Happy Pride Month! What Employers Need to Know about Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at Work

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Work - what employers need to knowTo kick off the start of Pride Month in Ontario, we encourage you to make sure your workplace policies are up to date and address the important values of equity, diversity, and inclusion. While most employers know discrimination in the workplace on any protected ground within the Ontario Human Rights Code is a big no-no, equity, diversity, and inclusion may not always be top of mind in the day-to-day running of a business. Promoting these principles within your company creates a safe and welcoming workspace and promotes different perspectives, innovative ideas, and greater collaboration and is important for the retention of the talent you have.

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La fin des masques en milieu de travail

La fin des masques en milieu de travail au QuebecÀ compter du 14 mai, le port du masque n’est plus obligatoire dans les milieux de travail au Québec, à l’exception des transports et milieux de soins. 

Le gouvernement du Québec a publié le 11 mai, 2022, l’arrêté numéro 2022-032 du ministre de la Santé et des Services sociaux, qui précise certaines circonstances où les membres du public doivent continuer à porter un masque, notamment dans les transports et milieux de soins de santé.

Le télétravail et le mode de travail hybride se poursuivent selon les modalités prévues par l’employeur, si applicable.

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Free webinar: Barriers & Biases – Supporting Women Leaders

In this webinar, SpringLaw’s Lisa Stam and Danielle Murray will discuss how you can support women leaders in the workplace, common challenges women leaders face, and how employers can ensure equitable exits if needed.

Date: Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Time: 10:30-11:00 am EST
Register today: Click here!

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Before you take off your mask: masking still required in certain Ontario settings

Provincial masking requirements are being extendedOn April 22, 2022, the Ontario government announced that provincial masking requirements, which were set to expire on April 27, 2022, are being extended in certain higher-risk indoor settings until 12:00 a.m. on June 11, 2022. The extended measures have been made in an attempt to manage the sixth wave of COVID-19.

These higher-risk settings include:

  • public transit;
  • health care settings (e.g., hospitals, doctors’ offices, clinics that provide health care services, laboratories, specimen collection centres, and home and community care);
  • long-term care homes;
  • retirement homes; and
  • shelters and other congregate care settings that provide care and services to medically and socially vulnerable individuals.
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Working for Workers Act 2 Passes in the Ontario Legislature: What Employers Who Aren’t Uber Need to Know to Comply

In March, we blogged about Bill 88 or the Working for Workers Act (part 2) (the Act). You can read that post here. On April 11, 2022, the Act received Royal Assent, making it now law. Most significant to employers, who are not Uber etc., are the changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000  (ESA) and the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). The Act has attracted the most attention for the creation of the Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022, which will have big implications for digital platform workers and “employers” like Uber and Skip the Dishes, however, the Act impacts non-digital platform employers too. 

Here’s the rundown of what’s new in the ESA and the OHSA.

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No Award for Violence

Assault at the OscarsIf you missed the Oscars last night, you missed viewing a crime in real-time. The live and at-home viewing audience witnessed an assault. If you haven’t seen it, you can view the clip here.  Chris Rock told a joke about Jada Pinkett, and her husband, Will Smith, then walked onto the stage, hit Chris Rock across the face, and went on to retort with profanity on live television. What’s more shocking than the act itself, is that the Oscars live broadcast continued without acknowledgement of the incident and later gave Will Smith an award.

Let’s talk about the law of assault (at least the Canadian definition). Section 265 of the Criminal Code of Canada says a person commits assault when: without the consent of another person, they apply force intentionally to that other person, directly or indirectly. Simply put, it is an assault, if one is making, or attempting to make, contact with another person without their consent. This is sometimes referred to as a common assault or simple assault because it is not aggravated (serious injuries) or with a weapon. 

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