Canadian human rights tribunals have, of late, been rendering decisions which examine the reach of “family status” as a prohibited ground of discrimination. Recently, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) examined a case that involved eldercare responsibilities the applicant had for his mother-in-law. It found that the eligibility rules of the employer’s Relocation Directive…
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.
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News
As we previously reported, an Alberta company was found liable by the Alberta Court of Appeal for failing to ensure the safety of its employees in the operation of a faulty calf-roping machine, rented from a third party for use at a client event. One of the employees was fatally struck by that malfunctioning machine….
News
In the last several years, there have been some significant punitive damages awards in employment cases, where the court found that an employer acted in a “callous” or “hardball” manner upon termination. This recently happened in Pate Estate v. Galway-Cavendish and Harvey (Township). A trial judge had awarded $550,000 against a Township which had acted…
News
A recent decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal, Lacey v. Weyerhaeuser, considered an employer’s right to unilaterally change post-retirement benefits. Although the retiree benefits at issue in this case had been voluntarily instituted, it was found that the employer had represented that the retiree benefits would be maintained on and after retirement, and…
News
The Supreme Court of Canada recently heard an appeal that involves the intersection of privacy rights with a union’s duty of representation to its membership. At issue was the request of the appellant that her employer not disclose her personal information to her union, to which she was obligated to pay dues but declined to…
News
The Court of Appeal for Ontario has affirmed that if restrictive covenants are to be enforceable, they must be properly drafted. In Eagle Professional Resources Inc. v. MacMullin, the Court upheld the finding of a motion judge that “non-competition” clauses in the employment contracts of employees who left the plaintiff’s employ and joined a competitor…
News
In a case that will be eagerly anticipated by the labour relations community, the Supreme Court of Canada has granted leave to appeal from a decision of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal which found that the “right to strike” is not constitutionally protected. Courts have been grappling with the extent of the constitutional protection for…
News
In a recent decision of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Chevalier v. Active Tire & Auto Centre Inc., the Court upheld a trial judge’s finding that an employee who refused an offer of re-employment with his former employer was not entitled to damages: there was no evidence that had he returned to that workplace,…
News
In Dziecielski v. Lighting Dimensions, the Court of Appeal for Ontario recently upheld an employer’s decision to terminate a long-service employee with an otherwise clean disciplinary record for driving a company vehicle while intoxicated. While driving, the employee had been involved in a car accident and was criminally charged. The lower court had examined the…
News
Section 46.1 Code Damages Awarded by Court
· 1 min readThe Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently awarded damages under section 46.1 of the Ontario Human Rights Code, a section added to the Code in 2008 to permit courts to award damages for violations of the Code. Wilson v. Solis Mexican Foods appears to be the first decision in which such damages have been ordered…