Merry Christmas! Wait. What? Can we still say that in public? Why yes, we can, but not at the cost of excluding all other religions in the workplace. For those that do not celebrate Christian holidays (and/or secular commercial holidays derived from Christian traditions), focusing only on Christian traditions can feel like exclusion. It’s hard to feel like you belong if you don’t share similar traditions. Taken too far, and the exclusion can evolve into…
A few weeks ago a new judge was put forward as the recommended candidate to replace our current Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, who will be retiring this month. The candidate, Alberta Court of Appeal Justice Sheilah Martin, would fill a seat that some had expected to go to an Indigenous judge, or a judge from British Columbia. However, the appointment would maintain the current gender balance on the court. Chief Justice…
The Liberal government has introduced changes to the federal parental leave benefits program. Details of the changes were announced early November and are set to come into force on December 3, 2017. This change is separate from the various Bill 148 changes coming down the pipe. What’s New? These are not additional monetary benefits, but rather, once the changes come into effect, eligible parents will be able to spread their 12 months of EI parental…
Brace yourself, Ontario. Today Bill 148 passed Third Reading and the Ontario Legislature passed the bill into law. Most of the changes will come into force on January 1, 2018, while a small handful of the amended ESA sections may possibly come into force as early as December 3, 2017 (leave of absence related provisions). Provisions related to equal pay come into force on April 1, 2018. As an aside, it also appears that the high heels OHSA amendment I blogged about this…
Not for much longer… Last month, Ontario Liberal MPP Cristina Martins’ bill to ban mandatory high heels in the workplace sped through the legislature. The bill, titled the Putting Your Best Foot Forward Act, 2017 passed first reading on October 17, 2017, second reading on October 19, 2017, and has been referred to the standing committee. I was recently interviewed for CBC Radio regarding the proposed bill of banning high heels in the workplace. Proposed…
Bonus entitlement is always a juicy topic. In September the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released a decision that shed some light on the issue of how entitlement to a bonus will be treated where an employer has no formal bonus policy, but a consistent past practice. In Fulmer v. Nordstrong Equipment Limited, a wrongful dismissal case, the former employee (“Fulmer”) had received a discretionary bonus in each of his six years with the employer.…
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In the rapidly evolving landscape of tech, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is becoming a central player, especially in sectors like customer service, content creation, and…
In the world of employment law, terminations tend to steal the spotlight. But what about when the employee is the one ending the employment relationship?…
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