In Fraser v. Canada (Attorney General), 2020 SCC 28, the Supreme Court of Canada considered an allegation of “adverse impact” discrimination where an apparently neutral pension plan had a disproportionate impact on female RCMP members with children. The court’s broad interpretation of the equality rights in section 15 of the Charter has potentially far-reaching implications ...
Chung v Quay Pacific Property Management Ltd, 2020 BCSC 174 A recent decision from the BC Supreme Court, Chung v Quay Pacific Property Management Ltd, 2020 BCSC 174, shows that a short service employee (2 years of service) can receive a significant notice period (9 months) on termination without cause. FACTS The claimant was ...
A recent decision from the British Columbia Provincial Court, Zaranski v JR Canada Restaurant Group Ltd, 2020 BCPC 49, illustrates that an employer must not dismiss an employee for dishonesty before thoroughly investigating the allegations. FACTS The claimant worked as a Financial Controller for the defendant from May 1, 2017 through to June 27, 2017. ...
On September 18th, Dr. Henry ordered that all nightclubs cease operating, and imposed new restrictions on restaurants and other similar businesses serving alcohol. This raises significant considerations for the owners, including how to manage their existing employees. One of the considerations for employers is whether they can rely on the doctrine of frustration (or the ...
When preparing employment agreements or considering applicable rules for topics like overtime pay, vacation pay, or termination pay, the first question is to determine if the workplace or the employees are protected by the Employment Standards Act in BC. This generally involves two different inquiries. First, one must consider whether the business is federally regulated ...
As covered in our blog post on June 26th, the BC government extended the temporary layoff period from 16 weeks to 24 weeks until August 30, 2020 for layoffs caused by COVID-19. As of August 30th, employees who are on a temporary layoff (and are not recalled) will be deemed to have been terminated and ...
In the recent decision The Employee v The University and another (No.2), 2020 BCHRT 12 the BC Human Rights Tribunal held that an isolated comment may not amount to sexual harassment where there are no objective adverse consequences and remedial steps are taken to mitigate the subjective harm felt by the complainant. FACTS The complainant ...
The recent decision from the BC Human Rights Tribunal Thanh v BC Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, 2020 BCHRT 15 provides an example of how an employer can establish undue hardship and limit its duty to accommodate an employee’s disability. Facts The complainant was a community coroner on medical leave for PTSD which ...
After mounting pressure from businesses in BC, the BC government announced on Thursday, June 25 that it has extended the allowable temporary layoff period from 16 weeks to 24 weeks until August 30, 2020 for layoffs caused by COVID-19. This means that, for all employees already on a temporary layoff due to COVID-19, they will not ...
