PRIVACY POLICY
Bird Richard recognizes the importance of privacy and the sensitivity of personal information it collects about its employees and clients. READ MORE >>>
BIRD RICHARD
508-130 Albert St,
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5G4
T: 613-238-3772
F: 613-238-5955
DISCLAIMER
Before you send an e-mail to Bird Richard, please be aware that your communications with us through this message will not create a lawyer-client relationship with us. Do not send us any information that you or anyone else considers to be confidential or secret unless we have first agreed to be your lawyers in that matter. Any information you send us before we agree to be your lawyers cannot be protected from disclosure.
Ontario Government to Extend Wage Freeze to Unionized Public Sector Employees
/in Fall 2010 /by BirdRichardUnionized public service employees are being asked by the Ontario government to accept a wage freeze. On March 25th, 2010, the Ontario government tabled Bill 16, which included the Creating the Foundation for Jobs and Growth Act, 2010. This Act enforces a two-year freeze on compensation structures and affects MPPs and over 350,000 non-unionized public […]
Arbitrator Denies Severance to Employees on Strike at the Time Their Employer Went Out of Business
/in Fall 2010 /by BirdRichardIn a recent decision out of Saskatchewan, an arbitrator denied severance pay to employees who were on strike at the time their employer went out of business. The employer ran a specialized printing company that printed tickets for professional sports teams, airline tickets and boarding passes, transit tickets and passes for the Toronto Transit Authority, […]
Appropriate Monitoring of Employee E-mail Accounts
/in Fall 2010 /by BirdRichardWith the use of e-mail, instant messaging and social networking becoming increasingly popular, many employers are beginning to question how they can appropriately supervise employee’s use of technology in the workplace. The Assistant Privacy Commissioner addressed the complaint of an employee pursuant to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, which alleged that his […]
Ontario Bill 68: The Open for Business Act, 2010
/in Fall 2010 /by BirdRichardOntario Bill 68, The Open for Business Act, 2010, was tabled on May 17th, 2010. The Act proposes 100 amendments to various acts. In particular, the Government of Ontario seeks to modernize the employment standards regime as follows: elimination of a backlog of employment standards claims within two years (by launching a Task Force in […]
Attendance Management and Innocent Absenteeism:
/in Winter 2010 /by BirdRichardStephen Bird of Bird Richard will discuss the mechanisms of applying an attendance management program and the complexities of dealing with absences related to disabilities. He will review recent developments and jurisprudence from the Supreme Court of Canada, and how this has changed the landscape for employers in successfully dealing with employees who have excessive […]
What’s New at Bird Richard
/in Winter 2010 /by BirdRichardWe are pleased to announce that Caroline Richard was admitted to the Bar of Nunavut on December 9, 2009.
Legislative Update: Bill 168 Passed
/in Winter 2010 /by BirdRichardIn the Summer issue, we reported on proposed changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act that would create onerous obligations for employers relating to the prevention of workplace violence. Bill 168, which was introduced in April 2009, was carried on division after its third reading on December 9th, 2009. It will come into force […]
Legislative Update
/in Winter 2010 /by BirdRichardIn the Spring 2009 issue, we reported on changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 that provides increased protection for temporary workers. Bill 139 came into force on November 6th, 2009.
Preparing Your Workplace for Ontario’s Cell Phone Ban
/in Winter 2010 /by BirdRichardAmendments to the Highway Traffic Act (“the Act”) that ban the use of cellular phones and other electronic devices while operating a motor vehicle came into effect on October 26th, 2009. Below is a summary of the amendments, and methods by which employers can prepare their workplaces for compliance with the new legislation. The Ban […]
Child Pornography Reporting Soon to be Mandatory for Employers
/in Winter 2010 /by BirdRichardBill 37, the Child Pornography Reporting Act, 2008, received Royal Assent on December 10th, 2008. The Bill places potentially onerous reporting obligations on employers. The new legislation will add a definition of “child pornography” to Ontario’s Child and Family Service Act (“the Act”). The definition is parallel (though not identical) to the definition found in […]