In this latest edition of Common Ground? Class Action Updates, we discuss two recent decisions of interest to employers. The first is a certification order relating to a systemic claim of negligence within a workplace. The second considers a plausible methodology to measure compensable loss. Federal Court Certifies Class Action Brought by Current and Former…
Publication Type: Article
Update on the Incoming Paid Medical Leave Under the Canada Labour Code
Federally regulated employers should be aware that amendments to the medical leave provisions of the Canada Labour Code are set to come into force on or before December 1, 2022. As set out below, we have clarified with Employment and Social Development Canada that these provisions will apply to all federally regulated employers, not just…
Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario Determines It Has Concurrent Jurisdiction with Labour Arbitrators to Decide Human Rights Claims
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) has determined that it has concurrent jurisdiction to decide claims of discrimination and harassment falling within the scope of a collective agreement governed by the Labour Relations Act (LRA) and the Police Services Act (PSA). The decision addresses a significant question of law arising from the 2021 decision…
Employers Take Note: Employees Entitled to Paid Time Off to Vote in Upcoming Municipal Election
Ontario-wide municipal elections will be held on Monday, October 24, 2022, and voting hours will run from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Employers should be aware that under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 (Act), all employees who are eligible to vote in the election are entitled to three consecutive hours during voting hours on election day to cast their…
Recent Case of Note from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario
Welcome to our newest edition of the School Board Update. In this Update we review a recent decision from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) concerning allegations of discrimination with respect to educational services because of sex and gender identity contrary to the Ontario Human Rights Code (Code). We hope you find this summary…
Benefits After 65: Arbitrator Dismisses Grievance Challenging Age 65 LTD Cut-off but Awards Life Insurance Coverage Based on Collective Agreement
An Ontario labour arbitrator has upheld a grievance challenging the reduction of life insurance coverage for employees who die after having reached age 65, finding that the relevant provision of the insurance policy had not been incorporated into the collective agreement. In the same decision, the arbitrator dismissed two policy grievances challenging the termination of…
September 19, Day of Mourning: What Employers Should Know
On September 13, 2022, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that September 19, 2022, the date of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral, will be designated a National Day of Mourning and a designated holiday for the public service of Canada (i.e. employees of the Government of Canada’s departments, agencies and other public bodies). The day…
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….
Court Holds Employer Vicariously Liable for the Privacy Breaches of Former Employee in Class Action Lawsuit
The law of vicarious liability is important to employers because it sets a framework to establish when employers will be liable for the misconduct of their employees. The principle was recently applied in Ari v. Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, where the British Columbia Supreme Court (the Court) found that the Insurance Corporation of British…
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…