An Ontario arbitrator has found that the “National Day of Mourning” on September 19, 2022 was not a “holiday” within the meaning of the collective agreements in issue as that day was not “proclaimed” to be a holiday by a legislative process. The Prime Minister declared September 19, 2022 to be a National Day of…
Insights
HR HealthCheck
As we reported in our August 18, 2021 HR HealthCheck, the Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health issued Directive #6 for COVID-19 Vaccination Policy in Health Settings (Directive) regarding the implementation of a mandatory vaccine policy for employees, staff, contractors, volunteers and students in certain health care settings. To support the implementation of the Directive,…
FTR Now
On April 29, 2021, the Ontario government tabled and passed Bill 284, COVID-19 Putting Workers First Act, 2021 (Bill). The Bill amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) to provide eligible employees with up to three days of paid emergency leave in circumstances of absences relating to a designated infectious disease (Paid IDEL). As readers…
Human Resources Legislative Update
Ontario Places All Regions Into Shutdown
· 2 min readEffective April 3, 2021, all regions in Ontario were placed into the Shutdown Zone of the Rules for Areas in Stage 1. The government announced that it anticipates the shutdown to be in place for at least four weeks. The Shutdown Zone rules were amended on March 26, 2021 (see our recent Human Resources and…
FTR Now
Ontario Declares Emergency, Issues Stay-at-Home Order
· 11 min readOn January 12, 2021, the Ontario government declared a second emergency under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) in light of the surging COVID-19 cases in Ontario. The emergency declaration took effect immediately. At the same time, the government announced that it would be issuing a range of other orders to enhance the…
FTR Now
Ontario Announces Provincewide Shutdown
· 12 min readOn December 21, 2020, the Ontario government announced a provincewide shutdown, effective Saturday December 26, 2020. As of that date, all parts of the province will be moved into the Grey Zone and will be subject to modified Rules for Areas in Stage 1 (Stage 1 Rules). Because different areas of the province are under…
FTR Now
On November 20, 2020, the Ontario government filed two regulations that allow point-of-care testing for COVID-19 to take place outside of laboratories and permit an expanded list of healthcare professionals to perform COVID-19 testing. The regulations came into effect on November 20.
FTR Now
On April 16, 2020, the provincial government made an Order under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA), O. Reg. 157/20 Work Deployment Measure for Municipalities, which authorizes municipalities to take any reasonably necessary measures with respect to work redeployment and staffing in order to prevent, reduce or mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on a specific list of critical municipal services (Critical Services).
FTR Now
On March 17, 2020 the Ontario government declared a state of emergency under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA). This has been followed by a series of Orders that have significant operational impacts on municipalities.
Human Resources Legislative Update
Editor’s Note on July 27, 2020: With the proclamation of Bill 195 on July 24, 2020, the declared emergency came to an end. Many of the orders below, however, will continue in effect under Bill 195 in accordance with its provisions. This post will no longer be updated. On March 17, 2020, the Ontario government…
Federal Post
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) is seeking feedback on specific questions related to the development of the Rules of Procedure under the federal Pay Equity Act (Act), which is expected to come into force sometime in 2020.
FTR Now
On March 23, 2020 Premier Doug Ford announced that effective 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24, all non-essential businesses will be ordered to close for 14 days, and possibly longer. This order is made further to the emergency declared on March 17, 2020 under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. Here is what employers need to consider now.
FTR Now
Ontario Declares Emergency in Light of COVID-19
· 7 min readOn March 17, 2020, the Ontario government declared an emergency in Ontario as a result of COVID-19. It ordered the immediate closure of a number of venues, as well as enhanced funding for the province’s response to COVID-19.
