RavenLaw Attends UOttawa Career Connections Events

During the week of March 14, 2022, RavenLaw represented the firm at the 2022 uOttawa Career Connections event, held virtually. Morgan Rowe, Zachary Rodgers, Claire Michela, and Simcha Walfish participated in panels, roundtables, and meet and greet events with law students and particularly spoke about their work representing unions and employees. Thank you to the organizers for putting on this great event, and thank you to the uOttawa students for your engagement and enthusiasm!... Read More

Raphaelle Laframboise-Carignan Presents on COVID-19 Employment Law and Policies

On December 21, 2021, Raphaëlle Laframboise-Carignan presented to l’Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario (AJEFO) on employment laws and policies related to COVID-19. Raphaëlle discussed the effects of these types of policies on the workplace, accommodation issues, exemption requests, and the potential consequences where employees do not comply with COVID-19 policies. Read More

Will new pay transparency rules help to eliminate the wage gap?

[RavenLaw gratefully acknowledges the contribution of this post by articling student Kundera Provost-Yombo] In January 2021, the Government of Canada implemented amendments to the Employment Equity Regulations that imposed disclosure obligations to on federally regulated private sector workplaces. These new measures will make salaries publicly available, and help to identify wage gaps experienced by women, indigenous people, members of visible minorities, and people with disabilities. The key question is –... Read More

Congratulations to David Yazbeck on his new role at PIPSC!

As many of our friends and colleagues in the labour community may already know, David Yazbeck has left private practice at RavenLaw to work within the labour movement as the Director, National Labour Relations, at PIPSC. David has a long history representing PIPSC and its members, championing human rights and whistleblower protections in numerous precedent-setting cases on the union’s behalf. This is an exciting opportunity for David to continue to... Read More

Ontario Government Proposes to Ban Noncompete Clauses

Wassim Garzouzi was interviewed by the Toronto Star on the Ontario Government’s proposed ban on noncompete clauses in employment contracts. Check out what he said here! Read More

Courts differ on whether to deduct CERB benefits from wrongful dismissal damages

By Raven Law [The firm gratefully recognizes the contribution of this post by articling student Anna Rotman] The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) was introduced in part to support individuals who lost their jobs due to the pandemic. Millions of workers across Canada who were out of work at some point during the pandemic have received CERB payments. Some of those workers may have made claims of wrongful dismissal against... Read More

Federal Court Rejects Anti-Abortion Challenge to Government Funding Restrictions

On October 22, 2021, the Federal Court dismissed an application by the Right to Life Association of Toronto and Area (TRTL), which sought to challenge the Federal Government’s decision to deny it funding for the 2018 Canada Summer Jobs program because its president refused to sign an attestation that the job and the organization’s mandate respected human rights, including reproductive rights. (more…) Read More

Jessica Greenwood to Co-Chair Public Sector Bargaining Conference

On November 24, 2021, Jessica Greenwood will be co-chairing the Ontario Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conference, hosted by Lancaster House. Jessica will be moderating panels on the economic forecast for 2022 and its potential impact on bargaining and on how the COVID-19 pandemic and the move to virtual meetings will impact bargaining processes. Other panels will address negotiations topics affecting workplaces in 2022, like post-pandemic health and safety concerns, and ways... Read More

Wassim Garzouzi Publishes Chapter on Collective Bargaining in Education

Wassim Garzouzi recently published a chapter in the edited collection, Collective Bargaining in Higher Education. Wassim’s chapter addresses the myth of academic exceptionalism in organizing and collective bargaining within academia, examined through the lens of a successful organizing drive and first contract achieved by the part-time law professors at the University of Ottawa. The chapter is available here. The interest arbitration decision referred to in the chapter can be found here. Read More

“Draconian and Inflexible”, Arbitrator Declares ORNGE’s Drug and Alcohol Policy to be Unreasonable and Discriminatory

The Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) was successful in two grievances challenging ORNGE’s Drug and Alcohol Policy. Specifically, the OPEIU challenged the ORNGE’s “zero-tolerance” approach to medical cannabis, and its practice to treat prescribed medicinal cannabis differently from other types of medication. Arbitrator Gail Misra declared ORNGE’s policy to be discriminatory and unreasonable. She concluded that “having a blanket edict that if an employee can only use medical... Read More