Publication Type: Article

Arbitrator has no Jurisdiction Under OECTA MOU in Absence of Renewal Collective Agreement

· 4 min read

On November 23, 2012, Arbitrator Kevin Burkett issued a significant award in which he found he had no jurisdiction to determine a grievance under the Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) entered into by the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (“OECTA”) and the Ministry of Education in July 2012. The grievance was brought by OECTA against the…

Enjoying a Safe Holiday Office Party

· 4 min read

Once again, the holiday season is upon us and it is that time of year when employers begin to plan for seasonal and holiday celebrations. Whether these celebrations are large or small, it is important that employers take proactive steps to ensure the health and safety of their employees who attend office parties or other…

HRTO finds applicant breached confidentiality provision of settlement

· 1 min read

The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario recently found that an applicant breached the confidentiality provisions of her human rights settlement when she posted information about the settlement on Facebook. When the respondent learned of the breach, it refused to pay the monies owing under the settlement, and the applicant brought an application before the Tribunal…

Check your email recipient list before you press “send”

· 1 min read

Employers must take care not to press the “send” button too soon as inadvertently copying an incorrect person on an email communication can have unintended results. In Fernandes v. Marketforce Communications, an employer emailed information to its lawyer setting out concerns regarding the continued employment of an employee. By mistake, that employee was copied on…

Pension Solvency Funding Relief Is Here…Again

· 7 min read

INTRODUCTION On November 1, 2012, important amendments were made to the Pension Benefits Act Regulation 909 (the “Regulation”). The amendments extend the temporary solvency relief measures for eligible defined benefit pension plans and make housekeeping changes to the sections requiring defined benefit pension plans to file annual, rather than triennial, actuarial valuations. This FTR Now…

Pinto Report on Ontario Human Rights Review Released

· 6 min read

On November 8, 2012, the Ontario government released the long-awaited “Report of the Ontario Human Rights Review 2012” (the “Report”), which reviews the changes made to the Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”) in 2008. Andrew Pinto, author of the Report, sets out several recommendations with respect to streamlining the existing system. This FTR Now…

Ontario Court of Appeal Decision Rewrites the Pension Pre-Retirement Death Benefit Regime

· 7 min read

On October 31, 2012, a majority of the Ontario Court of Appeal awarded the pre-retirement death benefit payable under an Ontario registered pension plan to a member’s designated beneficiaries rather than to his common law spouse. The majority’s decision in Carrigan v. Carrigan Estate (“Carrigan”) is a departure from the pension industry’s widely held interpretation…

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

· 6 min read

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…