Labour and Employment Law Blog

Employers commonly seek our advice on issues related to maternity and parental leave. Here are some of our most frequently asked questions:

Q: Can I ask a candidate for employment whether or not they are pregnant, or whether they are planning on starting a family? I need to know to minimize disruption to my small business.

A: It is generally inadvisable to ask such questions ...

Twenty years ago, a really entertaining movie came out called “Catch Me if You Can”, which featured Leonardo DiCaprio as a con artist who found work as a doctor, lawyer, and pilot by forging his credentials.

That film highlighted how far charm and confidence can get someone in the hiring process. Recently, we had our own version in British Columbia where a woman worked as a ...

Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Canada Labour Code (“Bill C-3”) amends the Canada Labour Code (the “Code”) to provide federally regulated employees with the following:

• Ten days of paid sick leave per calendar year; and
• Increases to unpaid bereavement leave in the event of a death of a child or a stillbirth.

The following is a summary of the new ...

On January 7, 2022, BC’s Provincial Health Officer once again directed all BC employers to implement a COVID-19 Safety Plan. This is part of the province’s response to the recent surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations fueled by the Omicron variant.

The legal requirement to a COVID-19 Safety Plan is not new to employers. Employers were required to put such a plan in ...

On November 24, 2021, the British Columbia government announced that, effective January 1, 2022, British Columbia employees who are covered by the Employment Standards Act and who have worked more than 90 consecutive days will be entitled to five paid days of personal illness or injury leave per year.

Employees who qualify for the paid leave must be paid an “average ...

This blog post is a follow-up to our two-part blog post and webinar discussing sweeping changes to Alberta's workers' compensation and occupational health and safety legislation. At that time, it was unknown when the new Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act ("new OHSA") and revised regulations would come into force.

The Alberta Government has announced that the new ...

On October 25, 2021, Ontario introduced Bill 27, Working for Workers Act, 2021, and on November 3, 2021 it received its second reading. If passed, the proposed Bill will amend Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) to prohibit non-compete clauses in employment agreements and require organizations with over 25 employees to implement “disconnecting from ...

Did you know that businesses are protected from being sued for COVID-19 transmission, in certain circumstances, in British Columbia?

In the summer of 2020, the British Columbia government enacted the COVID-19 Related Measures Act and the Covid-19 (Limits on Actions and Proceedings) Regulation to support B.C.’s restart plan for the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the ...

In the recent decision of Matijczack v. Homewood Health Inc., 2021 BCSC 1658 (Homewood Health), the BC Supreme Court confirmed that employers must provide consideration to make amendments to existing employment agreements enforceable.

Following a 2018 decision from the BC Court of Appeal (Rosas v. Toca, 2018 BCCA 191), the law relating to consideration for contractual ...

It has been a long year-and-a-half for businesses. On top of the personal pandemic fatigue most British Columbians have been feeling for some time now, businesses in particular have had to be nimble in reacting to public health orders, legislative changes, and government policy which has often been announced and implemented on very short notice and with scant available ...