HReview Breakfast Seminar Archive:

2023 ushered in many important changes to the employment and labour landscape in Ontario and across Canada.

Join us as we discuss how these changes impact employers. Topics include:

1. Legislative Update

• • Licensing requirements for temporary help agencies and recruiters in Ontario
  • Cross-Canada update on key employment-related legislative amendments.

2. Labour Law Update

• • Update on Bill 124 and other wage restraint legislation and related case law.
  • Recent COVID-19 decisions (mandatory vaccination, religious exemptions). 

3. Human Rights Update

• • The role of unconscious bias in race-based discrimination cases.
  • Family status discrimination update.
  • Recent case law on workplace investigations.

4. Trends in Employment and Independent Contractor Agreements

• • Enforceability of termination provisions.
  • Independent contractors and the duty to mitigate.

Join us as we discuss:

1. Mental health and substance use

• • Duty to inquire
  • Investigating suspected impairment
  • Requests for medical information

2. Accommodation under human rights legislation

• • Definition of “disability”
  • Employer’s duty to accommodate
  • Employee’s duty to co-operate

3. WSIB traumatic mental stress claims

4. Discipline and termination

• • When is behaviour linked to a disability?
  • Last chance agreements
  • Frustration of contract
  • Mitigating risk

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the way we live and work.  Now, more than ever, employees work in a remote or hybrid work arrangement.  However, with this shift comes new and altered legal risks and challenges for employers.

Join us as we discuss:

1. Cross-Canada or International Relocation

• • Legal risks if a remote worker relocates, temporarily or permanently (which laws apply).
  • How to prevent or manage employee relocation issues.

2. Performance Management

• • Use of electronic monitoring to manage employee performance.
  • Discipline and termination for time theft and other remote work performance issues. 

3. Health and Safety

• • When will occupational health and safety and workers’ compensation legislation apply to a remote worker?
  • Bullying and harassment in an online workplace.

4. Employment Standards and Human Rights

• • How to ensure a remote worker complies with employment standards requirements (e.g., hours of work, meal breaks, etc.).
  • Remote or hybrid work as a form of human rights accommodation.

More than ever, employers are facing high damage claims for post-termination conduct, and a heightened risk their employment agreement termination language will be found unenforceable.

Join us as we discuss:

1. Employment Contract Considerations

• • Recent caselaw on the enforceability of termination clauses.
  • When will ancillary terms jeopardize a termination clause?
  • Risks associated with the termination of a fixed term employment agreement.

2. An Increase in “Bad Faith” Claims Related to the Manner of Termination

• • What should (and should not) be included in the termination letter.
  • How to minimize the risk of reputational damage to an employee post-termination.
  • When will delay in the payment of statutory entitlements increase an employer’s potential liability?

3. Post-Termination Income and its Impact on Damage Awards

• • An update on the duty to mitigate.
  • The impact of Employment Insurance (EI) and Canada Emergency Relief Benefits (CERB) payments on a damage award.

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Inflation, labour shortages and workplaces returning to a “new normal” have increased interest in unionization in some private sector industries and brought new challenges to the collective bargaining table.

Join us as we discuss:

1. Current Unionization and Wage Trends

• The impact of the current economy on unionization rates in the private sector.
• The impact of the labour shortage and inflation on wage demands.
• Creative solutions to increase wages and manage expectations.

2. COVID Clauses

• Recent trends related to sick leave and other COVID-19 inspired provisions.
• Remote work and the collective agreement. 

3. Legislative and Caselaw Update

• Recent interest arbitration case law.
• Update on wage restraint legislation across Canada.

4. Practical Tips for the Bargaining Table

• Virtual vs. in-person bargaining (and when there may be an opportunity for both).
• What to do when employees don’t ratify a collective agreement.
• When to use (or avoid) a final offer vote.

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Human rights law is constantly evolving, and keeping on top of developments can be a challenge for even the most seasoned HR professional. Join us as we discuss recent decisions and how they might impact your workplace.

Join us as we discuss:

1. Racial Discrimination

• The impact of “social context” when evaluating a claim of race-based discrimination.
• Practical considerations when responding to and investigating a race-based allegation.

2. Sexual Harassment

• When is sexual harassment just cause for termination?
• Damage awards in sexual harassment claims. 

3. Human Rights in the Unionized Workplace

• Can a unionized employee file a human rights complaint or is a grievance the only option?

4. Accommodation Round-Up

• Recent developments in:
  • Family status and disability accommodation.
  • COVID-19-related religious accommodation cases.

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Recently, the Government of Ontario introduced, and in some cases passed, several legislative changes to address issues in the modern workplace. The two primary pieces of legislation are Bill 27, the Working for Workers Act, 2021 and Bill 88, the Working for Workers Act, 2022.

Join us as we discuss:

• Disconnecting from Work: what are employers required to do and when?

• Non-Competition Agreements: are they on life-support?

• Occupational Health and Safety Act: changes affecting employers.

• The ‘Gig’ Economy: the framework for wages and other work-related entitlements.

• Electronic Monitoring: what information is an employer required to give employees?

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As COVID-19 vaccinations became widely available to Canadians, many employers introduced policies to require employee vaccination. We also saw governments mandate COVID-19 vaccination policies in higher risk workplaces.

Not surprisingly, some unions and individual employees have opposed mandatory vaccination and taken their opposition to courts and arbitrators. The decisions of these adjudicators will determine how employers can apply COVID-19 vaccination policies to protect the health and safety of workers and the public, going forward.

Join us as we discuss:

1. COVID-19 Case Law Update
   • Recent case law on the reasonableness and enforceability of COVID-19 vaccination policies.
   • How have human rights tribunals and commissions responded to COVID-19 complaints?

2. COVID-19 Legislative Update

3. The impact of case law and legislation on an employer’s COVID-19 vaccination policy.

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One of the by-products of the COVID-19 pandemic has been seismic movement in workplace talent.  Studies suggest between 25-40% of workers will look to leave their jobs as the pandemic subsides.  As a result, employers will need to address two issues simultaneously: the recruitment of new talent and protection of the business from departing employees.

Join us as we discuss:

1. Recruitment and Hiring
   • Risks associated with ‘poaching’ an employee from an existing job.
   • Can an employer consider a candidate’s social media profile in the hiring process?
   • How to address COVID-19 vaccination.
   • Considerations if hiring into a work-from-home (remote)/hybrid arrangement.
   • Key employment terms to introduce at the hiring stage. 

2. Departing Employees
   • Duties owed by a departing employee.
   • Restrictive covenants and other key employment agreement terms.
   • Ending employment during an employee’s resignation notice period.
   • Can an employee who quits due to a COVID-19 related work requirement (vaccination, remote work etc.) successfully claim constructive dismissal?

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As Ontarians return to the workplace there will be a heightened appreciation for employers who go the extra mile to keep their people safe. Our objective is to keep you up-to-date. Join us, and special guest Ron Kelusky, Ontario’s Chief Prevention Officer, as we learn about Ontario’s COVID experience and initiatives for the near term.

1. Ontario Update: Ron Kelusky, Chief Prevention Officer

• COVID-19: Lessons learned and next steps. The role of the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (“MLTSD”).
• Non-COVID-19: MLTSD resources for employers and near-term compliance initiatives.

2. An Ounce of Prevention

• How to build a culture of safety.
• Risk assessments and safety plans.
• What policies and processes should an employer have in place now to reduce the potential of an accident or charge?
• Practical tips to skilfully handle a health and safety audit.

3. When The Worst Happens

• Despite your best efforts, an accident has happened, what now?
• The range of potential penalties.
• What circumstances give rise to the most severe penalties and imprisonment?