Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Canada held that a teacher committed the crime of voyeurism by surreptitiously recording images of female high school students. In finding that the students had a reasonable expectation of privacy, the Court relied on the trust imposed on teachers and the need for a safe and orderly school environment – a positive for school boards.
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.
FTR Now
Attention Ontario Colleges and Universities: It’s Time to Review Your Sexual Violence Policies!
All Ontario colleges and universities have an important task to complete soon. They must conduct a review of their sexual violence policies, and this review must consider student input.
Case In Point
An Update on the Status of Family Status – Just in Time for Family Day
In a recent decision released by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, the Tribunal found that an employer discriminated against the Applicant, a personal support worker, by failing to accommodate her special childcare needs. The Tribunal found that the Applicant’s employment was terminated at least in part because she was unable to offer more flexible hours due to her childcare obligations. The Tribunal awarded a remedy of $30,000 in compensation for injury to the Applicant’s dignity, feelings and self-respect.
Top Five Tips for Investigations in a Unionized Workplace
This Client Toolkit outlines the five top tips for conducting investigations in a unionized workplace.
Reaching Out
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changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and Labour Relations Act, 1995 in January 2018, only to see many of them repealed in January…
Human Resources Legislative Update
Amendments to Complaints and Appeals Provisions of the Canada Labour Code to Come into Force on April 1, 2019
The federal government has proclaimed April 1, 2019 as the coming into force date for certain provisions[1] of Bill C-44, the Budget Implementation Act 2017, No. 1 which amend a number of provisions in the Canada Labour Code. For details on the changes to be implemented under Bill C-44, refer to our Federal Post article…
Case In Point
Appellate Court Upholds Finding that Injured Worker who Returned to Full-Time Work Entitled to Receive 100% FEL Benefits to Age 65
In Hydro Ottawa v. Ontario (Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal), the Divisional Court has upheld a decision of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (Tribunal) that concluded an injured worker remained entitled to his 100% future economic loss (FEL) benefits until age 65 despite the fact he returned to full-time work in 2013….
School Board Update
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.
Human Resources Legislative Update
Significant New Incident Reporting Requirement for Federally Regulated Financial Institutions
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has recently issued an advisory of significance to federally regulated financial institutions (FRIFs). Beginning on March 31, 2019, FRFIs will be required to report material technology or cyber incidents to OSFI. An incident is defined as follows: a technology or cyber security incident is defined to…
Case In Point
Federal Court Finds Release Signed upon Termination Not a Bar to Unjust Dismissal Complaint
The Federal Court recently upheld a decision of an adjudicator made under the Canada Labour Code (Code) that an agreement and release signed by an employee whose employment with a bank was terminated did not act as a bar to her unjust dismissal application. The employee had received a lump sum payment and had released…