Recent Suspension of Hearings, Limitation Periods and Procedural Time Periods

On March 20, 2020, the Ontario government made an order under section 7.1 of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act to suspend limitation periods and procedural time periods. The suspension is retroactive to March 16, 2020.  

The suspension is a response to the recent declaration of emergency in Ontario due to the Covid-19 outbreak, which caused the courts and administrative tribunals to close their doors. All hearings will be rescheduled and timelines for all types of proceedings are suspended for the duration of the emergency, subject to the discretion of the court, tribunal or other decision-makers responsible for the proceeding. 

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When Your Employee Ghosts: Abandoning Employment

Sometimes employees just kind of stop coming to work, leaving employers scratching their heads and wondering where they stand and what to do.

Absence Due to Illness

In many cases when an employee stops coming to work they will tie their absence to illness. Ever get this text? “hey can’t come in today, am sick.” Often an employee will call or text or email in sick for the first few days and then stop communicating. 

The connection to illness complicates the matter for employers, who have a duty under the Ontario Human Rights Code (“the Code”) to accommodate employees with disabilities up to the point of undue hardship.

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Formal Equality vs. Substantive Equality: When Equality Doesn’t Mean Equal Treatment

Happy Black History Month Canada! Black History month has us thinking about equality and what workplaces can do to increase their equality and diversity. We all know by now that diversity is good for business.

The Canadian law, through various devices and broadly speaking, attempts to promote equality and inclusion. A question that often comes up when employers are thinking about increasing diversity in their workplaces is if favouring minorities when hiring is really treating everyone equally. Doesn’t equality mean we treat everyone, black, white and purple the same? Actually, no! Read on. 

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Public Health Emergencies and the Workplace

The Wuhan Novel Coronavirus (or 2019-vCoV) is a public health emergency in Canada with confirmed cases in Ontario. This has led many employers to ask how they should manage their employees’ concerns, while still trying to operate “business as usual”.  On the one hand, employers are obligated to provide a healthy and safe work environment, while on the other, they must respect an employee’s privacy and ensure that their responses to any health or safety concerns do not violate human rights legislation.

Stay Well Informed

Because an employer’s legal obligations continue during a public health emergency, clear and accurate information and communication are vital. Employers should remain informed of the latest public health information and communicate essential information and specific expectations to their employees. For example, relaying the importance of handwashing and hand sanitizing, while maintaining well-stocked supplies for doing so. 

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How to go to the bathroom at work

Bathroom breaks come up frequently in news stories about workers’ rights. The City of Hamilton just narrowly avoided a transit strike where bathroom breaks were a major issue. A City of Ottawa transit worker, calling himself a “whistle-blower” also recently spoke about lack of “recovery time” for drivers – aka not enough time to go to the bathroom between bus runs. Ottawa City Transit workers currently have three minutes per hour for “recovery” although drivers say that the routes are so tightly timed that they rarely are able to take those three minutes. In addition to transit jobs, lack of time for bathroom breaks is also something we see come up for workers on continuous production lines or warehouse workers. So what’s the law on time to go to the bathroom?

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Know Your Legal Obligations for Co-Op Students

Cooperative education programs have become a crucial part of the educational experience as students and institutions recognize that on the job training enhances the overall educational experience. A good co-op can ground a student’s in-class learning by introducing them to practical “real world” problems. If the placement goes well, students may be offered a job with the company or provided a positive reference in their industry! It is no wonder that students flock to this option when it is available.  

What Does an Employer Get Out of It?

Employers stand to benefit the most from co-op placements because they acquire a cost-effective human resource that can support their team during peak periods and offer a fresh perspective. Employers can also claim the Ontario Co-operative Education Tax Credit, which offers the employer a credit of up to $3,000 per student, per work term (on average, work terms are 4 months long). Eligible employers can file a Schedule 550 with their tax return in order to receive the credit.

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