Frank Cesario Quoted in Law Times

Hicks Morley’s Frank Cesario was quoted in the January 21, 2013 edition of Law Times magazine in an article entitled “Cole prompts vigorous debate on privacy at work”. The Supreme Court of Canada’s recent decision in R v. Cole suggests that employees do retain some reasonable expectation of privacy in personal data stored on employer-owned…

Preparing for Canada’s New Anti-Spam Legislation

Canada’s new anti-spam legislation is coming soon. Commonly referred to as “CASL”, the new legislation will impose strict obligations that apply to a range of business emails and other electronic communications that you might not consider to be “spam”. All businesses, even those without formal email marketing programs, should assess their potential exposure to CASL…

Proposed Anti-spam Regulations Published

On January 5, 2013, Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations (“ECP Regulations”), proposed under Canada’s Anti-spam Legislation (“CASL”*), were published. As previously reported, the CASL enacts comprehensive anti-spam legislation relating to the sending of commercial electronic messages (“CEMs”). The CASL has not yet been proclaimed into force, with the exception of certain Personal Information Protection and Electronic…

Regulatory Proposal Issued Regarding School Bus Driver Requirements

On November 22, 2012, the Ontario government (Ministry of Education) issued a regulatory proposal regarding the requirement that school bus drivers have a clear criminal record check report in order to qualify for and hold the requisite driver’s licence. That requirement is currently found in a regulation under the Highway Traffic Act. Under this proposal,…

Supreme Court of Canada Discusses the Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Workplace Computer

The Supreme Court of Canada has issued a significant decision regarding workplace privacy. In R. v. Cole, it unanimously held that employees have a diminished, but reasonable, expectation of privacy in personal information stored on an employer-issued computer. Employers may continue to access information stored on their work systems for their legitimate purposes, though they…

Hicks Morley Introduces Case Law Blog

Hicks Morley is pleased to announce the launch of Case In Point, a blog designed to provide human resources professionals with timely information about interesting case law developments in a range of employment-related areas. In this FTR Now, we highlight the features of this new service. BACKGROUND In 2010, Hicks Morley launched Human Resources Legislative…

Daniel Fogel Quoted in Benefits and Pensions Monitor

Hicks Morley’s Daniel Fogel was quoted in the March 8, 2012 edition of Benefits and Pensions Monitor . In an article entitled “Privacy Rights Increasingly Recognized,” Daniel comments on the increasing recognition of individual privacy rights when it comes to access to employee medical information for employers trying to manage illness in the workplace. View…

Ten Questions and Answers about Computer Use Policies

It’s January 2012. Last year the Court of Appeal for Ontario recognized that an employee had a reasonable expectation of privacy that arose out of his personal use of a work computer. As discussed in a companion FTR Now called How the New Privacy Tort Will Affect Employers, this month the Court of Appeal recognized…

How the New Privacy Tort Will Affect Employers

On January 18th, 2012, the Court of Appeal for Ontario in Jones v. Tsige recognized a new “intrusion upon seclusion” civil cause of action. In this FTR Now, we describe the new cause of action (or “tort”) and identify its significance to employers. THE INTRUSION UPON SECLUSION TORT Under Ontario law it is now clear…