Union Need Not be Involved in Every Accommodation Request, Appeal Court Rules (and the Supreme Court Agrees)

Earlier this year, the British Columbia Court of Appeal issued a helpful decision for employers dealing with accommodation issues in a unionized context. On September 7, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada denied the union’s request for leave to appeal from the B.C. Court of Appeal decision. The B.C. Court of Appeal decision considered the…

New Private Member Bill Proposes “Card Check” Unionization, First Contract Arbitration Model for Ontario

On April 4, 2017, the New Democratic Party (NDP) of Ontario introduced private member legislation that would amend the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act) to bring “card check” union certification back to Ontario for the first time since 1995, and to implement a new first contract arbitration process. It is important to note that private…

Leaves of Absence, Procedural Matters and More

In this latest edition of our School Board Update, we are bringing you summaries of three recent cases which will be of interest. They deal with abuse of process at arbitration, entitlement of part-time and custodial employees to miscellaneous leaves, and the balancing of religious freedom with other statutory requirements…

Ontario Proposes Key Reforms to the Framework for Collective Bargaining in the Education Sector

Significant proposed reforms to the existing framework for collective bargaining in the education sector may change the way school boards and unions negotiate agreements – and could impact the outcomes achieved at the table. Find out what may be in store…

HR Employment and Labour Law Conference

Topic Negotiations and communicating to employees Collective bargaining is seen as the most important labour relations initiative a unionized employer undertakes. It is a major event that will directly and indirectly impact the success of a business. Agenda

Simon Mortimer Quoted in Canadian Labour Reporter

Hicks Morley’s Simon Mortimer was quoted in the September 3, 2013 edition of Canadian Labour Reporter in an article entitled, “New super-union Unifor targets unlikely membership.” The article discussed Unifor, the nation’s largest private sector union, formed from the merger of the Canadian Auto Workers union and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union. The article…