On November 30, 2020, Bill 214, Time Amendment Act, 2020, a Private Member’s Bill, received Royal Assent. It has not yet been proclaimed into force. If proclaimed into force, the Bill would amend the Time Act to make the time now called “daylight savings time” the “standard time” year round. In addition, the Bill would…
Practice Area: Employment Law
NFP: Emerging Legal Issues and Considerations in the Workplace
On November 25, 2020, Stephen Goodwin and Evon Gayle will be discussing emerging legal issues across Canada since the start of COVID-19 as businesses return to the workplace. This is the final session of a three-part fall series hosted by NFP on key topics in the group benefits sector. Agenda: Topics: Emerging Canadian Legal Issues…
Southwest Central Human Resources Group: COVID and Labour Laws
On November 5, 2020, Evon Gayle presented the topic of “COVID and Labour Laws” at the Southwest Central Human Resources Group Virtual Webinar. Agenda: Topics: Employment contracts & termination clauses Return to work during COVID Family status & accommodations Resignations & retirements ESA for hours worked during staff shortages
Kingston and the 1000 Islands Legal Conference 2020
On September 25, 2020, Andrew McCreary co-presented the topic of “Employment Litigation Arising from COVID-19” at the Kingston and the 1000 Islands Legal Conference 2020. The agenda for the conference can be found here.
Lexpert® Names Kathryn Bird one of its “Rising Stars” of 2020
Hicks Morley is pleased to announce that Kathryn Bird has been named one of Lexpert’s 2020 Rising Stars: Leading Lawyers Under 40.
Kathryn is a partner in Hicks Morley’s Toronto office and a member of the firm’s Human Rights practice group. Repeatedly recognized as one of Ontario’s leading lawyers on human rights, Kathryn was counsel on several precedent-setting human rights law decisions, including the leading decision on family status accommodation in Ontario.
Adjusting to Ontario’s New Colour-Coded COVID-19 Zones
The Ontario government has enacted new regulations that amend the Rules for Areas in Stage 2 and 3. The regulations aim to implement the recently announced reopening framework. The regulations:
Inclusion at Work: Building Responsive Workplaces for Existing and New Challenges
On November 24, 2020, Kathryn Bird will be co-presenting at the Skills for Change event “Inclusion at Work: Building Responsive Workplaces for Existing and New Challenge”. Join the 11th annual Diversity@Work conference where Kathryn will be discussing the topic of “Discrimination in the Workplace – What Are Individual Rights?. Moving from inclusion policies to practice is…
Ontario Releases New Framework for COVID-19 Public Health Restrictions
On November 3, 2020, the Ontario government released its COVID-19 Response Framework: Keeping Ontario Safe and Open (Framework) which the government states “will serve as an early warning system allowing [it] to scale up and scale back public health restrictions on a regional or community basis in response to surges and waves of COVID-19.” The Framework will apply to businesses and organizations that operate within the applicable public health units, and it also contains sector-specific health and safety measures.
Introduction to the Duty to Accommodate Training Workshop
There’s no such thing as “textbook” accommodation. Whether your employee has a challenging physical or mental disability that impacts their ability to do the job, childcare problems that interfere with their performance, faith-related obligations or is in the process of transitioning, how you respond to that individual’s request – or don’t – can mean significant liability for your organization. Are you prepared?
Supreme Court Finds Inability of Pension Plan Members to “Buy Back” Full Pension Credit for Job-Sharing Service to be Unconstitutional
On October 16, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Fraser v. Canada (Attorney General). Justice Abella, writing for the majority, held that the inability of members who participated in a job-sharing program to “buy back” pension credits under the employer’s pension plan amounted to discrimination on the basis of sex, contrary to s. 15(1) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In separate dissenting reasons, Justices Brown and Rowe on the one hand and Justice Côté on the other held that the appeal ought to have been dismissed, although for different reasons.