Practice Area: Labour Relations

Arbitrator Upholds College’s Requirement that Employee be in Receipt of Employment Insurance Benefits to Receive SUB Payments

· 6 min read

In Re Niagara College v. Ontario Public Service Employees Union, Arbitrator Schmidt held that revisions to pregnancy and parental leave provisions in the 2017 – 2021 academic collective agreement did not extend entitlement to Supplementary Unemployment Benefits (SUB) where an employee’s entitlement to employment insurance (EI) benefits had been exhausted. In the 2017 negotiations, the…

Ontario Moves to Step 3 of Reopening Plan

· 8 min read

Effective July 16, 2021, all public health units in Ontario will be permitted to move to Step 3 of the province’s Roadmap to Reopen. This move comes ahead of schedule and is the result of improvements to key health indicators including decreasing COVID-19 case rates and high rates of vaccination. Once this occurs, all public…

Important Updates Regarding the Federal Pay Equity Act, the Canada Labour Code and CLC Regulations

· 8 min read

In this Federal Post, we cover recent developments with respect to the federal Pay Equity Act, amendments to the Canada Labour Code (CLC) and highlight the proposed amendments to the CLC Regulations that are currently open for public consultation. Federal Pay Equity Act In Force on August 31, 2021 By: Lucy Wu The federal Pay…

Arbitrator Upholds Employers’ Mandatory COVID-19 Testing Program

· 5 min read

In Ellisdon Construction Ltd. v Labourers’ International Union of North America, Local 183, Arbitrator Kitchen recently upheld the Abbott Panbio Rapid COVID-19 Antigen Screening Program implemented by EllisDon, a construction and building services company, at many of its worksites. Arbitrator Kitchen stated that “[w]hen one weighs the intrusiveness of the rapid test against the objective…

Ontario Moves to Step 2 of Reopening Plan

· 6 min read

Effective June 30, 2021, all public health units in Ontario will be permitted to move to Step 2 of the province’s Roadmap to Reopen. Once this occurs, all public health units in the province will be subject to the conditions established by O. Reg. 263/20, Rules for Areas in Step 2, as amended by O….

Federal Government Designates September 30 as Public Holiday for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

· 2 min read

On June 3, 2021, Bill C-5, An Act to amend the Bills of Exchange Act, the Interpretation Act and the Canada Labour Code (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation), received Royal Assent. It officially designates September 30 of each year as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This marks a new public holiday under the Canada Labour Code (Code).

Ontario’s Declared Emergency and Stay-at-Home Order End on June 2, 2021

· 1 min read

The declared emergency and the Stay-at-Home Order, both made under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) on April 7, 2021, terminate today, June 2, 2021. Note that a Declared Emergency Leave (DEL) taken under the Employment Standards Act, 2000, generally ends on the date the declared emergency terminates, subject to exceptions. By motion…

Details about WSIB Reimbursement Process for Paid IDEL Now Available

· 2 min read

On April 29, 2021, the Ontario government amended the Employment Standards Act, 2000 to provide paid infectious disease emergency leave (IDEL) for certain absences related to COVID-19. Employers who provide paid IDEL to eligible employees are entitled to reimbursement through the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), up to $200 per employee per day taken….

Clarification: Interaction between Paid IDEL and Contractual Paid Leave

· 2 min read

On May 3, 2021, we published an FTR Now providing an overview of the new paid infectious disease emergency leave (Paid IDEL) created by Bill 284, the COVID-19 Putting Workers First Act, 2021. In our publication, we addressed the interaction between the new Paid IDEL and contractual paid leave, and how the contractual entitlement would…