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.
Legislative Update
/in Fall 2009 /by BirdRichardIn the Spring issue, we reported on changes to the Employment Standards Act affecting organ donor leave. Bill 154, which was introduced in March of 2009 to provide employees who donate organs with up to 13 weeks of unpaid leave, came into force on June 5th, 2009.
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act: What it Means for Employers
/in Fall 2009 /by BirdRichardBackground: The Act The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) was enacted with the intention of making Ontario completely accessible to people with disabilities by the year 2025. The legislation seeks to attain this goal by establishing standards to regulate accessibility in the following areas: employment, the provision of goods and services, transportation, […]
CIRB Rules Employer Required to Provide Union with Employee Contact Information
/in Winter 2009 /by BirdRichardIn the recent decision of Telecommunications Workers Union v. Telus Advanced Communications, (July 17, 2008) the Canada Industrial Relations Board ruled that, if an employer has employees’ basic personal contact information in its possession, it is statutorily obligated to provide that information to the union. The collective agreement required Telus to provide TWU with a […]
Employees’ “Right to Silence” is Not Absolute
/in Winter 2009 /by BirdRichardIn British Columbia Ferry and Marine Workers’ Union v. British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. (November 3, 2008), the B.C. Supreme Court upheld an arbitrator’s finding that, in exceptional circumstances, an employer’s interest in ascertaining and disclosing the cause of an incident can outweigh an employee’s interest in remaining silent. On March 21, 2006, a ferry […]
Arbitrator Clarifies Meaning of Undue Hardship
/in Winter 2009 /by BirdRichardIn Stelco Inc. v. United Steelworkers, Local 1005 (Mansfield Grievance) (July 2, 2008), the arbitrator clarified the limits on an employer’s duty to accommodate, as well as the role that the costs of accommodation play in determining when the undue hardship threshold has been met. Pursuant to an agreement with the union, the employer created […]
Supreme Court: Civil Standard of Proof Does Not Vary with Seriousness of Allegations
/in Winter 2009 /by BirdRichardIn the recent decision of F.H. v. McDougall (October 2, 2008), the Supreme Court of Canada declared “once and for all” that there is only one standard of proof in civil cases: proof on a balance of probabilities. F.H. claimed that he had been sexually assaulted by Ian McDougall, who supervised F.H. while he was […]
Upcoming Seminars
/in Spring 2010 /by BirdRichardEighth Annual HRPA Ottawa Labour and Employment Law Conference: Stephen Bird will discuss the federal experience under workplace violence regulations and what Ontario employers can expect under Bill 168. Time and Location: Tuesday, May 4, 2010, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Fairmont Château Laurier – 1 Rideau Street To register, please visit the Seminars page […]
School Board Must Pay Maternity Benefit Top-up to Laid-off Workers
/in Spring 2010 /by BirdRichardAs a result of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Greater Essex Country District School Board v. OSSTF, District 9, an Ontario school board will be required to pay approximately $60,000 in back pay of pregnancy leave top-up benefits. Educational support staff employed by the school board are paid hourly, and are laid off […]
Employers Beware: Failures to Comply with Orders to Pay Result in Hefty Fines
/in Spring 2010 /by BirdRichardOn February 18th, 2010, an Ontario employer was fined $5,000 for its failure to comply with an order to pay in violation of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). After issuing an order to pay related to hours of work and overtime pay, the employment standards officer reviewed the company’s payroll records and found that […]
New Brunswick Employer Met Duty to Accommodate Suicidal Employee
/in Spring 2010 /by BirdRichardIn McConnell v. Brunswick News Inc., the New Brunswick Human Rights Inquiry Board found that a New Brunswick employer did not fail to accommodate a repeatedly suicidal employee and that the decision to terminate him was completely unrelated to his mental disability. McConnell suffered from severe depression and attempted suicide three times during his employment […]