Legal
So Your Employee is an Anarchist
Employees often mistakenly believe there can be no repercussions at work for what they do during their off-duty hours. However, employers can take disciplinary action, and even decide to terminate employment, in some circumstances, particularly where the conduct has unfolded online or otherwise in the public eye, or where there is, or may be, a connection to the individual’s employment.
Do Employers Have to Pay the Cost of Obtaining Security Worker License?
In our winter 2009 newsletter, Dolden Wallace Folick LLP talked about the new rules affecting commercial liquor hosts in 2009 under the BC Security Services Act. go2HR has obtained a legal opinion from Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP about who pays the cost of training and certification.
What is Physical Disability? BC Human Rights Tribunal Confirms Legal Test under Human Rights Code
A 2014 decision by the BC Human Rights Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) considered the evidence required to prove a “physical disability” under the Human Rights Code (Li v. Aluma Systems Inc. et al, 2014 BCHRT 270).
What Does Recreational Cannabis Mean For Liquor Licensees?
Recreational cannabis is now legal in Canada. Since this change in a century-old law, we have grappled with new questions and challenges for British Columbia’s liquor licensees.
Watch out Employers: WorkSafeBC Penalties are Increasing
Administrative penalties are fines imposed on employers for health and safety violations of the Workers Compensation Act, the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, and/or orders of WorkSafeBC, and for failure to take sufficient precautions to prevent workplace injuries or illnesses. Penalties are published as a deterrent and to highlight the importance of making workplaces safe.
Safety: For Both Your Employees and Your Business
Did you know there is direct relationship between safety and staying in business? It’s true. In BC, small businesses that fail after only one year of operation have an injury rate almost three times as high as those businesses that stay open for at least five years.
Employers Duty to Accommodate Child-Care Obligations
On April 21, 2023, the British Columbia Court of Appeal broadened the BC test for discrimination based on family status, in the case of British Columbia (Human Rights Tribunal) v. Gibraltar Mines Ltd. 2023 BCCA 168. Since 2004, the leading case on family status discrimination in the province was Health Sciences Assoc. of B.C. v.… Continue reading Employers Duty to Accommodate Child-Care Obligations
Statutory Holidays
Statutory holidays are not the same thing as annual employee vacation. Because tourism businesses often aren’t in a position to close their doors during statutory holidays, you must be familiar with your obligation under the Employment Standards Act to provide your employees with proper statutory holiday benefits.
Wrongful Dismissal Damages and Pension Benefits
In IBM Canada v. Waterman, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) has considered the deductibility of pension benefits from wrongful dismissal damages in a decision that may also have implications for the deductibility of other types of payments.
Damages Reduced for Failure to Accept Recall After Improper Layoff
A British Columbia production supervisor has successfully sued his former employer for wrongful dismissal after he was laid off indefinitely, but the BC Supreme Court reduced the worker’s damages by half because the worker refused the employer’s offer of recall.