INTRODUCTION Following on the heels of its recent decisions in McGill University Health Centre and Honda Canada Inc. v. Keays, the Supreme Court of Canada has issued yet another helpful decision dealing with the employer’s duty to accommodate. In Hydro-Québec v. Syndicat des employé-e-s de techniques professionnelles et de bureau d’Hydro-Québec, section locale 2000 (SCFP-FTQ),…
Insights
Hicks Morley publishes a number of materials, both electronic and print, on issue-specific and sector-specific topics of interest to our clients. Our insights section has links to all of our various publications, updates and blogs, both current and historical, to keep you informed of developments in the law that impact human resources.
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No Surplus Distribution Required on Partial Termination of Federally-Regulated Pension Plans
In its much anticipated decision in Cousins v. Canada (Attorney General) and Marine Atlantic Inc. (“Marine Atlantic”), the Federal Court of Appeal has concluded that the federal Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 (the “PBSA”) does not require a proportionate distribution of surplus on a partial termination of a defined benefit (DB) pension plan. The Federal…
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Protect Your Domain Name from Rogue Departing Employees
We have recently helped a number of our clients retain and regain control of registered domain names that have either been threatened or taken by departing employees. We suggest you take steps to control against this risk. WHAT’S IN A NAME? A domain name may seem like a simple piece of intellectual property, but once…
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Honda Canada Inc. v. Keays: The Supreme Court of Canada Strikes Down Landmark Damages Award
INTRODUCTION It is difficult to recall an employment law case which has generated as much interest, or created as much debate, as the litigation between Kevin Keays and his former employer, Honda Canada Inc. The trial decision, which was released in 2005, created a shockwave within the employer community, with its blistering critique of Honda’s…
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Amendments to the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act
The government introduced the proposed amendments to the CCBA yesterday afternoon. It is anticipated that it will go to committee in the summer and be passed sometime in the fall. PART TIME BARGAINING UNITS In addition to maintaining the existing full time bargaining units, The Act creates two new province wide bargaining units, one for…
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Government to Review the ESA “Elect To Work” Exemption and the Use of Temporary Help Agencies
On May 21, 2008, the Ontario Ministry of Labour released a consultation paper entitled A Consultation Paper on Work through Temporary Help Agencies. The paper is seeking input on a number of issues specifically related to Temporary Help Agencies, including: barriers to permanent employment (whether through fees or contractual restrictions); fees charged to workers by…
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Supreme Court Speaks on School Searches
On April 25th the Supreme Court of Canada issued a much anticipated decision concerning a sniffer dog search of a high school that led to drug related charges against a student. A 6-3 majority of the Court held that the police violated the student’s Charter right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure and…
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Update on Family Day
Immediately following last year’s provincial election, the Ontario Government created a new public holiday under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”) – Family Day, which falls on the third Monday of each February. Shortly after the introduction of the new holiday, employers turned their mind to the question of whether they would be required…
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Termination of Municipal Officers: The New Rules
This Client Update follows up on our March 2008 Update regarding the Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark decision in Dunsmuir v. New Brunswick, 2008 SCC 9 (CanLII). As discussed in the previous Update, the Supreme Court significantly reformed the law relating to the termination of public office holders. The Court clearly signalled that where office…
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Information & Privacy Post – Volume-3, Number-1
In this issue Canadian e-discovery enters next era FREEDOM OF INFORMATION – EXCEPTIONS – PRIVILEGE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION – EXCEPTIONS – UNJUSTIFIED INVASION OF PERSONAL PRIVACY FREEDOM OF INFORMATION – FREEDOM OF THE PRESS PRIVACY – ACCESS TO PERSONAL INFORMATION PRIVACY – APPLICATION, EXCLUSIONS AND MATTERS OF JURISDICTION PRIVACY – COLLECTION USE AND DISCLOSURE –…