1136 Results

The Truth Hurts: Employer Not Liable In Defamation For Bad Reference Because It Was True

The Ontario Superior Court has affirmed that employers are not liable for defamation when they provide candid and truthful references about former employees. In Papp v Stokes et al, 2017 ONSC 2357, the plaintiff, Adam Papp, worked as an economist for Stokes Economic Consulting for 2.5 years when his employment was terminated without cause in…

Ontario Announces Additional Funding to Reduce Class Sizes and to Support Students at Risk

The Ontario government has announced that nine central agreements have been reached between trustees’ associations and education workers’ unions and teachers’ federations. These agreements will be in force from September 1, 2017 to August 31, 2019. The government has also announced additional funding for the following: to hire approximately 875 teachers and 1600 education workers…

Fixed-Term Contract Termination Provision Violates ESA, Says Appeal Court

The Ontario Court of Appeal has again weighed in on the issue of termination provisions in employment contracts. By way of background, we recently reported on the February 2017 decision of the Court of Appeal in Wood v Fred Deeley Imports Ltd. In that case, the Court reversed a motion judge’s conclusion that a termination…

Guelph and District HRPA Employee Relations Peer Networking Meeting

Topic Attendance Management Programs and Avoiding Legal Pitfalls The one hour session will review the issues related to developing and implementing an Attendance Management Program.  This often raises problems with union grievances, or human rights complaints, therefore a good understanding of the human rights code and accommodation principles, as well as some WSIB and ESA…

New Private Member Bill Proposes “Card Check” Unionization, First Contract Arbitration Model for Ontario

On April 4, 2017, the New Democratic Party (NDP) of Ontario introduced private member legislation that would amend the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act) to bring “card check” union certification back to Ontario for the first time since 1995, and to implement a new first contract arbitration process. It is important to note that private…

Guidance for Organizations Sharing Information for Investigation/Fraud Purposes Issued by OPC

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) recently provided guidance on the new provisions of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) that allow organizations to share information for investigation and fraud prevention purposes. The amendments, in force since 2015, give organizations significant flexibility to address cyber-crime and fraud by allowing…

Bill 92, School Boards Collective Bargaining Amendment Act, 2017, Receives Royal Assent

On March 27, 2017, Bill 92, School Boards Collective Bargaining Amendment Act, 2017, received Royal Assent. The Bill amends the School Boards Collective Bargaining Act, 2014 and reforms the collective bargaining framework in the education sector. Amendments include, among other things, making central bargaining a mandatory component of collective bargaining and permitting an employer bargaining…