On October 12, 2022, Alison McEwen will be presenting at the 23rd Employment Law Summit, presented by the Law Society of Ontario. She will be speaking on the topic of return to the physical workplace, the challenges that arise with this return, and if there is a way to continue working from home.
For more information or to register for the Summit, visit the Law Society’s website.
On September 26, 2022, Morgan Rowe spoke to the University of Ottawa – Faculty of Common Law’s “Human Rights” class, as part of the class on emerging topics in human rights. Her presentation focused on topics related to sexual orientation, asexuality, and the regulation of personal relationships.
On September 23, 2022, Morgan Rowe presented on the Labour and Employment Panel at the Kingston & 1000 Islands Legal Conference, hosted by Frotenac Law Association.
Morgan discussed the obligation on employees to cooperate in workplace accommodation processes, including addressing when employees may refuse accommodation options proposed by their employers.
In November 2022, James Cameron will be inducted as a Fellow of the College of Labour and Employment Lawyers.
The College was founded in the United States. It is an organization that promotes achievement, advancement and excellence in the practice of labour and employment law, as well as working to establish leadership, high standards of professionalism, and civility among labour and employment lawyers. The College has fellows in the United States and Canada.
James will be joining Sean McGee, who was inducted as a Fellow of the College in November 2020.
In a recent decision, the Federal Court overturned a decision by a delegate of the Minister of Labour, which had refused to investigate the health and safety complaint of a Canada Border Service Agency employee.
The employee had filed a complaint with the Minister under the Canada Labour Code when CBSA had refused to appoint an impartial investigator to investigate his harassment concerns. CBSA had taken the position that it did not have to investigate the concerns because the employee was off-duty at the time of the alleged harassment, even though the incident took place within the workplace and the alleged harasser was the employee’s supervisor. When considering the employee’s Code complaint, the Minister of Labour’s Delegate refused to investigate the complaint, finding instead that the employee should file a human rights complaint because he was off-duty at the time of the incident.
In its decision, the Court found that the Minister’s Delegate did not have the option to refuse to investigate the employee’s complaint. Instead, the Court found that investigation was a mandatory obligation on the Delegate for this type of complaint, and the Delegate therefore committed an error by refusing to investigate.
In addition, the Court strongly questioned whether it was appropriate to deny the employee harassment protections under the Code because he was off-duty at the time of the incident. As the Court stated:
“While the Applicant was in fact off-duty when the incident occurred… it remains that the Applicant was still in his place of work and the agent of the alleged harassment and violence was the Applicant’s supervisor. Therefore, it becomes difficult to disregard the employee-employer connection in this incident, and the fact that the effects of the incident are evidently different for the Applicant than for a regular traveller who is not employed by the CBSA. Since the place, the tone, and the circumstances of the incident are indicative of the existence of a nexus between the incident of violence and the work place, the issue becomes whether or not the incident itself constitutes harassment and violence. The Respondent’s submissions seem to suggest that if an employee acts within the requirements of their job, as provided for by their work policy or statute, their actions against an off-duty employee while in the place of work cannot constitute harassment or work place violence. I agree with the Applicant that this could set a concerning precedent…”
Based on its analysis, the Court set aside the Minister’s Delegate’s decision and referred the matter back for a new decision.
The Applicant was represented by Morgan Rowe of RavenLaw.
During the week of June 20, 2022, RavenLaw presented as part of multiple panels during the Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers’ annual conference.
On June 24, 2022, Sean McGee presented as part of a panel exploring the opportunities and challenges of remote work post-COVID. In the afternoon, Wassim Garzouzi moderated a panel with two guest speakers from the United States, which discussed unionizing workplaces like Amazon and the need to reform labour laws.
On June 25, 2022, Amarkai Laryea presented on a panel addressing the impacts that current grievance arbitration models have on racialized workers and ways to practice labour law in an actively anti-racist manner.
Did Shopify terminate your employment? We have a dedicated team of Employment Lawyers ready to help. Severance packages can be confusing, which is why we’re committed to answering all of your questions and helping you through this uncertain time. Schedule an appointment today with one of our experienced Employment Lawyers to review your termination package and make sure you get a fair deal. You can come meet with us in person, by videoconference or by phone.
