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 ...
The death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 has led to global anti-racism protests and has shone a spotlight on inequality in all aspects of society, including the workplace. Individual protestors are not the only ones who have stood up, rather we have also seen the business community standing up and actively engaging in ...
A recent decision of the BC Supreme Court (Coutlee v Apex Granite & Tile Inc., 2020 BCSC 315) provides a useful example of where an employee’s words and actions will be interpreted as a voluntary resignation rather than a dismissal. Summary of Facts The defendant company, Apex, provided tile and granite installation services. Apex hired ...
Finance Minister Bill Morneau today announced that the Government of Canada will extend the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) to August 29, 2020. The government has also revised the criteria to include several additional types of organizations that would not have otherwise been eligible for the CEWS: Partnerships: Partnerships with non-eligible members will now ...
Prime Minster Trudeau announced on May 8 that the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) will be extended. This should be welcome news for employees and employers. The details of the CEWS are summarized in our previous blog posts, including our discussion about how it can be used by employers instead of laying off employees. In brief, ...
On May 4, 2020 the BC government announced that it has amended the BC Employment Standards Act to extend the maximum allowable period for a temporary layoff. Previously, a temporary layoff could only extend to 13 weeks in a 20-week period before being considered a permanent layoff/termination. Now the Act allows for a maximum of ...
Our Workplace Law Group is regularly receiving questions about employers needing to reduce their workforce during this difficult time. These questions tie into several of our recent blog posts about the different options available to employers. Here is a quick summary of those questions and our condensed/summary answers. Question 1- what are my options for ...
