Practice Area: Labour Relations

Ontario Introduces Legislation to Reverse Key Bill 148 Employment and Labour Reforms

· 3 min read

On October 23, 2018, the Ontario government announced that it will be introducing proposed legislation today to repeal many of the significant employment and labour law reforms enacted by Bill 148 – including provisions with respect to equal pay, paid personal emergency (PEL) days, scheduling, card-based certification for certain industries and eliminating the requirement that employers provide unions with contact information for employees where they demonstrate that they have 20% support. Learn more in this FTR Now.

Cannabis in the Workplace: Workplace Policy [Video]

· 5 min read

In light of the upcoming legalization of recreational cannabis, it is critical that employers review all current policies to determine whether revisions are required. In this video, Jacqueline Luksha reviews key features of a Drug and Alcohol policy related to cannabis in the workplace. She also discusses the importance of training regarding cannabis use, and touches on policies dealing with accommodation requests.

Appellate Court Finds Employer a Derivative Federal Undertaking, Overturns OLRB Decision

· 3 min read

A recent decision of the Ontario Divisional Court, Ramkey v. Labourers International Union of North America et al, has provided employers performing work in support of federally regulated undertakings welcome clarity with respect to their status. The Court found that an employer (Ramkey) which provided construction technicians to work on telecommunications networks owned by telecommunications…

Setting up Shop in Canada? What U.S. Employers Need to Know About Canadian Labour Law – Part 2 [Video]

· 4 min read

In this series, David Bannon walks through some key differences in labo(u)r law that U.S. employers should know when buying, selling or operating a business in Canada. In this installment, David discusses employer’s ability to communicate with employees during organizing and bargaining, the lack of “Right to work” jurisdictions in Canada, the timing of legal strikes and constitutional protections for labour processes. In the previous installment, David discussed the governing regimes for labour relations, the timing of the union certification process and an employer’s duty to disclose certain information to a train union.

Setting up Shop in Canada? What U.S. Employers Need to Know About Canadian Labour Law – Part 1 [Video]

· 6 min read

In this series, David Bannon walks through some key differences in labo(u)r law that U.S. employers should know when buying, selling or operating a business in Canada. In this instalment, David discusses the governing regimes for labour relations in Canada, the timing of the union certification process and an employer’s duty to disclose certain information to a trade union.

Arbitrator Finds Nurse Not Entitled to Compensation for Time Spent Attending Re-Certification Testing

· 5 min read

A recent arbitral decision, South Bruce Grey Health Centre v. Ontario Nurses’ Association, clarifies the issue of compensation for re-certification under the centrally negotiated ONA Collective Agreement with the Participating Hospitals. The two grievances raised the issue of “whether a nurse is entitled to compensation for attending testing for the purposes of re-certification required by the Hospital”.

The First Bill 148 Cases: Overview of Key New ESA Decisions

· 10 min read

It has now been 7 months since Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017, was enacted and cases are beginning to emerge which interpret the new provisions of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). In this Minimum Standards Monitor, we review some decisions of particular interest to employers which involve the new personal emergency leave (PEL) requirements, the equal pay for equal work provisions and the new minimum wage entitlements.

A Changing Legislative Landscape

· 22 min read

Welcome to the latest issue of our Federal Post. In this issue we discuss: best practices for minimizing the risk of workplace sexual harassment, the new prohibition on use of vaping products in federally regulated workplaces, latest developments on the serious sanctions under the Canada Labour Code (Code) and the Criminal Code for health and safety violations, being proactive about Code compliance in light of the incoming power of the Minister of Labour to order an employer to perform an internal audit – see our Code “Compliance Checklist”