He/Him
Kevin Banks is Associate Professor of Law at Queen’s University and the Director of the Queen’s Centre for Law in the Contemporary Workplace. He is a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators, the Ontario Labour-Management Arbitrators’ Association, and of the Ontario Grievance Settlement Board. He has been appointed to several dispute settlement rosters established under free trade agreements. He chaired the international arbitral panel that ruled on a dispute concerning the labour provisions of the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement, the first such case decided anywhere in the world. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Labour and Employment Law Journal, and a coordinating editor of Labour and Employment Law, Cases, Materials and Commentary. His published research addresses efficiency and delay in Canadian labour arbitration; relationships between economic globalization and labour and employment law; the influence of originating political struggles on workplace equality law in North America and the European Union; the role, governance, and potential influence of international and transnational labour law; the extent and causes of gaps in the workplace accommodation of persons with disability; the accessibility and effectiveness of employment standards compliance and enforcement; the role of good faith in the contract of employment; and how Canadian common law might evolve so as to respect constitutional freedom of association. Professor Banks previously served in a number of executive positions within the Public Service of Canada, including Director General, Labour Policy and Workplace Information, Director of Research with the Federal Labour Standards Review Commission, and Director, Inter-American Labour Co-operation. Prior to this he represented trade unions and other employee associations as counsel.
He holds an LL.B. (1989) and B.A. (1986) in economics from the University of Toronto, and an S.J.D. from Harvard Law School (2003).
