Are you An Employee, Independent Contractor or Dependent Contractor?

In Ottawa, many workers believe themselves to be “independent contractors” either because they prefer this characterization or because their employers have described them in those terms. Unfortunately, both might be incorrect and being improperly considered an independent contractor when you are actually an employee can have weighty implications for your annual tax payments and also your legal entitlements if and when the employment relationship ends. What’s in a name? Like... Read More

Andrew Astritis to present at OBA Update on Human Rights

Andrew Astritis will be speaking at the Ontario Bar Association’s Annual Update on Human Rights, which will take place on Friday, May 29, 2015. Andrew’s presentation will address the Canadian Human Rights Commission’s screening process under the Canadian Human Rights Act, including recent decisions setting out the procedural protections for complainants in this process. For more information on the conference please visit the OBA’s website.   Read More

Am I being discriminated against at work?

Canadian law protects workers from being treated differently based on certain prohibited grounds of discrimination. The prohibited grounds are set out in human rights legislation, such as the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Ontario Human Rights Code. They include race, ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, and family status, among others. The Ontario Code also provides explicit protection on the basis of gender identity and gender expression. The... Read More

Human rights damages awarded due to exploitation of live-in caregiver

Live-in caregivers sadly face the risk of abuse and exploitation due to their vulnerable position, an issue most commonly arising in the criminal or immigration context. A recent decision of the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, PN v FR and another, 2015 BCHRT 60 , addressed this issue through a human rights lens. The Tribunal allowed a complaint of discrimination and harassment from a live-in nanny who was subjected to horrific... Read More

The Duty to Accommodate

Human rights laws in Canada do not simply prohibit employers and other organizations from taking overtly discriminatory actions against individuals. These laws, such as the Ontario Human Rights Code or the Canadian Human Rights Act, also require an employer to take positive steps to eliminate or reduce barriers in the workplace. This is known as the duty to accommodate. The duty to accommodate recognizes that it is sometimes necessary to... Read More

Andrew Astritis presents on family status for CBA

Andrew Astritis participated as a panelist in a recent webinar by the Canadian Bar Association on family status accommodation. The webinar provided an update on cases on this issue from across Canada, including a discussion of recent cases that have been decided since the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision in Canada (Attorney General) v Johnstone. For information or to purchase a copy of the recording, please visit the CBA website.... Read More

Public service employee faces possible discipline for political song “Harperman”

A scientist in the federal public service made national headlines last week when he was suspended with pay pending an investigation into a protest song he wrote about the Harper government. Tony Turner and a chorus of others appeared in a video performance of the song, "Harperman", which was posted on YouTube last June and had garnered approximately 50,000 views. The video prompted an investigation, according to news reports, into... Read More

PSLREB Awards $12,500 in Damages for Failure to Accommodate

On May 11, in its decision in Kirby v Correctional Services Canada, 2015 PSLREB 41, the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board ordered Correctional Services Canada (CSC) to pay $12,500 in back-wages and damages for pain and suffering for having discriminated against an employee on the basis of disability. The employee, Larry Kirby, had been working as an institutional driver for the CSC when he injured his back in... Read More

David Yazbeck Appointed to the Board of Directors of FOLKRUM

David Yazbeck has been appointed to the Board of Directors of FOLKRUM, Ottawa’s community music venue. FOLKRUM is an independent, not-for-profit organization working toward the creation of a creativity hub and music facility to serve Ottawa, Outaouais, the valley and surrounding areas. David previously served as an Advisor to FOLKRUM. Read More

David Yazbeck Moderating Lancaster House Conference on Independent Medical Examinations

On June 11, David Yazbeck will be moderating a Lancaster House Conference on “The ABCs of IMEs: When are they useful, when are the required?” The conference will discuss the ins and outs of employer requests for independent medical examinations (“IMEs”) to verify or obtain information about an employee’s medical condition. The panel will discuss the ground rules for employer requests for IMEs, whether such requests are becoming more common, whether... Read More