2095 Results

Operation of Pension and Benefit Plans do not Discriminate on the Basis of Age: Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario

Recent decisions of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (the “Tribunal”) provide welcome guidance for employers who have been confronted with allegations that provisions of their pension and benefit plans discriminate on the basis of age under the Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”). In several decisions the Tribunal has held that some age-based distinctions…

October 1 Deadline to Display New Health and Safety Poster

Ontario employers must find room on their bulletin boards by October 1, 2012 to display a new Ministry of Labour poster entitled “Health and Safety at Work: Prevention Starts Here.” The poster was developed in response to a recommendation of the Expert Advisory Panel to review Ontario’s occupational health and safety system and summarizes key…

Ontario Releases Draft Compensation Restraint Legislation for Consultation

Earlier today, the Ontario Minister of Finance announced draft omnibus legislation, the Protecting Public Services Act, 2012 (the “Draft Bill”), that would implement new, substantially more restrictive compensation restraint measures, and impose a significant new provincially mandated collective bargaining regime, for the Broader Public Sector (“BPS”). Highlights of the Draft Bill include: Schedule 1 (enacting…

New PSFA Regulation Filed – Deductions From Wages

On September 21, 2012, the Ontario government filed a new regulation under the Putting Students First Act, 2012. O. Reg. 282/12 (Orders to Reimburse Boards – Deductions From Wages) applies with respect to the deduction, under subsection 9 (6) of the PSFA, from an employee’s wages for amounts the employee is required to reimburse to…

Discipline, Not Termination, More Appropriate in Case of Single Incident of Misconduct

In a case that has garnered much attention, Barton v. Rona Ontario Inc., the Ontario Superior Court has found that discipline of a managerial employee would have been a more effective sanction than termination where that employee, in a single incident of misconduct, breached the employer’s health and safety rules. At the time of the…

Leave to Appeal Sought in Freedom of Association Case

The Mounted Police Association is seeking leave to appeal from the decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Mounted Police Association of Ontario v. Canada (Attorney General), which found that a separate labour relations regime established for members of the RCMP did not violate the freedom of association guarantee in section 2(d) of the…

Federal Wage Restraint Legislation Does Not Infringe Section 2(d) of Charter

Underscoring once again that section 2(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“Charter”) only guarantees a meaningful process of collective bargaining and not a particular result, the Ontario Court of Appeal recently found that wage restraint legislation effectively prohibiting salary increases over a five-year period was not, in and of itself, unconstitutional. Association…