01May 24
The Perils of Bias in Workplace GenAI
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…
Costs and Legal Tech
January 10, 2019
At SpringLaw we love legal tech and consequently, a few recent cost decisions have caught our eye. In both Cass v. 1410088 Ontario Inc. (“Cass”) and Drummond v. The Cadillac Fairview Corp. Ltd. (“Drummond”) justices of the Ontario Superior Court made comments about artificial intelligence and legal research.
The Cass case was a slip and fall in which the defendant prevailed. The plaintiff, who was liable for costs, argued that defendant counsel fees were excessive and unnecessary. One issue raised was a $900 fee for case precedents, which the plaintiff argued, are available for free through CanLII or publicly accessible websites. Justice Whitten, perhaps also a lover of legal tech, agreed. He stated in relation to both the excessive amount of time counsel had spent on legal research, as well as the fee that, “[i]f artificial intelligence sources were employed, no doubt counsel’s preparation time would have been significantly reduced.” The defendant’s claims for disbursements was ultimately reduced from $24,300.67 to $11,404.08.
Top 5 Employment Law Cases of 2018
January 2, 2019
2018 was a whirlwind of statutory changes in the employment law world, which has perhaps overshadowed the judicial developments that have taken place in courts. In today’s post, we turn to all things case law and give our picks for the top 5 employment law cases of 2018.
- Amberber v. IBM Canada Ltd., 2018 ONCA 571
This one is likely to make most employment lawyers top cases of 2018 lists. We all love a good termination clause case! The law on what makes a valid “without cause” termination clause seems to change like the weather, but Amberber gives us the latest. Bear with us, here is the clause in question:
ESA Holiday Musings
December 26, 2018
Happy Boxing Day everyone! Holidays and vacations are interesting topics for us employment lawyers. We have blogged about Public Holidays under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) and in the past. Check out our posts on this topic here.
For workplaces in Ontario, governed by provincial law, there are nine Public Holidays. These are:
- New Year’s Day
- Family Day
- Good Friday
- Victoria Day
- Canada Day
- Labour Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day
- Boxing Day
#Clawbies2018 Nominations
December 19, 2018
It’s Clawbies time! We nominate the following blogs for the 2018 Canadian Law Blog Awards. Click here for more details on #Clawbies2018 and click here for a great list of Canadian Law Blogs to add to your reading list. We blog weekly and get plenty of inspiration and wisdom from our fellow legal blogging community. There are many to choose from, but here are 3 of our favourites:
Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018
December 12, 2018
Another Ontario employment law legislative update! On December 6, 2018 the Ford government introduced Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018 (“The Bill”). This bill, if passed, will make even more amendments to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) and, of relevance to unionized workplaces, the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (“LRA”).
Bill 66 comes hot on the heels of Bill 47, which passed on November 21, 2018. You can read about Bill 47 and the big changes it brought on our blog here or ask us for a free copy of our e-book, which will give you a more in-depth look.
So what new changes will Bill 66 bring? Let’s take a look.
Cannabis at the office holiday party
December 12, 2018
The season of the office holiday party is upon us! In addition to merriment, this time of year can bring a lot of risk for employers. A new risk this year comes in the form of Prime Minister Trudeau’s legal recreational cannabis and Premier Ford’s relaxed consumption laws. In addition to monitoring intoxication levels from alcohol consumption, employers will now be tasked with monitoring for the added risk of impairment created by cannabis. Employees can now legally step out of the party to enjoy something a little stronger than a post-dinner cigarette!
Social host liability, always a hot blog topic this time of year, now has this added element. Employers, who can be held liable for accidents that happen as a result of overly intoxicated party goers, now need to educate themselves on how to monitor for cannabis impairment or combined alcohol/cannabis impairment.
If this sounds like enough to make you want to institute a dry brunch party, we don’t blame you. The fact is, however, that many employees look forward to the holiday party. It’s also a nice time to meet employees’ families and to say thank you for their hard work and their families support.