Human Resources Legislative Update
Health Care Reform Bill Passes
· 1 min readOn April 18, 2019, Bill 74, The People’s Health Care Act, 2019, passed as amended by the Standing Committee on Social Policy and received Royal Assent. Bill 74 provides for the creation of a central agency, Ontario Health, to oversee the health care system across the province, as well as the creation of integrated care…
FTR Now
Ontario Announces Significant Health Care Reform
· 9 min readOn February 26, 2019 the Ontario government tabled Bill 74, The People’s Health Care Act, which includes the introduction of the Connecting Care Act, 2019. If passed, the legislation will allow for the creation of a central agency, Ontario Health, to oversee the health care system across the province, as well as the creation of integrated care delivery systems. In this FTR Now we provide an overview of the proposed legislation, with an emphasis on the labour and employment implications for health service providers.
FTR Now
Ontario Tables Health Care Reform Legislation
· 1 min readOn February 26, 2019, the Ontario government tabled Bill 74, The People’s Health Care Act, 2019, which proposes significant changes to Ontario’s health care system.
Human Resources Legislative Update
On December 14, 2018, the Ontario government filed five regulations made under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) further to the repeal of certain provisions of Bill 148, Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 by Bill 47, Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018. These changes are in effect January 1, 2019. O. Reg. 498/18…
Human Resources Legislative Update
On November 12, 2018, Bill 47, the Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018, was carried on division at Second Reading and was referred to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. The Committee will be holding public hearings on the Bill in Toronto on Thursday, November 15, 2018. For those parties who wish…
Human Resources Legislative Update
On November 7, 2018, the government of Ontario posted proposed changes to regulations made under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) in support of the ESA amendments introduced by Bill 47, Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018. Proposed Changes to O. Reg. 502/06 (Terms and Conditions of Employment in Defined Industries – Automobile Manufacturing,…
Human Resources Legislative Update
Ontario Passes Pay Transparency Legislation
· 2 min readOn April 26, 2018, Bill 3, the Pay Transparency Act, 2018, passed Third Reading, as amended by the Standing Committee on Social Policy. As we previously reported, Bill 3 enacts new rules governing the disclosure of information about the compensation of employees and prospective employees. Among other things, it requires “employers” (as the term is…
Human Resources Legislative Update
Ontario Re-Introduces Pay Transparency Legislation
· 1 min readOn March 20, 2018, the Ontario government reintroduced its pay transparency legislation in the form of Bill 3, Pay Transparency Act, 2018. See our post of March 6, 2018, Ontario Introduces Pay Transparency Legislation, for more information about the Bill. The earlier iteration of this Bill had died on the order paper when the Legislature…
Human Resources Legislative Update
Ontario Introduces Pay Transparency Legislation
· 2 min readOn March 6, 2018, the Ontario government introduced Bill 203, Pay Transparency Act, 2018, which creates certain requirements for employers regarding compensation information and its disclosure to employees and potential employees. If passed, Bill 203 would, among other things: prohibit employers from seeking the compensation history regarding a potential employee, although that person may voluntarily…
FTR Now
At long last, Ontario is changing several rules governing collective bargaining in the fire sector. But will these changes go far enough to address and alleviate the frustrations municipalities face when they engage in interest arbitration? Find out in this FTR Now…
Reaching Out
Reaching Out – Tenth Edition
· 17 min readDear Friends, With winter winding down, although not yet completely over, it is time to provide the 2016 Winter Edition of Reaching Out. In it, we discuss legal developments since our last edition that you will want to know about. Carolyn Kay and Stephanie Jeronimo of our Toronto office have provided an update on the…
FTR Now
The Ontario Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) recently issued a long-awaited decision in Ontario Nurses’ Association v Participating Nursing Homes (“Nursing Homes“). At issue in this case was the Unions’ assertion that in order to maintain pay equity using the proxy method, employers were required to return to their proxy employer to obtain up-to-date…
Reaching Out
Reaching Out – Eighth Edition
