Working Safely From Home

working from homeWhat are the employer’s obligations to an employee when an employee is not working in the office? With so many employees now working from home, employers’ health and safety obligations need to be reexamined. 

The Occupational Health and Safety Act and Working From Home

In Ontario, section 3(1) the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) states that it “does not apply to work performed by the owner or occupant or a servant of the owner or occupant to, in or about a private residence or the lands and appurtenances used in connection therewith.”

So, in regular people speak, this means that if your employee is working in their own home OHSA does not apply. 

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Religious Accommodation in the Workplace

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…

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Parental Obligations in the Workplace

For many of us who are parents, September feels like the real New Year.  Workplace issues can arise with respect to shifting childcare obligations, as kids transition from summer schedules to school schedules. Employers may be met with requests to accommodate worker childcare obligations or requests for time off and should be prepared with respect to how to handle these issues both practically and legally. I’ve blogged about family status accommodation in the past –…

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