Each province’s employment standards legislation provides for a wide array of leaves for which an employee may be eligible. New Brunswick’s Employment Standards Act (the “Act”) was amended on September 1, 2014 to provide for two new types of leaves related to children of employees: “Critical Illness Leave” and “Death or Disappearance Leave”.
It is a commonly held belief that employees must provide two weeks’ notice when they resign from their employment. However, this blanket statement does not necessarily reflect the applicable legal requirements. While two weeks’ notice is appropriate in many cases, some employees may be required to provide less notice, and other employees may be required to provide significantly more.
The Nova Scotia Occupational Health and Safety regime is undergoing a complete overhaul, with potential huge impacts for employers respecting cost of compliance and risk of liability. The changes are part of the five-year Workplace Safety Strategy, a joint initiative between the Department of Labour and Advanced Education and the Workers’ Compensation Board. The Strategy was developed in direct response to a recognition that the old system—a piecemeal assortment of rules and regulations—was tough to navigate and produced inconsistency in interpretation and enforcement.
Please click the link below to view a printable PDF version of a handout regarding legal liability and due diligence in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
It is time to revisit the topic of Host Liability and what an employer can do to ensure the holiday party is the social event of the year and not a litigation nightmare. If, as an employer, you are planning a holiday gathering where alcohol will be served, you should be aware that you may be exposing your company to significant financial liability for the actions of an impaired guest. The issue of Host Liability is categorized in three ways: Commercial, Social, and Employer. These principles and best practices are important to keep in mind, especially during this time of year.
A decision was recently released from Justice Wood of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court in ECBC v Crown Jewel Resort Ranch Inc. and I.N.K. Real Estate (2014 NSSC 420) regarding receivership sales and the issuance of vesting orders on sale approval. Very few written decisions are issued in receivership proceedings in this Province so the ruling should be carefully considered and followed in future receivership proceedings and motions.
The recent wave of sexual harassment allegations across Canada should serve as a reminder to employers to carefully consider their response to sexual harassment complaints in order to satisfy the duty to provide a harassment-free workplace.
A recent decision of the Ontario Divisional Court confirms that employers can rely upon properly worded non-disclosure clauses contained in settlement agreements.
In 2015 the Safe Food for Canadians Act (the SFCA) will come into force and new regulations will follow. The SFCA and regulations will create a single set of food regulations and establish minimum safety requirements for all food imported or prepared for interprovincial trade or export.
Employers of unionized employees are likely already aware that discussions held during the grievance process between management and union officials are privileged; that is, the nature and content of those discussions will not be admitted into evidence at a subsequent arbitration hearing without consent of both parties. The reason for the privilege is to encourage open discussion in an effort to settle disputes. The concern is that the possibility of later disclosure of grievance process discussions to an arbitrator will curtail or inhibit such discussions.