Labour and Employment Law Blog

In our earlier two blog posts, Returning the Workplace to Safe Operation: Part 1, Part 2, we addressed the occupational health and safety issues surrounding returning the workplace to safe operation. This blog post addresses the employment issues related to managing the return of employees to the workplace from temporary layoff or working from home. Beyond advising ...

On June 1, 2020, hourly minimum wage rates were increased in British Columbia.

Details of the increase include:

• General minimum wage increases 5.4% to $14.60 per hour, an increase of $0.75 per hour.
• Liquor server minimum wage increases 9.8% to $13.95 per hour, an increase of $1.25 per hour.
• Resident caretaker minimum wage, per month, increases 5.4% to $876.35 for those who ...

This is the second in a two part series on ‘Returning the Workplace to Safe Operation’. This part deals with the renewed significance of existing OH&S requirements in the context of COVID-19. Before considering these OH&S requirements, we will first provide an update on Part 1 of this two part series issued on May 14, 2020.

Part 1: Updates on the requirement for a Safe ...

You can find our previous blog post on the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy here.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced today that the 75% Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (the “Wage Subsidy”) will be extended for an additional 12 weeks to August 29, 2020. It was originally set to expire on June 6, 2020. The announcement indicates that the Government will be consulting with ...

This is the first in a two part series on 'Returning the Workplace to Safe Operation. Part two will be posted on Tuesday, May 19. 

Part 1: New occupational health and safety requirements to ensure your workplace is safe from the spread or introduction of COVID-19

Canadian provinces and territories are now beginning the gradual process of reopening the economy in the wake of ...

On May 4, 2020, the B.C. government passed an Order in Council to add a new provision to the BC Employment Standards Regulation (the “Regulation”) during the current provincial state of emergency. Temporary layoffs related to COVID-19 can now last up to 16 weeks in a 20 consecutive week period without triggering termination of employment.

This is the second change to ...

On April 30, 2020, WorkSafeBC announced it is moving forward with adding COVID-19 to the list of diseases for which there is a presumption of it being work-related. Employers will now have to rebut the presumption that a worker caught COVID-19 at work to have the claim denied. Addition to the list typically takes between 18-24 months, but WorkSafeBC is hoping to expedite and ...

The B.C. and federal government have announced new benefits for workers impacted by COVID-19.

B.C. Emergency Benefit for Workers

The B.C. Emergency Benefit for Workers will provide a one-time $1,000 payment to people who lost income because of COVID-19. B.C. residents who receive Employment Insurance (“EI”) or the new Canada Emergency Response Benefit ...

This blog post combines previous posts released on April 2 and 9, 2020, and contains additional details from Bill C-14, “A second Act respecting certain measures in response to COVID-19” (“Bill”), which received Royal assent on April 11, 2020.

A summary of the details released, to date, on the federal government’s proposed Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy is ...

At the time of writing, more than 1,600 people have died in Canada due to COVID-19. The total number of confirmed cases is over 35,000. Given the magnitude and the seriousness of COVID-19, it was astonishing to read about an 18 year old girl from Hamilton, Ontario, who forged a medical note from her doctor stating she had tested positive for the virus. Not only did this excuse the ...