The courts released several important employment law decisions in Alberta in 2021, including about bonuses, just cause, defamation and constructive dismissal. This article summarizes several important employment law decisions in Alberta in 2021. This article does not focus on cases from other … [Read more...]
Bad Behaviour 7.0: Sexual Harassment & Wrongful Dismissal
Usually, the person claiming to have been harassed sues the employer. In a 2004 B.C. case, the harasser sued the employer for wrongful dismissal. This is the bad behaviour story of a spurned co-worker in a union office. His romantic desires were unreciprocated. He was then accused of revenge. … [Read more...]
I’m Turning 18, Now What: Being an employee
Whether you already have a job or are looking for your first, you should know your rights as an employee. Employment is a contract between the employer and the employee. Each party agrees to do certain things. At its most basic, your employer agrees to pay you for the work you do. The employment … [Read more...]
Bad Behaviour 6.0: Employees getting away with …
An exhibitionist teacher, a foul-languaged childcare worker and a lustful caretaker are three more cases of employees getting away with bad behaviour. In my opinion, the phrase "fuck off" is just a forceful and intense way to say "leave me alone" or "go away". On September 12, 1996, I find that … [Read more...]
Unpaid Internships: The Views of a Survivor!
Last week a Craigslist post made the rounds of my social circle in Vancouver. It advertised an exciting opportunity for a peppy, earnest young person to become a "Barista Intern", to learn to handle, and I quote, "thirst and hunger requirements." Needless to say, it was torn apart and taken down not … [Read more...]
Regulation of Employment Agencies
. . . the essential duty of the employment service shall be to ensure . . . the best possible organization of the employment market as an integral part of the national programme for the achievement and maintenance of full employment and the development and use of productive resources. - … [Read more...]
Bench Press 38-5: Balancing Work and Family
Fiona Johnstone began a long odyssey through Canadian courts when she encountered difficulties in finding childcare for her two toddlers so that she could continue to work for Canada Border Services. A childcare expert testified that Ms Johnstone faced a very difficult work environment: different … [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...]
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...]
