Labour and Employment Law Blog

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 ...

This blog post is a follow-up to our previous two-part blog post (Part 1, Part 2) and webinar discussing sweeping changes to Alberta's workers' compensation and occupational health and safety legislation. At the time of the webinar, it was unknown when precisely the new Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act ("new OHSA") would come into force.

Earlier this week, the ...

In 2020, as offices and workplaces across Canada closed or reduced staffing capacity due to COVID-19, many Canadian workers who normally performed work at their employer’s worksite were suddenly required to work from home, either fully or partially. While this has not always been an easy transition, the silver lining is that such workers may be eligible for an income tax ...

Now that we have persevered through one year of the COVID-19 pandemic, much has been written about pandemic fatigue and associated social isolation, mental stress, and anxiety. Employers may be seeing an increase in the incidence of mental illness claims in their workplaces. Statistics Canada conducted an online questionnaire in April-May 2020, Canadians' mental ...

This is the second installment of a two-part blog discussing sweeping changes to Alberta's workers' compensation and occupational health and safety legislation. Be sure to check out our previous post, which summarized significant amendments to the Alberta Workers' Compensation Act.

In this installment, we are highlighting five major changes to the occupational ...

This is the first installment of a two-part blog discussing sweeping changes to the Alberta Workers' Compensation Act (WCA) and Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) made as part of the government's initiative to "cut red tape." While the Legislature passed the amendments in December 2020, most of the changes to the WCA come into force on April 1, 2021, while the new OHSA ...

Workplace harassment is once again in the news given our former Governor General’s resignation from her post after a 132 page investigation report was issued following accusations of a toxic work environment at Rideau Hall.

While the Government of Canada took the correct steps in hiring an independent investigator once the allegations surfaced, meeting with all ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we work. Business-related travel, particularly international travel, has decreased significantly. For some employers, travel for work-related purposes, both domestic and international, is a necessity, not an option. In this blog post, we address some of the risks associated with business-related travel during the pandemic ...

As we all know by now, the U.S. Capitol was stormed by a mob of President Trump’s supporters on Wednesday January 6, 2021. A great deal of the mob, as well as police officers who appeared to stand aside as rioters streamed inside, were captured on video and replayed repeatedly over the news. This includes two Canadian nurses who allegedly travelled to Washington D.C. to ...

The December holiday season is almost upon us again. And thank goodness. After this year, workers will surely need the opportunity to relax with family and friends, even if this year’s holiday get-together will be hosted by Zoom.

In British Columbia and Alberta, both Christmas Day (December 25) and New Year’s Day (January 1) are statutory / general holidays under each ...