For non-unionized employees, having employment contracts in place is imperative to limit liability and uncertainty. In addition to controlling entitlements upon termination of employment, well drafted employment contracts can also limit other sources of liability for employers, which can surface even following the end of employment. It is not just the wording of the contract […]
A recent decision from western Canada gives employers confidence that circumstantial evidence can be relied on to justify the termination of an employee for time theft. The decision also provides support for categorizing time theft as theft in the ordinary sense of the word, for disciplinary purposes. Time theft is generally understood as the falsification […]
In the recent decision of Natural Resources and Energy Development v Blaney, 2023, NBCA 61, the New Brunswick Court of Appeal (NBCA) upheld the decision of Human Rights Commission to refer the human rights complaint filed by the former CEO and President of Efficiency NB to the Labour and Employment Board for a hearing. Facts […]
The long-awaited decision of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal in Strom v Saskatchewan Registered Nurses’ Association, 2020 SKCA 112, was recently released. The decision considers when and if members of a professional association can be sanctioned by their professional association for comments made on social media, as well as whether a professional association can infringe on a member’s Charter-protected freedom of speech in sanctioning members for off-duty conduct.
Canadian Courts have long wrestled with the protection of human rights in the context of workplace drug and alcohol policies.
Yes, it’s 2017, but gender discrimination continues to persist in many workplaces. Discrimination in employment on the basis of gender is contrary to human rights legislation and leaves an employer vulnerable to liability for its wrongful conduct.
Misetich v Value Village Stores Inc., 2016 HRTO 1229 (“Misetich”), a recent decision from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (the “Tribunal”) that considered an employee’s eldercare responsibilities, casts doubt on the correct legal test to be applied in cases of family status discrimination.
This year, a Nova Scotia Human Rights Board of Inquiry issued a highly publicized decision on racial profiling. In the case, the Board concluded that a woman had discriminated against on the basis of her race and/or colour when wrongfully accused of shoplifting at a grocery store.
Under the Nova Scotia Human Rights framework, a Board of Inquiry must approve any settlement reached after a complaint is referred to a hearing before the Board.
Family status cases continue to work through human rights tribunals across the country.