The Alberta government has announced that financial relief will be available for certain workers who are unable to work due to self-isolation. The government will provide eligible recipients with $573 per week for a maximum of two (2) weeks to bridge the gap until the newly announced federal Emergency Care Benefit takes effect in April...
In addition to some corporate tax changes and utility payment deferrals meant to help employers, Alberta has amended its Employment Standards Code to provide employees with a job protected leave related to COVID-19. In particular, full-time and part-time employees will be entitled to 14 days of job protected leave if they are: Required to self-isolate...
Now that the schools in Ontario are closed post March Break for two weeks and the likelihood other provinces will adopt a similar approach, employers need to be prepared for innumerable requests from parents to work remotely, reduce working hours, or miss work altogether to permit them to undertake their parenting obligations. Apart from the...
By now you’ve probably heard of the Coronavirus – the flu like illness that has rapidly spread across the city of Wuhan, China and has recently made its way to Canada, and around the globe. While health officials in Canada say there’s no reason to be too concerned yet, employers are beginning to wonder what...
The ongoing conflict between the Ontario Government and the union representing Ontario elementary school teachers has resulted in rotating strikes, leaving parents uncertain about how they will meet their childcare responsibilities. The current circumstances raise the question: what is an employer’s obligation to employees whose children cannot attend school due to a strike? One potential...
In its last decision of 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada considered the scope of an employer’s obligation to inspect its workplace in Canada Post Corp. v. Canadian Union of Postal Workers. In 2012, the Union filed a complaint with HRSDC claiming that Canada Post was in breach of the Canada Labour Code. In particular,...
A recent decision highlights the risks associated with assuming an employee has resigned when they refuse to return to work. In Nagpal v IBM Canada Ltd., Vinay Nagpal, an employee with over 23 years of service, went on a stress related medical leave in 2013. The Company referred Nagpal to Manulife, the administrator of the...
The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (“Tribunal”) has made the highest monetary award to date in the monumental 2018 decision of A.B. v. Joe Singer Shoes Limited. The Tribunal awarded the employee (the store owner) $200,000.00 for the twenty (20) years of pain and suffering she experienced by her employer (and landlord), Mr. Singer. Mr. Singer...
Effective January 1, 2020, the monetary claims limit for Small Claims Court in Ontario will increase from $25,000.00 to $35,000.00 (excluding interest and legal costs). Of note, the previous limit has been in place since 2010 when the limit was increased from $10,000.00. Small Claims Court is a branch of the Superior Court of Justice...
A recent case decided by the Supreme Court of British Columbia provides a useful example of how not to handle a termination for cause. In Acumen Law Corporation v Ojanen, Melissa Ojanen – an articling student at a criminal law firm – was terminated for cause. The firm alleged that Ms. Ojanen was attempting to...