EDITOR'S NOTE The information in this article may be out-of-date. For current information on employment laws for workers under 18 years of age in Alberta, see CPLEA's Youth & Work FAQs. Employment laws are often different for young workers under 18 years of age to protect them from … [Read more...]
Vicarious Liability: The Legal Responsibility of Employers
“It is right and just that the person who creates a risk bears the loss when the risk ripens into harm.” - Bazley v. Curry, 1999 CanLII 692 (SCC) Introduction After the massive train derailment disaster last summer in Lac Mégantic, Quebec, the chief executive of the train company was roundly … [Read more...]
Insubordination and Dismissal
It is . . . generally true that wilful disobedience of an order will justify summary dismissal, since wilful disobedience of a lawful and reasonable order shows a disregard – a complete disregard – of a condition essential to the contract of service, namely, the condition that the servant must obey … [Read more...]
Occupational Health and Safety 3: Ticket Offences at Work
Introduction Most Canadians are familiar with “tickets” for minor offences. If we have personal experience at all with the legal system, it is most likely through receiving the occasional ticket for parking, seat belts, rolling through a stop sign, speeding or some other traffic offence. There … [Read more...]
Employers’ Legal Obligations During Major Disasters
Introduction We write this column within a week of the devastating floods in southern Alberta. A few years ago, this column addressed the H1N1 influenza outbreak. Before that was SARS. Alberta has experienced serious tornados and fires. While not ‘natural’ disasters, we remember the potent … [Read more...]
Changing Terms of Employment
Introduction Darrell Wronko started work at Western Inventory Service Limited (WIS) in 1987, right after graduating from university. He worked at the company for 17 years, including four years as Vice President of National Accounts and Marketing. In 2000, he signed an amended employment contract, … [Read more...]
Post-Employment Legal Obligations
Introduction As with most relationships, employment relationships end. This may be by mutual parting, the employee quitting, or the employee being dismissed. The end of a relationship can mean that a few legal obligations continue. In this article, we briefly discuss the three principal … [Read more...]
Protection and Prosecution: Falling at Work
Introduction Just before Christmas 2009, Mr. Murgappa Naiker died instantly after falling 18.5 feet from an open bucket while de-icing an airplane at the Calgary airport. He was not wearing his safety harness. He had 17 years experience as a de-icing ramp agent and had completed updated safety … [Read more...]
The Confidentiality of Commercially Valuable Information
Introduction: the Cymbal Business In an age when multi-billion dollar companies struggle to survive, a small family-owned company called Zidjian continues to manufacture cymbals as it has for almost four hundred years. It controls almost 65% of the world’s cymbal market, with annual revenues close … [Read more...]
The Law of Embellished Credentials
Introduction Human resources professionals say up to 30% of claims on resumes of job applicants have been exaggerated. Job seekers, inclined to present themselves in the best possible light, are tempted to inflate their credentials, especially during recessionary times when jobs are scarce and … [Read more...]