· 21 min readDear Friends, Before everyone becomes distracted by the beautiful weather and blooming flowers, we wanted to provide you with our Spring Edition of Reaching Out. We hope that it will give you some valuable information that you can put to good use during the hazy days of summer. Leanne N. Fisher, an Associate in our…
FTR Now
Arbitrators Address Off-Duty Social Media Comments
· 9 min readTwo recent City of Toronto arbitrations have addressed the issue of discipline for off-duty social media comments. On November 12, 2014, Arbitrator Elaine Newman found that the social media comments of an off-duty Toronto firefighter, which disparaged women, the disabled and visible minorities (among others), constituted serious misconduct and damaged the reputation of the Toronto…
FTR Now
The Ministry of Labour and Ebola Preparedness
· 8 min readIn light of recent concerns regarding the outbreak of Ebola abroad, the Ontario Ministry of Labour (“MOL”) has been conducting a series of Ebola preparedness investigations targeting hospitals and paramedic services. In this FTR Now, we outline best practices for handling an investigation by the MOL and consider the right of employees – including health…
News
The Ontario Superior Court recently considered the deductibility of short term disability (“STD”) and long-term disability (“LTD”) benefits from a notice award. It concluded that STD benefits could be deducted because the benefits were provided as salary continuance, the plaintiff had not contributed directly to their cost and the cost was absorbed by the employer…
Case In Point
As demonstrated by the Ontario Superior Court’s recent decision in Diamantopoulos v. KPMG LLP (“KPMG“), the answer to this question is still “it depends.” In determining the issue, courts will look at a number of contextual factors to determine “the intention of the parties” when they entered the employment agreement. In KPMG, the plaintiff commenced a…
FTR Now
On May 22, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a significant employment law decision in McCormick v. Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP. In this case, the Court found that an equity partner of a law firm was not an employee for the purposes of the British Columbia Human Rights Code. However, the Court also stated…
News
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario recently provided helpful guidance for employers and educational institutions which are faced with potential unrest due to competing opinions or political views, the genesis of which might be one’s place of origin or ethnic origin. In the case at hand, which involved the removal by a university of controversial…
Case In Point
In its recent decision SAIA v. Carleton University, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“Tribunal”) found that the decision by Carleton University to remove certain posters from its campus was not discriminatory, nor was it driven by discriminatory animus against Palestinian students. The University had a policy that posters must be approved by the appropriate…
Case In Point
HRTO and Developments in the Law of Reconsideration
· 5 min readOrganizations which have experience litigating matters at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (the “Tribunal”) are likely aware that unsuccessful parties often utilize the Tribunal’s “reconsideration” process to attempt to overturn those decisions. While the Tribunal regularly issued reconsideration decisions, it was quite rare for it to grant a reconsideration request. However, recent decisions suggest…
Reaching Out
Reaching Out – First Edition
· 21 min readDear Friends, The Social Service Sector Practice Group is pleased to introduce its first FTR Now edition of Reaching Out. Reaching Out is our Social Service Update designed to provide you with legal updates on new and developing cases, trends and topics that are relevant to your sector and which provide you with information and…
Raising the Bar
Raising the Bar – Third Edition
· 14 min readDear Friends, We are pleased to provide you with the third issue of Raising the Bar, just in time for your dockside or patio summer reading. In this issue, we share with you some of the key cases from the Ontario courts in the past few months in the context of summary judgment motions. These…
School Board Update
On May 8, 2012, the Ontario Court of Appeal found that the “non-construction employer” declaration in section 127.2 of the Ontario Labour Relations Act, 1995 (“LRA“) is constitutional. The Court of Appeal upheld the Divisional Court’s February 2011 ruling, finding that section 127.2 does not contravene the freedom of association guarantee found in section 2(d)…
Raising the Bar
Raising the Bar – First Edition
· 12 min readOn behalf of the Litigation Practice Group at Hicks Morley, we are delighted to introduce the inaugural issue of Raising the Bar. Our goal is to provide you with timely information and analysis about the key litigation-related legal developments that will have an impact on employers. Our focus is squarely on giving you the practical…