HReview Breakfast Seminar Archive: 2019
2019 Year in Review… And what to expect in 2020
2019 ushered in many important changes to the employment and labour landscape in Ontario and across Canada. Join us as we discuss how these changes impact employers, and proactive steps to minimize the negative effects. Topics include:
- Legislative Update
- Bill 66 amendments to the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000.
- Changes to the federal Canada Labour Code.
- Harassment in the Workplace
- Can an employee launch a stand-alone lawsuit for harassment? What does this mean
for employers? - “Forum shopping” and the potential for multiple claims at the same time.
- Drugs and Alcohol in the Workplace
- Cannabis legalization- where do we stand?
- Trends in “addiction” case law.
- Trends in Employment Agreements
- New case law on the enforceability of termination provisions.
- The perils of a fixed term agreement.
Navigating the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000: Common Employer Pitfalls (and how to avoid them!)
Navigating the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000:
Common Employer Pitfalls (and how to avoid them!)
In this seminar we explore practical and strategic approaches to address common
Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) violations and risks associated with non-compliance.
Topics include:
1.Hours of Work
- What records must be kept?
- How to manage and track hours in the world of “remote work”.
2. Overtime Pay
- Who is (and is not) entitled to overtime pay?
- How to effectively use overtime agreements in your workplace.
3.Employee Misclassification
- When is an “independent contractor” actually an employee?
4.Self- Audits and Ministry of Labour Complaints
- Understand the Ministry of Labour’s new self-audit process.
- Practical tips to handle a Ministry of Labour complaint.
5.Class Action Liability for an ESA Violation
- How class action litigation can lead to significant liability under the ESA.
- Practical tips to avoid a potential class action claim.
Discipline in the Workplace – Common Issues and Best Practices
Discipline in the workplace can be an employer’s greatest challenge; more so, when complicated by a workplace harassment complaint or Human Rights Code consideration. Too often employers feel their hands are tied, preventing corrective action or discipline.
In this seminar we explore practical and strategic approaches to address misconduct, poor performance and discipline. Topics include:
1. When is discipline appropriate?
- Can an employee be disciplined for off-duty misconduct?
- Is there still value in a performance improvement plan?
2. What is the appropriate discipline?
- Mitigating and aggravating factors.
- How to communicate the outcome.
3. Union Representation
- How does this impact the process?
4. Human Rights
- When (and how) disability, family status or another protected ground influences an employer’s decision-making.
- Can we still use a Last Chance Agreement? If so, when and how?
5. Harassment and Conflict
- Can an employer’s duty to ensure a safe workplace justify discipline?
- Can discipline be issued to an employee who makes a harassment complaint?
6. Practical tips to ensure the best outcome
Privacy and Surveillance: Understanding an Employer’s Rights and Obligations
As arbitrators and courts continue to struggle to balance an employer’s right to manage its business with employees’ right to privacy, employers are often left wondering what they can and cannot do. Join us at this HReview, as we address employer rights and best practices in the world of privacy, monitoring and surveillance, social media and IT-related misconduct:
1. Is there is a “Right” to Privacy?
- Privacy legislation and its impact on your workplace
- Unique considerations for unionized employers
2. Employee Monitoring and Surveillance
- Can an employer monitor an employee’s email, internet and smartphone use?
- When can cameras be used in the workplace?
- Surveillance outside the workplace – is it ever appropriate?
3. Privacy and Social Media
- What is an employer permitted to learn about a job applicant?
- Can an employer require access to an applicant’s social media account(s)?
- Is an employer permitted to act on what it sees on the social media account(s) of an existing employee?
4. Addressing IT-Related Misconduct
- Recent trends in discipline and discharge for IT-related misconduct.
5. What does the future hold?