Labour and Employment Law Blog

Important new legislative changes impacting federally regulated employers will come into effect in 2021: the Pay Equity Act and a minimum wage requirement. Details on both these measures and how that will affect employers are examined below. 

Pay Equity Act

The federal Pay Equity Act comes into effect on August 31, 2021. The Act applies to federally regulated employers who ...

On July 1, 2021, B.C. moved into Step 3 of its COVID-19 Restart Plan. As part of this phase, B.C. employers are no longer required to maintain a WorkSafeBC approved COVID-19 Safety Plan. Instead, they are required to transition to a Communicable Disease Prevention Plan. 

What is a Communicable Disease Prevention Plan?

It is a plan that outlines the steps an employer is taking to ...

Employers who are faced with employee requests for accommodation on the basis of family status may find that the response to such requests depends on the province of employment. In a recent decision, United Nurses of Alberta v Alberta Health Services (“United Nurses”), the Alberta Court of Appeal expressly rejected a line of cases from other jurisdictions that impose ...

Following the discovery of what are believed to be the remains of 215 indigenous children in unmarked graves at a former residential school in Kamloops, BC, the federal government fast-tracked Bill C-5, An Act to amend the Bills of Exchange Act, the Interpretation Act and the Canada Labour Code (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation). The legislation received royal ...

Last year, we published a blog about things an employer should do before they terminate the employment of an employee. In recent years, employers are facing increasing claims for aggravated damages arising out of the manner in which the employer has carried out the termination of an employee’s employment.  In order to minimize the possibility that aggravated damages ...

The Government of B.C. has tabled legislation which, for now, entitles employees to three paid sick days for leave related to COVID-19. Employers will be required to pay employees their full wages (based on an average of the prior 30 days). The proposed law (Bill 13) also allows for a permanent paid sick leave to be prescribed in the future.

The B.C. government has promised it ...

The Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations, SOR/2020-130 (the “Regulations”) came into force on January 1, 2021. The Regulations introduced significant changes to how federally regulated organizations are required to prevent and address workplace harassment and violence. Specifically, federal employers must:

• conduct workplace ...

As British Columbia battles the third wave of COVID-19, the government has introduced legislation^[1] which, if passed, will provide employees with paid leave to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

On April 1, 2021, the British Columbia government introduced an unpaid job-protected leave of absence for employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine, or to assist a dependent in getting ...

As we look forward to returning to our normal routines, after we have all had the opportunity to be vaccinated, many people are wondering what permanent workplace changes will remain in place or will be introduced for workers; as well as the pets they either acquired or became more attached to during quarantine. I am certain my dog thinks I decided to stay home with him all day ...

Mask wearing indoors has become a ubiquitous part of the COVID-19 experience. The B.C. government mandated mask wearing in November of 2020 for most indoor public settings. Those orders are premised on face coverings helping to prevent, respond to or alleviate the spread of COVID‐19, when used with other protective measures. Some members of our society have physical ...