Articles 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic concludes its first year, we have seen a slow release of decisions assessing infectious disease prevention policies. From the applicable jurisprudence, a central theme has emerged: an employer’s duty to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker under section 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act will be interpreted expansively where catastrophic injury and loss of life may arise from an unknown hazard.

This article reviews three recent arbitration decisions in which unionized employees were dismissed for failing to adhere to workplace COVID-19 policies. The authors canvass emerging trends and discuss factors that ought to be considered in this developing area of law.

This article discusses major shifts and the most noteworthy employment-related decisions of 2020. Although COVID-19 demanded significant attention from both employers and lawmakers, there were several significant judicial developments which were independent of the pandemic.

2020 was a tumultuous year in labour relations given the pandemic, and the decisions coming out of the Ontario Labour Relations Board (the "Board") reflect this. This article explores some of the key decisions and trends that defined advocacy at the Board in the past year.

This article reviews notable changes to federally-regulated employers’ obligations when the new Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations come into force as of January 1, 2021. These new Regulations create one regime for both workplace violence and sexual harassment and set out requirements with regard to workplace harassment and violence prevention policies, workplace assessments, training, and procedural requirements.

In the second of a two-part series, I interview mediators Barry Fisher, Lisa Feld, Sheri Price and Stuart Rudner regarding their top tips and trends they see in the world of virtual mediations.

In Matthews v Ocean Nutrition Canada Ltd., the Supreme Court declined to address whether the duty to perform a contract in good faith established in Bhasin v Hrynew, 2014 SCC 71 extends throughout the duration of an employment contract. The court instead provided helpful guidance regarding the test for whether an employee is entitled to damages for loss of bonus or incentive payments during a reasonable notice period.

Ending an employment relationship can be fraught with legal risks. Sometimes these risks arise even before the employee has started working for the employer. A recent decision, Kim v. BT Express Freight System, confirms that employers may be liable for damages if they revoke an accepted offer or terminate an employment relationship before the employee actually begins working.