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Can Employers Ban Tattoos and Body Piercings in the Workplace?
A recent labour arbitration decision addressed the question of whether an employer can prohibit employees from having “visible, excessive body piercings” and “large tattoos” while at work. At issue in Ottawa Hospital v. CUPE Local 4000 was whether the employer’s...
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Be Wary of Accommodating Employees on the Basis of One Prohibited Ground and Not Others
The Federal Court recently released its decision in Johnstone v. Canada (Border Services), an application for judicial review of a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (“Tribunal”) decision allowing Ms. Johnstone’s human rights complaint against her employer on the basis of her...
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Ontario Court of Appeal Clarifies Employers’ Duty to Report Fatalities and Critical Injuries at a Workplace
In June, 2011 we reported on the decision of the Divisional Court in Blue Mountain Resort v. Ontario in which the Court found that the drowning death of a guest of the resort was a fatality that should have been...
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Applicant Argues a Bed Bug Infestation in his Home Constitutes a “Disability”
Author: Erik Marshall News reports of the scourge of bed bugs infiltrating the City of Toronto abound. Fear mounts as we learn more about how bed bugs are known to “hitch-hike” on peoples’ clothing as they move throughout public spaces,...
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Facebook Post Disclosing Human Rights Settlement Costs Employee $1,000
Have you ever wondered whether confidentiality clauses typically found in Minutes of Settlement have any teeth? Well, then you will be interested in Tremblay v. 1168531 Ontario Inc., a case recently decided by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“HRTO”). ...
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Disturbing Case on Mitigation of Damages During Contractual Notice Period
Facts When Peter Bowes commenced his employment with Goss Power Products Ltd. (“Company”), he entered into a written employment contract which provided that he would receive six months’ notice or pay in lieu thereof if his employment was terminated without...
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Gesundheit! An Employer’s Obligations to an Employee with Scent Hypersensitivity
Author: Erik Marshall What does a company have to do when an employee discloses that he or she has sensitivity to scents and/or fragrances in the workplace and requests accommodation? This was the question before the Human Rights Tribunal of...
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Financial Hardship Did Not Justify Denial of Accommodation for Disability
The duty to accommodate can be one of the most perplexing (and vexing) issues faced by employers. The recent Supreme Court of Canada (“Court”) decision of Moore v. British Columbia (Education), provides some insight into the scope of the duty...
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Circulation of Erotic Pictures in the Workplace: When the Righteous End Up Righted
A substitute teacher (“Plaintiff”) recently won her legal battle against a Québec school board that withdrew her name from the substitute teachers’ list, invoking erotic pictures of her taken some eight years earlier. The case Plaintiff was in her fourth...
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Right to Work Legislation in Parliament
Has right to work legislation been introduced in Parliament? Not yet. However, the seed has been planted. In the fall of 2012, Mr. Pierre Poilievre, M.P. and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, issued a public letter expressing the view...
