA, and APAC...more
When Bill C-19, Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1 received Royal Assent in June 2022, it amended Canada’s Competition Act (Act) by including a new provision, s. 45(1.1), which comes into force on June 23, 2023. Section...more
1/24/2023
/ Canada ,
Canadian Competition Act ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
New Guidance ,
No-Poaching ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage-Fixing
The Alberta Court of Appeal (ABCA) recently addressed an increasingly common question—whether financial support provided under the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) program to workers directly affected by COVID-19...more
In Osmani v. Universal Structural Restorations Ltd., 2022 ONSC 6979, an Ontario court was the first to consider a claim for damages for the statutory tort of human trafficking under the Prevention of and Remedies for Human...more
1/18/2023
/ Canada ,
Damages ,
Employees ,
Exploitation ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hostile Environment ,
Human Trafficking ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Ontario ,
Tort ,
Vulnerable Victims ,
Work Permits