Employer’s duty to accommodate an employee’s illness
I am often asked by HR Managers and other supervisory personnel how long an employee can be off work due to illness before he is deemed to have abandoned his position. Many HR people question whether they have to retain the opening indefinitely where there is no reliable prediction as to when an employee will return to work. The issue is important in that…
Earl Altman
4 minutes read
July 20, 2010
The ‘Ministry’ will investigate complaints of harassment… Really??!!
As a human rights advisor and educator I was encouraged to overhear this educational conversation about harassment at Tim Hortons. I was concerned however that part of the message this group was hearing was incorrect and misleading.
Andrew Lawson
All this hot, humid and smoggy air outside… but what about indoor air quality?
The last few days have been quite hot and muggy. Those without air conditioning at home are especially grateful that they can retreat inside their air-conditioned workplaces for at least most of the day; but what is the air quality inside these areas?
Christina Catenacci, BA, LLB, LLM, PhD
Superior court refuses employer’s request for injunction
In yet another example of the reluctance of the Ontario Superior Court to restrict competitive activities of former employees, the Court rejected an employer’s request for an injunction…
Earl Altman
Canada Day – What employers need to know
This year, Canada Day (July 1) falls on a Thursday. Unlike some public holidays, which shift dates in order to provide a long weekend, Canada Day is to be celebrated on the day it falls. This year, there has been much discussion of the fact that it creates a situation in which many people have Thursday off, and are then expected to return to work for one day before enjoying their weekend.
Rudner Law, Employment / HR Law & Mediation
Privacy risk management – by design
I’ve discussed the Privacy by Design principle before, in the Inside Internal Control newsletter. In case you don’t know, PbD is an approach developed by Dr. Ann Cavoukian, the Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, which proactively embeds privacy protection by default in the design of an organization’s practices and products.
Colin Braithwaite
‘Hazing’ and ‘horseplay’ in the workplace – a serious matter for the employer
I recently read an article on “hazing” and “horseplay” in the workplace. Photos and videos revealed incidents where employees were subjected to some very unusual, and downright unacceptable, treatment in the transportation and works department of their municipal employer.
Christina Catenacci, BA, LLB, LLM, PhD
Employees who hate working…a human rights issue?
An employee who hates working and being managed by his or her supervisor – Can this become a human rights issue in the workplace? Well it depends!
Christina Catenacci, BA, LLB, LLM, PhD
Bill 168 – Meeting your obligations for violence and harassment prevention
There’s lots of talk in Ontario’s workplaces and online about workplace violence and harassment and the Bill 168 amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Hopefully by now the message is getting through, and employers are taking the steps to prepare for the June 15 deadline. (That’s about three weeks away!)
Adam Gorley
