Starting June 10, 2016, Ontario employees have increased protection regarding the tips and gratuities left by customers. As we discussed in a previous post, Bill 12 amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) to prohibit employers from withholding, making deductions from, or collecting tips or other gratuities from employees, unless authorized to do so under the ESA.
Continue Reading Keep the Change! New “Tips” Legislation Coming Into Force
In the recent decision of Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board v. Fair, 2016 ONCA 421, the Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) upheld the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario’s 2013 decision to reinstate an employee, more than 10 years after her employment was terminated. By the time of the ONCA’s decision, almost 15 years had passed since the original termination.
The ONCA’s decision may encourage other decision-makers to order reinstatement as a remedy in discrimination cases. The decision also highlights the importance of considering all possible positions, vacant or not, in order to meet the duty to accommodate employees with disabilities.
Continue Reading More Reinstatements on the Horizon in Discrimination Cases?
Baker & McKenzie is nominated for the Canadian Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Awards to be conferred by the United Nations Global Compact Network Canada (UN GCNC).
Continue Reading Baker & McKenzie Nominated for the Canadian SDG Awards
Ontario Legislature Passes Bill 132: What Employers Need to Know
Bill 132 will increase the obligations on employers to protect employees against workplace harassment. The Ontario Government recently passed Bill 132, Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act (Supporting Survivors and Challenging Sexual Violence and Harassment), 2015 and employers will need to comply with its requirements as of September 8, 2016.
The first half of 2016 has already brought significant developments in employment law in the United States, triggering changes that companies with operations in the US must implement and plan for now. From final Department of Labor regulations increasing the salary requirements for exempt employees, to the new federal trade secrets law that will require updates to confidentiality agreements, in-house counsel and HR professionals have to develop best practices and strategies to navigate and comply with several new initiatives today. How can you help “save the day” for your company?
Canadian businesses with operations in the United States should be aware of recent and significant changes to the overtime rules. Yesterday, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published the long-awaited amendments to the “white collar” exemptions for executive, administrative, and professional employees, as well as the provision governing highly-compensated employees. The Final Rule significantly increases the minimum salary an employee must earn to qualify for a white collar exemption and for the highly compensated employee exemption under federal law. The increased minimum salary must be implemented by December 1, 2016, which gives employers approximately 200 days to prepare for and comply with the Final Rule. Continue Reading US Department of Labor Publishes Final Overtime Rules
A recent decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (the “HRTO”) has further defined the scope of the test for “family status” discrimination. Employees may not be required to take measures to find alternative arrangements for infrequent, sporadic or unexpected family needs, before seeking protection under the Human Rights Code (the “Code”). Continue Reading Family Status Discrimination: HRTO Narrows “Self-Accommodation” Requirement
In the recent decision in Howard v. Benson Group Inc., 2016 ONCA 256, the Ontario Court of Appeal provides straightforward but important lessons for employers who make use of fixed term employment contracts: Continue Reading Fixed Term Employment Contracts – Important Lessons from the Ontario Court of Appeal
We recently discussed the rising number of claims against Canadian companies for alleged human rights violations in their overseas operations or supply chains. In that article we described the ongoing class action lawsuit against Loblaws and Joe Fresh launched by Bangladeshi garment workers in response to the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Click here for a link to the article.
We also commented on a general increase in litigation against Canadian multinational corporations, including the current case against Toronto-based, Hudbay Minerals Inc., which was brought by a group of indigenous Guatemalan Mayans for human rights violations related to a mining venture.
The reputational risks associated with these cases are serious, particularly in the age of online media and investor activism. On April 3, 2016, The New York Times published a front-page article on the Hudbay Minerals Inc. case entitled, ‘Outcry Echoes Up to Canada’. Continue Reading Global Human Rights Compliance & Litigation Update: Hudbay Minerals Inc. Lawsuit Receives International Media Coverage
The U.S. Justice Department announced last week that they were dropping their court action in which they sought to compel Apple to create a backdoor to override their existing iPhone passcode protection software.
If you followed this story, you know that a public and controversial battle ensued between the Justice Department and Apple over access to the iPhone used by Syed Farook, one of the perpetrators of the San Bernardino terrorist attack.
