Reaching Out – Fourteenth Edition

Dear Friends, Welcome to our Winter 2019 edition of Reaching Out. The last 18 months have been a tumultuous time in employment law in Ontario. We saw the introduction of sweeping changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and Labour Relations Act, 1995 in January 2018, only to see many of them repealed in January…

Workplace Investigation Training Workshop

This workshop focuses on essential investigation skills required by HR Professionals who are charged with investigating workplace incidents including: workplace harassment and violence complaints, discrimination and harassment complaints under the Human Rights Code, employee misconduct, such as suspected sick leave abuse or time theft, health and safety complaints.

Craig Rix Quoted in the Law Times on the Additional Changes in Employment Law Introduced by Bill 66

Hicks Morley’s Craig Rix was quoted by the Law Times in the January 28, 2019 article titled, “Additional Changes for Employment Laws Proposed” in which the impact of the proposed changes introduced by Bill 66 – Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act on the workplace are explored, such as overtime.

School Boards Take Note: Recent Developments of Interest

In this Update, we discuss a recent decision of Arbitrator Nyman with respect to what constitutes a collective agreement and which re-affirms the longstanding principle that the interpretation of a collective agreement is first to be based on the plain and ordinary meaning of the written words. We also discuss a topical case with respect to a grievor’s obligation to produce arguably relevant medical documentation in the context of a grievance arbitration – notwithstanding the contractual restrictions that may exist.

North American Association of Educational Negotiators (NAEN): 50th Annual Conference

Overview The 50th Annual Conference of the North American Association of Educational Negotiations will bring together approximately 100 educational negotiations and employee relations specialists from all over the United States and Canada to learn, participate, and network for three and one-half days of professional development in educational negotiations and employee relations. This conference offers the…