Commonly Used Terms in a Long-Term Disability Claim

Many individuals have long term disability (LTD) benefit coverage through their employer.  These are group policies that apply to all employees in the workplace.  A group policy is a legal contract often containing technical language which may be difficult to understand.  Insurance companies will use this technical language when denying or terminating long term disability benefits.  We have identified some of the commonly used terms and have attempted to demystify... Read More

What a Non-Disparagement Clause Really Means

If you’ve settled, or are in the process of settling, a legal case against your employer, you may have been asked to agree to what lawyers call a “non-disparagement clause”. These clauses come in many different forms but at their core, they all ask the individual employee to agree, going forward, not to “disparage” their employer or former employer. In fact, some go further and also prohibit individuals from disparaging... Read More

Can I get workers’ compensation for an injury while working from home?

News publications have officially declared the “death of the office”, as most of us adjust to the realities of working from home. While working from home, often referred to as telework or telecommuting, had been steadily increasing in recent years, the amount of people working from home has obviously exploded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. With unprecedented numbers of employees working from somewhere other than their employer’s physical premises,... Read More

Tribunal Confirms Requirement to Appoint Independent Investigator in Workplace Violence Complaints

A federal employer is required to appoint a competent person to investigate a workplace violence complaint, even if it believes the allegations in the complaint do not relate to or amount to workplace violence, according to a recent decision the Occupational Health and Safety Tribunal of Canada. In this case, the worker had suffered through an accommodation process that he felt was inadequate. He believed that representatives of the employer,... Read More

Job Protected Leaves and Covid-19

Ravenlaw gratefully acknowledges the contribution of this post by summer student Emily McBain-Ashfield. Asked to work but feeling ill? Your job is protected As some regions in Ontario enter Phase 2 of re-opening, more people will be asked to return to work. If you are one of those people being asked to return to work, you may be wondering: what will happen to my job if I feel sick, but... Read More

Shaving Your COVID-19 Beard ― Can Your Employer Make You Do It?

Men who grew a beard during the pandemic while working from home or out of work may be asked to shave it off when they re-enter the workplace. Whether your boss can force you to shave your facial hair depends on the type of work you do, your personal circumstances, and, in many instances, whether you are unionized. Is your employer concerned about safety or appearance? Employers have policies against... Read More

Uber Can’t Unfairly Deny Workers Access to Canadian Justice

That doesn’t seem like a shocking proposition, but Uber fought up to the Supreme Court of Canada to argue Canadian courts had no jurisdiction to determine whether it had acted improperly. The Supreme Court of Canada said Uber was wrong. Now a major class action on behalf of drivers can go ahead. Uber thought it had covered itself when it required drivers to agree that they had to make any... Read More

TOP 5 Reasons Why Long Term Disability Benefits are Denied

It’s not unusual for Long Term Disability (LTD) benefits to be denied, and there are various reasons why this may happen. Below are the top five reasons why Long Term Disability benefits are denied to those who are either mentally or physically unable to work. Insufficient medical evidence LTD denials by the insurance company can happen at the beginning of the application process because the applicant or the applicant’s doctor... Read More

Court grants injunction to ensure nurses have access to personal protective equipment

The COVID-19 pandemic gave most Canadians a renewed understanding and appreciation for the essential, life-saving work performed by healthcare professionals. However, early on in the crisis, this appreciation felt empty to many workers who were being denied access to adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) and other measures to protect themselves and their patients. One particularly stark example led the Ontario Superior Court to take the very rare step of intervening... Read More

Foodora flees from Canada amid union drive

We are now months into the COVID-19 pandemic, and it can feel at times like we are living in a completely different world. One can wonder whether life will ever be the same. It appears, however, there are some things that never change—as Foodora couriers in Canada learned recently, one of those things is the lengths to which some employers will go to avoid a union drive. Foodora has unceremoniously... Read More