Dear Friends, As we welcome 2024, we are back with another edition of Reaching Out. Over the last year, we have seen our social services clients continue to deal with budget challenges and labour shortages. Many are providing permanent and/or hybrid remote work arrangements, where possible, to attract and retain employees. Accordingly, we provide a…
Insights
Reaching Out
Bill 124 Update and Recent Case Law Developments
· 12 min readDear Friends, We are back with another edition of Reaching Out. As we go to press, Sean Reginio reminds us that the Ontario Court of Appeal is hearing arguments this week in the government’s appeal of the decision that struck down Bill 124 as unconstitutional. Stay tuned for future updates. It is possible this may…
Reaching Out
Recent Legislative and Case Law Developments
· 15 min readDear Friends, We are back with another edition of Reaching Out. While we are still dealing with issues arising from the pandemic, there are a number of developments in legislation and case law which we wanted to bring to the attention of social services organizations. Sean Reginio discusses the duty to accommodate employees and the…
Human Resources Legislative Update
On May 16, 2022, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) published an invitation to provide feedback with respect to the development of regulations under the federal Pay Equity Act, which came into force on August 31, 2021. This Act establishes a proactive pay equity regime that applies to employers with 10 or more employees in…
School Board Update
Recent Cases of Note
· 15 min readWelcome to our latest edition of the School Board Update. In this Update we discuss three significant decisions. The first decision is from the Ontario Labour Relations Board. It clarifies that, with the revocation of O. Reg. 274/12 Hiring Practices, school boards are obliged to comply with Policy/Program Memorandum No. 165, School Board Teacher Hiring…
Human Resources Legislative Update
On March 29, 2022, the Ontario government introduced A Plan to Stay Open which sets out healthcare initiatives to ensure the healthcare system is better able to respond to a crisis, among other things. On the same day, it tabled Bill 106, Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Act, 2022 (Bill 106), omnibus legislation which gives effect…
FTR Now
As a new academic year commences, the Ontario government is taking additional steps to address sexual violence on post-secondary campuses. The government has filed O. Reg. 646/21 (Amending Regulation), which amends O. Reg. 131/16, Sexual Violence at Colleges and Universities, made under the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act, to include additional protections for…
Reaching Out
On August 30, 2021, the Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health (OCMOH) issued two sets of instructions (Instructions) to certain Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS) funded agencies, regarding the implementation of a mandatory vaccine policy. One set of Instructions applies specifically to Children’s Treatment Centres and certain third parties that provide contracted…
Case In Point
In Ellisdon Construction Ltd. v Labourers’ International Union of North America, Local 183, Arbitrator Kitchen recently upheld the Abbott Panbio Rapid COVID-19 Antigen Screening Program implemented by EllisDon, a construction and building services company, at many of its worksites. Arbitrator Kitchen stated that “[w]hen one weighs the intrusiveness of the rapid test against the objective…
Reaching Out
Reaching Out – Fifteenth Edition
· 12 min readDear Friends, We are back with another edition of Reaching Out. With 2020 behind us and some light at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic tunnel, we thought it appropriate to reconnect with our Social Services clients with a Spring edition of Reaching Out. We chose not to publish Reaching Out last year as we…
Case In Point
In Toronto District School Board v Local 4400, Canadian Union of Public Employees, Arbitrator Stout dismissed an allegation of disability-related discrimination and failure to accommodate in the context of a commute to work. The case elaborates on the reasoning of Arbitrator Nyman in Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation and Toronto District School Board, Grievance #…
School Board Update
The Latest Updates for School Boards Before the Summer
· 14 min readAs the 2019 – 2020 school year draws to a close, it would be an understatement to say that the year did not go as expected. From the hurried transition to online learning to the ongoing adjustment to the “new normal” of synchronous learning, we know that our clients have successfully navigated unprecedented and difficult challenges – and that there will be more to come.
Case In Point
The Divisional Court has upheld a decision of the Grievance Settlement Board (Board) that found that it did not have jurisdiction to award damages as a remedy for grievances alleging workplace bullying and harassment as the alleged injuries would be compensable under the Workplace Safety and Insurance, 1997 (WSIA). In Ontario Public Service Employees Union…
Reaching Out
Reaching Out – Fourteenth Edition
· 16 min readDear 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…