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…
Insights
FTR Now
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…
Case In Point
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…
Human Resources Legislative Update
Minimum Wage to Increase on October 1, 2016
As previously reported, on October 1, 2016, the general minimum wage in Ontario will increase from $11.25 to $11.40 an hour. This minimum wage applies to most employees…
Human Resources Legislative Update
ESA Blitz This Fall to Target Repeat Violators
The Ministry of Labour has announced that from September 1, 2016 to October 31, 2016, employment standards officers will conduct blitzes targeting employers who have a history of non-compliance with the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). The blitz will primarily target sectors where there is a level of precarious employment, including personal care and professional…
FTR Now
Ontario Announces New Sexual Violence and Harassment Intervention Training for Bartenders and Servers
On September 8, 2016, significant amendments to Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) outlined in the Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act (Supporting Survivors and Challenging Sexual Violence and Harassment) came into force…
Human Resources Legislative Update
Reminder: New Employer Workplace Harassment Obligations Now in Force
Effective today, significant reforms to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) are coming into force which place additional duties on employers with respect to the prevention of workplace harassment. As previously reported, these changes were outlined in Bill 132, Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act (Supporting Survivors and Challenging Sexual Violence and Harassment), 2016…
FTR Now
Ontario Moves Forward with BPS Executive Compensation Restraint
On September 6, 2016, the Ontario government published Ontario Regulation 304/16 “Executive Compensation Framework” (Regulation) under the Broader Public Sector Executive Compensation Act, 2014 (BPSECA), which provides the compensation framework in accordance with which compensation programs for “designated executives” under the BPSECA must be developed, including a detailed process and specific one-year timeline for their development…
Human Resources Legislative Update
Ontario Consults on (Revised) Proposed Amendments to Advisory Committee Regulations
The Ontario government is consulting on a revised proposal for amending the Pension Benefits Act(PBA) regulations with respect to Pension Advisory Committees (PACs). The consultation is open only until September 12, 2016…
Case In Point
Federal Privacy Commissioner Uses Ashley Madison Incident to Promote Good Information Governance
Organizations subject to Canadian privacy law should be aware that the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (together with the Australian Information Commissioner) recently issued a report on the 2015 breach of the Ashley Madison website – a breach that affected nearly 35 million individuals who had used the online dating site for adults…