Can Hospitals Impose a Dress Code that Prohibits Large Tattoos and Excessive Body Piercings in a Unionized Environment?

Apparently not, according to Arbitrator Slotnick’s recent award in Ottawa Hospital v CUPE. This award concluded that a hospital’s dress code policy was unenforceable as it required employees to cover up large tattoos and prohibited “visible, excessive body piercings.” The hospital argued that the dress code was minimally intrusive and its goal was to improve…

An Employment Contract, A Without Cause Termination and the Availability of “Unjust Dismissal” Protection

Klein and The Royal Canadian Mint, a recent adjudication award made under the Canada Labour Code, affirms the proposition that the unjust dismissal provisions do not protect all employees from termination without cause, particularly where such terminations are conducted in accordance with a binding employment contract. In this case, the complainant had signed an employment…

Alberta Court of Appeal Grants Leave to Appeal in Case Regarding Employer’s Health and Safety Obligations

Clearing the path for a future decision which is likely to provide further clarity on an employer’s health and safety obligations, the Alberta Court of Appeal has granted an employer’s application for leave to appeal in R. v. XI Technologies, in which it was found liable under the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”)…

Receipt of WSIB Benefits Bars Claim for Additional Monetary Damages at Arbitration

An arbitrator recently affirmed that a grievor is not entitled to monetary damages under a collective agreement where that grievor has received benefits from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (“WSIB”) in respect of the accident for which damages are claimed. Arbitrator Howe considered section 26(2) of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (“WSIA”) and…

SCC Grants Leave to Appeal in Freedom of Association/Collective Bargaining Case

On December 20, 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to appeal in the Mounted Police Association case which considered whether RCMP Regulations dealing with consultations between management and officers offended the freedom of association guarantee found in section 2(d) of the Charter. This case is important because it deals with the scope of…

HRTO Considers Allegations of Age Discrimination in Employer Hiring Practices

A recent decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (the “Tribunal”) reaffirms Tribunal jurisprudence that an employer’s decision not to interview or hire an older job candidate will not necessarily be a violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”). In Loose v. Ontario (Education), the applicant applied for a position posted by…