Court of Appeal Rejects Due Diligence Defence in Workplace Death
Businesses strive for client appreciation events that are unique and memorable. As highlighted in a recent Alberta Court of Appeal decision, a client appreciation event hosted by XI Technologies Inc. took a turn and became unique and memorable in a...
Dismissal for a Drug Tweet: Toronto Man Loses Job after Posting Request for Marijuana
Author: Alex Heaslip A man from the Toronto area has been dismissed by his employer after posting a request for marijuana on the popular social media site Twitter. On Tuesday, August 13, a Twitter user under the name of Sunith...
Beware the Boss’s Wife: Appearance-Based Discrimination in the Workplace
A recent decision of the Supreme Court of Iowa, Nelson v. Knight, has received a lot of press lately. At the heart of the matter? Whether a male employer can terminate a long-time female employee because the employer’s wife is...
Too Sick to Work, But Not to Sick to Play Softball
As employers’ counsel, we are often asked to assist with managing employees who may be taking liberties with sick days. We’ve all observed a curious spike in sick days around long weekends or events like the Calgary Stampede. A recent...
Hockey agent offside in fiduciary duty case
Author: Ian Smith In recent years, the law with regard to fiduciary duties has shifted more than Sidney Crosby on a rush down the wing. An Alberta Court of Appeal decision involving a hockey agent and his former employer provides...
When Temporary Means Permanent – Pitfalls in Temporary Layoff Provisions in Canada’s Employment Standards Laws
Even though each Province enacts its own employment standards laws, they are similar if not the same across the country. It is noteworthy therefore when courts interpret similar provisions differently. A recent Ontario decision, Trites v. Renin Corp. [2013] ONSC...
Supreme Court decision on randomized alcohol testing
The Supreme Court of Canada released this morning its decision in Irving Pulp & Paper Limited v. Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, Local 30 dealing with random alcohol testing in a workplace. It held that a unilaterally imposed...
Supreme Court of Canada Rules on Random Alcohol Testing
An employer cannot unilaterally implement random alcohol or drug testing even in a highly dangerous workplace absent a demonstrated workplace problem, a majority of the Supreme Court of Canada held today: Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, Local 30...
Failure to Pay Annual Bonus may be Constructive Dismissal
Author: Alex Heaslip In Piron v. Dominion Masonry Ltd., 2013 BCCA 184 (CanLii), the British Columbia Court of Appeal held that an employer’s failure to pay a large annual bonus can amount to a constructive dismissal, despite the bonus not...
Alberta Court Grants Injunction Against Former Employee of Applicant
The test to determine whether a fiduciary relationship exists between an employer and a departing employee is easy to explain. The application of the test, however, is anything but simple. In the recent Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench decision, Jardine...
