Unions & Labour Relations

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This is the second article in our three-part series highlighting recent changes to Alberta’s labour and employment legislation.  Here we focus on changes to Alberta’s labour relations regime. As a result of recent enactments, a number of significant changes to Alberta’s Labour Relations Code (“LRC”) are now in effect, as outlined below. Continue Reading Card-Based Certification and Other Key Changes to the Alberta Labour Relations Code

Bill 148: Review & Compliance Check

We invite you to join Baker McKenzie’s Employment & Compensation Group in Toronto on February 28, 2018 as we review key changes under Ontario’s Bill 148 and provide practical guidance to assist you in meeting the new legislative requirements. For the event details and to register, please click here.

Ontario employers face a number of new challenges in 2018 as a result of the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 (“Bill 148”). To help employers navigate the many changes under Bill 148, we have outlined the key changes that employers need to be aware of. We have also indicated planning actions to consider in view of these changes. Continue Reading Bill 148: Key Changes & What to Do About Them

To ring in the New Year, we highlight the ten most significant developments in Canadian labour and employment law in 2017: Continue Reading Top 10 Canadian Labour & Employment Law Developments of 2017

The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 received Royal Assent on November 27, 2017.  Thus, new requirements will come into force according to the following timeline: Continue Reading Bill 148 Receives Royal Assent: Implementation Schedule

Ontario’s Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 (“Bill 148”) passed its third reading on November 22, 2017, confirming that many significant changes to Ontario’s labour and employment legislation are imminent.

Most of these changes were summarized in our last Bill 148 article (see here).  However, the following significant changes were made to Bill 148 since our last post:

  • Family Medical Leave will now be extended to 28 weeks, and will apply to all critically ill family members, not just children.
  • The first five days of Domestic or Sexual Violence Leave will now be paid.
  • Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, an employer shall not require a worker to wear footwear with an elevated heel unless it is required for the worker to perform his or her work safely (subject to certain exceptions).

Continue Reading Ontario Legislature Passes Bill 148: Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017

In 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that, before employees in safety sensitive positions can be subjected to random drug and alcohol testing, it must be established that there is a general problem of substance abuse in the workplace (see our article summarizing that decision here). But what evidence is relevant to this inquiry? Should the employer consider its entire industry, its particular worksites, or just the employees in a particular bargaining unit? Continue Reading Alberta Court of Appeal Weighs in on Evidence Supporting Random Testing

Ontario’s Bill 148, Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017, continues to move through the legislative process. On September 12, 2017, the Second Reading of Bill 148 commenced. To bring you up to speed on the current proposals, and in addition to our previous articles here and here, we provide the following overview of the key changes that are currently proposed. Continue Reading Bill 148: Update on Key Changes

In a recent blog post, we wrote about Bill 148, Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act which seeks to amend Ontario’s existing employment standards and labour relations legislation. Since then, Bill 148 has continued to move through the legislative process with committee hearings being held throughout the summer to discuss further changes to the Bill before it may be passed into law.

The Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs met on August 21, 2017. A number of proposals were put forward. The following is a summary of the motions that were passed and will be incorporated into Bill 148. Continue Reading Bill 148: Standing Committee Meeting Signals Changes to ESA & LRA Amendments

We recently wrote about the Ontario government’s proposed changes to the province’s employment standards and labour relations legislation – see our blog posts here and here. On June 1, 2017, the Minister of Labour, the Honourable Kevin Flynn, introduced legislation to affect these changes. Continue Reading Early Approval Across Party Lines for ESA & LRA Amending Legislation