In an important interest arbitration award, Arbitrator William Kaplan accepted the proposal of the Ontario Public School Boards Association (OPSBA) and the Crown to add two specific sick leave provisions to the central terms of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) teachers’ collective agreements…
Category: Uncategorized
Federal Post – Fourth Edition
We are pleased to bring you the final 2016 edition of the Federal Post, our newsletter designed exclusively for federally regulated employers…
Expanded CPP: The Next Generation
Legislative reforms have now been tabled to implement the much-anticipated expanded Canada Pension Plan (CPP) for Canadians. Find out what may be coming next – and what your organization should be doing now to prepare for it…
Ontario Human Rights Commission Releases New Policies on Drug and Alcohol Testing and Ableism and Discrimination Based on Disability
The Ontario Human Rights Commission has published updated guidelines on these critical issues – and what it thinks your organization should be doing…
Federal Government Introduces Legislation to Establish Target Benefit Plans Framework
On October 19, 2016, the federal government introduced Bill C-27, An Act to amend the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985, legislation that would, if passed, provide a framework for the establishment, administration and supervision of target benefit plans (TBPs). TBPs provide for fixed or capped contributions, a targeted “defined benefit type” pension formula and flexibility…
What Nexus is Required to Establish a Tribunal’s Jurisdiction over Discriminatory Conduct Arising at a Workplace?
The Supreme Court of Canada will be delivering a decision likely to provide further clarity on the scope of the jurisdiction of British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal (Tribunal) to hear a complaint alleging discrimination regarding employment involving parties who work for different employers. On October 13, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to…
Raising the Bar – Thirteenth Edition
The Fall is upon us and, with that, the courts are back in full swing. Although this may mean busy times for you ahead, it also means that we can look forward to interesting decisions from the court on topics that may impact your litigation strategies…
Duty to Accommodate Does Not Extend to Permitting Excessive Employee Absenteeism
In Ontario Public Service Employees Union v Ontario (Children and Youth Services), the Divisional Court recently affirmed that an employer’s duty to accommodate does not extend to allowing an employee not to work, stating that the “purpose of the duty to accommodate is to allow employees to fulfill their employment duties, not to allow employees not…
Tribunal Rejects the Johnstone Test for Establishing Family Status Discrimination in New Eldercare Case
In a significant recent decision relating to eldercare accommodation, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) indicated its intention to depart from the test for family status discrimination outlined by the Federal Court of Appeal in Canada (Attorney General) v. Johnstone and Canadian National Railway v. Seeley…
Appellate Court Finds Non-Compete Clause Unreasonable and Overly Broad
In a recent decision regarding the enforceability of a restrictive covenant, Donaldson Travel Inc. v. Murphy, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the decision of a motion judge that the restrictive covenant at issue constituted an unenforceable non-compete clause…