Labour and Employment Law Blog

A recent BC Supreme Court case is yet another reminder that courts will carefully scrutinize any term which purports to displace an employee’s common law entitlement to reasonable notice of termination of employment, particularly where the term has not been clearly and unambiguously communicated and accepted by the employee. Employers can contract out of the ...

The Ontario Court of Appeal in Ruston v. Keddco Mfg (2011) Ltd., 2019 ONCA 125, upheld the lower court’s decision awarding over $1.1 million in damages in a wrongful dismissal action.

Facts

Mr. Ruston, the President of Keddco, was terminated after 11 years of service. At the termination meeting, Mr. Ruston was advised that his employment was terminated for cause because he ...

The B.C. Court of Appeal released a decision last week on Lewis v. WestJet Airlines Ltd., a case we reported on our blog last May. The Court of Appeal upheld the B.C. Supreme Court’s decision that the proposed class action lawsuit should not be dismissed at an early stage, because it does disclose a reasonable cause of action and is not bound to fail.

This case is of key ...

On February 18, British Columbians will join Canadians in several other provinces to celebrate Family Day. It is an opportunity to spend time with the people who are, for many Canadians, the most valuable aspect of their lives. The fact that some provinces have declared a statutory holiday for this purpose reinforces the truth of the old adage – there is nothing more ...

Employers are increasingly concerned about preventing sexual harassment in the workplace – not only to ensure that all workers are given an equal opportunity to thrive in a safe and respectful workplace environment, but also because of concerns around vicarious liability, class actions, and PR scandals.

Based on our experience advising clients with respect to ...

Lawson Lundell LLP is pleased to welcome Ryan Berger, a distinguished employment and privacy lawyer, as a partner based in Lawson Lundell’s Vancouver office.

Ryan has practiced commercial and employment litigation for over 19 years, with a growing emphasis on data, privacy and business confidentiality issues. He has significant experience advising employers in a ...

Brianne Duke filed a BC Human Rights Tribunal complaint, 2018 BCHRT 283, that when shopping at a grocery store operated by Sobey’s in Burnaby, she was approached by an employee who told her inappropriate jokes referencing sex. Ms. Duke alleged that the behaviour by the Sobey’s employee amounted to discrimination on the basis of sex contrary to the (British Columbia ...

The new year brings an opportunity for reflection on the past year with a view to making improvements moving forward. It is also a good time for British Columbia employers to undertake a required annual review of workplace bullying and harassment policies and procedures.

Under section 115 of the British Columbia Workers Compensation Act, employers have a general duty to ...

Today the master and servant relationship between Ebenezer Scrooge and his clerk Bob Cratchit appears to our eyes an anachronism. For starters, Scrooge's penny-pinching ways would likely have him offside of employment standards provisions guaranteeing workers a minimum wage and paid statutory holidays.

In the modern world of employment, employers realize that ...

We previously reported changes to Ontario’s Employment Standards legislation. Some of those changes are now being undone by Bill 47.

Bill 47, the Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018, received Royal Assent on November 21, 2018, marking a significant change to Ontario’s labour and employment law landscape. The new legislation represents the provincial ...