523 Results

Court of Appeal Denies Injunction Relating to Mandatory Vaccination Policy

The Ontario Court of Appeal recently released its reasons in National Organized Workers Union v. Sinai Health System. The Court dismissed the appeal brought by the National Organized Workers Union (Union) of an Ontario Superior Court decision which refused to stay the implementation of the workplace COVID-19 vaccination policy (Policy) of Sinai Health System (Sinai…

Consultation on Licensing Framework for Temporary Help Agencies and Recruiters

The Ontario government has taken the next step in the development of a licensing framework for temporary help agencies (THAs) and recruiters operating in the province. On November 21, 2022, Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (Ministry) announced a public consultation process with respect to the development of supporting regulations for the…

Ontario Divisional Court Finds Group Living Home Did Not Discriminate Against Disabled Resident by Enforcing a No Visitor Policy During the COVID-19 Outbreak

On September 22, 2022, the Ontario Divisional Court (Court) released Empower Simcoe v. JL, in which the Court set aside decisions of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal). The Court held that Empower Simcoe’s COVID-19 visitor policy (Policy), which temporarily limited visits to essential personnel and was later updated to allow outdoor family visits…

Ontario Makes Changes to COVID-19 Requirements in Long-Term Care Homes

Effective October 14, 2022, Ontario has made a number of changes to COVID-19 requirements in long-term care homes (LTC Homes), as set out in the document titled “COVID-19 guidance document for long-term care homes in Ontario.” Active screening for COVID-19 is no longer required when visitors and caregivers are entering a facility (although it remains…

Employers Take Note: New Obligations under Temporary Foreign Workers Program Now in Effect

Amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations made under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act which came into effect on September 26, 2022 place new obligations on employers who employ temporary foreign workers (TFWs). Significantly, these obligations include the requirement for an employer to commit to having an employment agreement in place with the…

Arbitrator Finds Three-Dose Mandatory Vaccination Requirement Reasonable in Long-Term Care Homes

In Regional Municipality of York v Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 905 (Long Term Care Unit), Arbitrator Stephen Raymond found that a mandatory vaccination policy (Policy) which required long-term care home employees to receive three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine was reasonable. The employer, the Regional Municipality of York, operates two long-term care homes….

Arbitrator Upholds Mandatory Vaccination Policy but Finds Enforcement Mechanisms (Suspension and Termination) Unreasonable

On August 26, 2022, Arbitrator Derek Rogers released Toronto Professional Fire Fighters’ Association, I.A.A.F. Local 3888 and City of Toronto in which he considered the reasonableness of the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy (Policy) of the City of Toronto (City). The Arbitrator found that the Policy itself was, and remains, reasonable. However, he found that the…

Arbitrator Finds University’s Vaccination Policy to be Reasonable

On July 22, 2022, Arbitrator Wright released a preliminary award, Wilfrid Laurier University v United Food and Commercial Workers Union, in which he found that the University’s mandatory vaccination policy (Policy) was reasonable. In so finding, he cited the fact that the University implemented the Policy in accordance with the instructions and advice issued by…

Ministry Updates ESA Guide on Electronic Monitoring Policies

On July 13, 2022, the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (Ministry) updated its online guide to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (Guide) to include a chapter on written policy on electronic monitoring of employees. The chapter provides guidance on recent Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) amendments that require employers with 25 or…