How will your business respond to Family Day?

by Brian P. Smeenk

A new statutory holiday, Family Day, has been declared in the province of Ontario. It will be celebrated on February 18. In subsequent years, it will fall on the third Monday of each February.

Employers should begin considering how their organization will respond. In particular, employers should begin reviewing existing employment contracts and collective agreements to determine whether they will treat Family Day as an additional holiday for employees.

Many employers already provide employees with more contractual public holiday rights and benefits than required by the minimum employment standards laws of Ontario – the Employment Standards Act (ESA). For example, a number of employment contracts and collective agreements provide “floater days” in addition to the original eight statutory holidays.

Employers should be aware that under the ESA, if the provisions of an employment contract or collective agreement provide a “greater right or benefit” than those provided by the ESA for the same subject matter, the contractual provisions apply and the ESA doesn’t apply. (more…)

Compassionate care benefits for Canadian employees

by Donovan Plomp

In Canada, employees are entitled to certain government-provided benefits under the federal Employment Insurance Act, including “compassionate care benefits.”

The introduction of these benefits in January 2004 prompted almost all provinces and territories to introduce job-protected compassionate care leave in their respective minimum employment standards laws.

Employers in Canada must grant this leave in accordance with applicable provincial or federal law. In this Q&A, we provide answers to some of the more commonly asked questions about compassionate care leave and benefits.

Q. What are “compassionate care benefits”?

A. Money paid under the Employment Insurance Act to qualifying employees. Employees may qualify if absent from work to provide care or support to a gravely ill family member who is at risk of dying within 26 weeks. Unemployed persons receiving other employment insurance benefits can also ask for these types of benefits.

Q. When are compassionate care benefits available? (more…)

Big Brother is here: Ontario’s integrated approach to enforcement

by Daniel M. Pugen

Ontario’s new Regulatory Modernization Act, 2007 may sound like a bland piece of regulatory updating, but it actually contains significant changes to regulatory enforcement processes, including those in the employment field.

Passed by the Ontario legislature on May 17, 2007, and going into effect on January 17, 2008, this law will have real consequences for companies operating in Ontario.

The new law significantly affects the scope of government workplace investigations. It also affects the penalties and sentences for noncompliant employers by broadening the powers of all of the Ontario government’s enforcement branches, including the Ministry of Labour.

Most importantly, the Act permits government departments, or “ministries,” to:

• Share information collected and observations and findings made in the course of their investigations;
• Consider an employer’s compliance record including previous convictions and penalties imposed under other legislation when determining appropriate sentences for legislative violations; and
• Make available to the public the information collected in the course of workplace investigations, including the employer’s compliance record. (more…)

Ruling helps Alberta employers defend preemployment testing challenges

by Michael Ford and Michelle Papero
A long-awaited ruling of the Alberta Court of Appeal clears up some questions related to preemployment drug and alcohol testing related to safety-sensitive positions.

The case – Chiasson v. Kellogg Brown & Root issued December 28, 2007 – involved an admitted casual user of marijuana being terminated from his employment after failing a preemployment drug and alcohol test.

Chiasson was hired by KBR on the condition that he pass a drug and alcohol test. After failing the test, he admitted smoking marijuana five days before he was tested. He was then fired.
(more…)

Terminating for cause? How to limit your liability in Canada

By Karen Sargeant and Brian P. Smeenk

You’ve likely been in this situation before: One of your employees has engaged in questionable conduct. You’re in the process of investigating and are considering whether you should terminate the employee for cause. How do you go about it under Canadian employment laws?

Be careful

Terminating an employee’s employment for cause can be difficult and stressful for all concerned. It also can lead to increased damages and costs if you don’t do it right. That’s because Canadian courts will not award damages in lieu of notice of termination or severance pay when you have just cause for termination, but courts will often award increased damages when you make an allegation of misconduct that you can’t ultimately prove in court.

Here are some tips to help limit your company’s liability, while also reducing your stress: (more…)

By Trevor Lawson and Donovan Plomp
Although large employment-related class-action lawsuits have become commonplace in the United States, until recently they were virtually unknown in Canada.

The relative peace enjoyed by Canadian employers on this front was shattered with a $651 million class-action lawsuit filed in June 2007 against the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), followed quickly by a $20 million class-action against international finance and accounting giant KPMG LLP. And in early December, a $350 million-dollar suit was filed against a second major Canadian bank, Scotiabank.

These lawsuits seek damages for unpaid overtime in relation to thousands of current and former employees. If successful, they‘re expected to serve as a springboard for similar class-action lawsuits targeting large employers in Canada. (more…)