Pension Issues: What can unions and employers do in collective bargaining to address the pension crisis
December 15, 2011 Pensions in both the public and private sectors face a funding crisis. It seems unlikely that the current pension regime can cope with the social and economic pressures that an [...]
Accommodating Learning and Cognitive Disabilities in the Workplace: Innovative approaches, trailblazing decisions
December 01, 2011 Mental illness has received the lion's share of attention in the jurisprudence addressing mental disabilities in the workplace. Yet, learning and other cognitive disabilities also meet the definition of mental [...]
Dealing with Bullying Bosses: How management can control them; how employees can effectively respond to them
November 17, 2011 Employers often rely on front-line management and supervisors to handle complaints of harassment, but what happens when a front-line manager engages in bullying beahviour? How should employees and unions respond? [...]
The Key Factors in Assessing Undue Hardship: Which are important and how important are they?
November 02, 2011 While there is no question that employers must accommodate disabled workers in the workplace "to the point of undue hardship," there is significant confusion about what "undue hardship" means. Frequently, [...]
Good Faith Dealing Between Employers and Employees: What is legally required?
October 20, 2011 Courts have long implied into employment contracts an “all pervasive” duty of good faith and fidelity that constrains the behaviour of employees. Canadian labour relations statutes impose an obligation on [...]
Resolving Complex Disputes: An Advanced Session
October 06, 2011 The basic principles of human rights legislation seem simple enough, and the underlying goal of equality enjoys almost universal support. However, applying human rights legislation in the real world can [...]
Assessing and Reviewing Appropriate Discipline: The ten essential steps for unions and employers
September 22, 2011 In this audio session, a panel of experienced counsel will walk through ten key steps in determining an appropriate response to apparent workplace misconduct. They will address issues occurring throughout [...]
Workplace Peacekeeping: Handling conflict between employees, and dealing with differences between employees and supervisors
September 08, 2011 What options are available to achieve peace in the workplace? How can employers become more effective at resolving and minimizing conflict? How do employers, unions and employees work together to [...]
Difficult Encounters: Ensuring legally compliant pre-employment, disciplinary, attendance-management, and exit interviews
July 07, 2011 Interviews in the workplace raise a host of legal issues, for the prospective and former employer, the employee, and the union. What questions can’t an employer ask in a pre-employment [...]
Achieving Work-Life Balance: Accommodating family obligations, including child-care and elder-care
June 23, 2011 Employees are often faced with conflicts between their family and work responsibilities. Family status is a protected ground of discrimination under human rights legislation. But what is family status? Does [...]
Finding the “Right” Accommodation: Adjusting the work environment for disabled employees without causing the employer undue hardship
June 16, 2011 In this audio session, a panel of experts will explore issues commonly encountered in efforts to accommodate disabled employees and will examine how these issues may be resolved to the [...]
Workplace Liability: Addressing claims for discrimination and mental distress
June 02, 2011 Employers can now find themselves liable to pay significant monetary damages for mental distress or injury to an employee's dignity. In what circumstances will damages for mental distress or injury [...]
Discussion of the Supreme Court’s Controversial Decision in the Fraser case: Collective Bargaining Rights under the Charter
May 27, 2011 On Friday April 29, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its long-awaited decision in Ontario (Attorney General) v. Fraser concerning the protection of the right to collective bargaining under the [...]
Insured Benefits: Key issues involving health spending accounts, eligibility restrictions, insurance carrier changes, adjustable drug formularies and arbitration of benefit claims
May 19, 2011 Employees want to know that they will have access to medical care not covered by government insurance, and they want the security of knowing they will have income if they [...]
Social Media and Cyberlaw: Balancing privacy rights and access to information
April 20, 2011 Can employees be disciplined for comments they make about their employer on Facebook? What if they believed that their privacy settings were such that only a few "friends" could see [...]
Management Rights: Defining the scope and the limits
April 07, 2011 Any time management makes a decision in connection with the workplace that is not explicitly addressed in the collective agreement, the question will arise as to whether this action is [...]
Special Challenges in Accommodation: Addressing issues involving obesity, the transgendered, the chemically sensitive, religious minorities, etc.
March 17, 2011 The diversity of Canadian society is increasingly reflected in Canadian workplaces. Not surprisingly, new issues in accommodation are continually emerging and posing challenges for workers, unions, and management alike. In [...]
The Top 10 Human Rights Cases
March 03, 2011 Decisions touching on issues of human rights in the workplace are released every week, but familiarity with the landmark decisions will provide you with the foundation you need to master [...]
Pregnancy and Parental Leave: Current cases, the latest law
February 17, 2011 How far must an employer go in accommodating the preferred alternative work schedules of pregnant employees? Can parental leave be split into multiple absences from work, or must it be [...]
Attendance Management Programs: What will pass muster? What won’t?
February 03, 2011 The implementation of an attendance management program can be an effective way to remedy workplace absenteeism. However, the right of employers to demand that their employees attend work must be [...]
