Mental Illness on the Rise: Accommodating employees with anxiety disorders
December 19, 2013 Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time, but many people experience anxiety that goes well beyond butterflies in the stomach before giving a speech or nervousness in a new situation. [...]
Help Wanted: Ensuring legally compliant recruitment, hiring and promotion
December 05, 2013 In their pursuit of information to find the best person for the job, employers can run afoul of human rights and privacy laws, even with well-meaning questions and tests. In [...]
What to Expect When She’s Expecting: A primer on pregnancy and parental leave
November 28, 2013 A host of legal issues can arise when an employee is expecting a child, making it important for workplace parties to know their duties and obligations. How far must an [...]
Festivus for the Rest of Us?: Celebrating the holidays in a multicultural workplace
November 21, 2013 On the popular sitcom Seinfeld, the character Frank Costanza created an alternative holiday called "Festivus" in response to the commercialism and pressure that has come to dominate Christmas. In Canada's [...]
Anger Management: Rage as a health and safety risk in the workplace
November 14, 2013 Anger is a natural, and sometimes even productive, reaction in certain situations. However, sometimes individuals become angry in inappropriate situations or express their anger in inappropriate ways. Sometimes individuals are [...]
Talking Politics at Work and Beyond: What are the limits?
October 30, 2013 There is often a tension between the free speech rights of employees and the interests employers have in controlling their public image and protecting their reputation. This tension is especially [...]
Counselling or Discipline: What works better? When is it grievable?
October 17, 2013 Every day, employers may deal with a range of challenges such as workplace conflict, employee misconduct and unsatisfactory performance. It is often difficult to determine whether counselling or discipline is [...]
Drug and Alcohol Testing: The lay of the land after the Supreme Court of Canada’s Irving decision
October 02, 2013 On June 14, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its ruling in Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, Local 30 v. Irving Pulp & Paper, Ltd., a decision with [...]
Attendance Management: Applying and adjusting the rules for employees with mental health issues
September 24, 2013 Within certain limits, employers have the right to manage employee attendance, set standards, and control excessive absenteeism. However, when an employee's absenteeism is the result of a mental disability or [...]
Fulfilling the Duty to Accommodate: A step-by-step guide
September 12, 2013 The duty to accommodate is likely the most common, and one of the most challenging, issues in the contemporary workplace. What are the basic steps that should be taken when [...]
Changing medical definitions of mental disabilities, and the potential impact on workplace law
July 10, 2013 The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM, is often referred to as psychiatry's Bible; it is the authoritative text used by North American psychiatrists and psychologists to [...]
Systemic Discrimination: Challenging stereotypes, breaking down barriers
June 27, 2013 Claims of systemic discrimination present special challenges. Establishing this type of discrimination requires proof of policies or practices which disadvantage a certain identified group in the workplace, and is often [...]
Domestic Violence and the Workplace: A new frontier in workplace protection
June 13, 2013 Until recently, domestic violence was a societal problem but not necessarily a workplace health and safety issue. But, on November 12, 2005, Lori Dupont, a nurse at Windsor's Hôtel-Dieu Grace [...]
Medical Examinations: Everything you want to know, but are afraid to ask
May 28, 2013 Requesting a medical examination to prove an employee's fitness to work or to facilitate accommodation often opens a can of worms, creating disagreement and discord that all workplace parties would [...]
Offsite and Online: The legal upsides and downsides of working from home
May 14, 2013 It is becoming more common for employees to do at least some of their regular work from home instead of going in to the office. Advancements in technology have made [...]
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Prevention, accommodation, compensation
April 25, 2013 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a potentially debilitating mental disorder affecting up to 3% of the population at any given time. In this session, experienced counsel will discuss the legal [...]
Out of Bounds: Pranks, jokes and horseplay that cross the line into violence and harassment
April 11, 2013 It is often difficult to draw the line between acceptable workplace joking and horseplay and conduct that is harmful – what seems funny to one worker may in fact be [...]
High-Conflict Personalities: Dealing with difficult behaviours and personality disorders (e.g. narcissistic, paranoid, anti-social)
March 21, 2013 People who have a pattern of creating or increasing conflict with others can be characterized as people with 'high-conflict personalities.' With these individuals, the issue in dispute doesn't cause the [...]
Episodic Disabilities: What accommodations are required for conditions involving recurring periods of illness/disability? (e.g. HIV, cancer, mental illness)
March 07, 2013 Episodic disabilities are disabilities that are characterized by periods of good health alternating with periods of illness or disability. These episodes of disability often occur unpredictably and their duration is [...]
Lying in the Workplace: When does dishonesty irreparably harm the employment relationship?
February 21, 2013 Dishonest conduct by employees is serious, and in some cases will lead to a breakdown of trust in the employment relationship. What factors support discharge for dishonesty? When is a [...]
Workplace Bullying: Leading experts discuss practical strategies for prevention
February 07, 2013 Workplace bullying and harassment can have a devastating effect on victimized employees and the work environment at large. How can employers, unions and workers properly identify workplace bullying? What preventative [...]
The Most Important Developments in Labour & Employment Law in 2012 (And what they mean for you in 2013)
January 31, 2013 The new year is sure to bring new challenges in labour relations, but a good grasp of key legal developments in labour and employment law from the past year will [...]
