Ontario Government Introduces Safe and Supportive Classrooms Act, 2018

On October 25, 2018, the Ontario government introduced Bill 48, the Safe and Supportive Classrooms Act, 2018. If passed, Bill 48 will amend the Early Childhood Educators Act, 2017, the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996, and the Teaching Profession Act to expand the definition of sexual abuse. Notably, the amendments include: clarification that sexual…

HRTO Dismissal of Application for Delay of One Day Upheld by Appellate Court

In a useful decision for employers, the Ontario Divisional Court has confirmed that the one-year timeline for filing an application with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) will be strictly enforced. The decision provides a valuable warning to applicants that the time limits required to bring a complaint are indeed requirements and will only…

Freedom of Information Access Requests: A Practical Guide for School Boards

Hicks Morley’s Information, Data Security & Privacy Group invites you to participate in a special webinar for School Board Privacy Coordinators. Access requests under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act can range in complexity from those involving single page records to large muti-part requests raising multiple legal and procedural issues involving substantial volumes of documents. School Board Privacy Coordinators are often confronted with having to make a variety of legal determinations within tight deadlines imposed by MFIPPA.

Welcome Back to School!

With this edition of our School Board Update, we’d like to welcome you back to a new school year. In this Update, we discuss a recent policy of the Ontario Human Rights Commission with respect to accessing education for students with disabilities, which notes that while advances have been made in this area, there is still much work to be done.

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.

Accommodation Training Workshop

There’s no such thing as “textbook” accommodation. Whether your employee has a challenging physical or mental disability that impacts their ability to do the job, childcare problems that interfere with their performance, faith-related obligations or is in the process of transitioning, how you respond to that individual’s request – or don’t – can mean significant liability for your organization. Are you prepared?