HRinfodesk poll result and commentary: Can you hold employees financially responsible for damaged workplace equipment (e.g., cellphone, laptop)?
Four hundred and sixty-two people responded to our recent poll, Can you hold employees financially responsible for damaged workplace equipment (e.g., cellphone, laptop)? Of the respondents, 167 (36.15 percent) indicated yes. However, 148 (32.03 percent) disagreed and 147 (31.82 percent) were not sure. So, what is the right answer?
Marie-Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor
4 minutes read
September 5, 2013
New development in Christian Horizons discrimination case
When a support worker at an evangelical Christian organization that runs homes for persons with developmental disabilities entered a same-sex relationship, the organization found the worker had breached its “Lifestyle and Morality Statement,” which prohibited homosexual relationships. The organization, Christian Horizons, eventually terminated the employee on that ground, and the worker complained of discrimination to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal.
Adam Gorley
5 minutes read
August 23, 2013
Monitoring controls: The top ten tax controls
At year end, external auditors heading into the tax department do not generally rely on internal controls to reduce testing; a great deal of effort is focused on substantively testing the income tax balances on the financial statements. Tax processes are notoriously manual in nature with numerous adjustments required to manipulate general ledger information into useable tax information. We have compiled a list of the top ten tax controls every company should have in place with the emphasis (as expected) on monitoring controls.
Occasional Contributors
Can employers in Canada refuse to hire smokers?
Recently, an Ottawa-based tech company called Momentous Corp. has attracted national attention because it implemented a blanket policy against hiring smokers and advertises that it will hire non-smokers only. In order to reduce its health costs, Momentous prohibits the hiring of or allowing any smoking on its property during working hours…
Simon Heath, BA, MIR, LLB, Heath Law
Understanding the rights of pregnant employees in Ontario
Pregnant employees or those employees intending to become pregnant, enjoy significant protection under various provincial and federal statutes. This article will explore the protections provided by the Ontario Human Rights Code, Employment Standards Act, and the Employment Insurance Act.
Earl Altman
Understanding and addressing crime in the workplace
This column will address the increasingly important subject of crime in the workplace. A review of news headlines across Canada on any given day shows the sheer prevalence and harmful impact of work-related crime. Organizations have a moral and legal obligation to understand the crime threats they face and to take diligent steps in managing crime and security risks.
David Hyde
‘If you see something, say something’ in the workplace
It’s been a month marred by violence and disruption. In recent days we have witnessed the troubling arrests of alleged terrorists in Toronto and Montreal, the heinous Boston Marathon Bombing, a violent takeover robbery and double-shooting at a Toronto bank, the assault of a Port Coquitlam, BC security guard, and sexual assaults at a Toronto community college to name a few. Each of these incidents had (or would have had) an impact on the workplace.
David Hyde
4 minutes read
April 26, 2013 
Religious accommodation and safety issues
As we can see by this article, employees requesting a religious accommodation can sometimes conflict with safety issues.
Marie-Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor
7 minutes read
February 25, 2013 
Do you need a cellphone policy for your workplace? And should cellphones be subsidized?
It seems that the majority of respondents to our recent HRinfodesk poll believe that they do need a cellphone policy. Last September we asked you: Does your company have a cellphone policy? 289 (61.75 percent) respondents out of 468 said they do; 163 (34.83 percent) respondents indicated they did not have a cellphone policy; and 16 believed they did not need one. So do you need one or not?
Marie-Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor
