Further Guidance on Policy Requirements – Revisiting the Working for Workers Act, 2021

On December 2, 2021, Bill 27, Working for Workers Act, 2021, became law in Ontario, introducing numerous legislative changes to the Employment Standards Act (“ESA”) rules governing workplace conduct. A key change made by this legislation was the requirement for certain workplaces to have a disconnecting from work policy in place for all employees.   […]

Secretly Recording Your Coworkers and/or Supervisors Constitutes Cause for Dismissal

In Shalagin v. Mercer Celgar Limited Partnership, 2022 BCSC11, the BC Court ruled that a surreptitious recording of an employee’s colleagues constituted just cause for dismissal based upon the breach of trust that is required in any employment relationship. The plaintiff commenced employment with Mercer as a financial analyst in 2010. He signed a Code […]

Union Refusal to Advance Mandatory Vaccination Policy Grievance Not in Breach of the Duty of Fair Representation

With mandatory vaccination policies (“MVPs”) turning the modern workplace into a contentious battleground, labour boards across Canada have had to grapple with the question of trade unions’ duty of fair representation (“DFR”) in challenging such policies. Two decisions have recently confirmed that where there is opposition to MVPs, a union is not required to file […]

Arbitrator Decides that Employer can Place Employee on Unpaid Leave of Absence for Failure to Provide Vaccination Status

The recent decision of Teamsters Local Union 847 v Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment 2022 CanLII 544, has provided guidance on the outcome of a failure of a unionized employee to provide information regarding their vaccination status in light of a vaccination policy being implemented. On September 2, 2021, the employer, Maple Leaf Sports and […]