Older workers face more difficulty finding work and longer periods of unemployment than younger workers. Under human rights laws, employers have a duty to treat workers of all ages equally. The Canadian Human Rights Act and provincial and territorial human rights laws prohibit age … [Read more...]
Recent Alberta Employment Standards Decisions: Lessons for employers and employees
Recent decisions from the Alberta Employment Standards Appeal Body give new guidance on minimum standards, overtime pay, record-keeping and resignations. Alberta’s Employment Standards Code (the Code) and its regulations set out minimum employment standards for most employees in Alberta. These … [Read more...]
Privacy and Medical Information in the Workplace
How can we balance an employer's right to know about illness or disability and an employee's right to privacy? EDITOR'S NOTE A version of this article first appeared in LawNow in 2019. It has been reviewed for legal accuracy in 2024 by the author. Requesting medical information from … [Read more...]
2023 Employment Law Alberta Year in Review
This past year, the courts have left us important employment law decisions about fiduciary liability, mitigation, overtime, non-solicitation clauses, injunctions, just cause, summary judgment and CERB deductibility. This article is a short summary of some important employment law decisions in … [Read more...]
2022 Employment Law Alberta Year in Review
This past year, the courts have left us with important decisions about employment contracts, constructive dismissal, severance, just cause and the oppression remedy. This article is a short summary of some important employment law decisions in Alberta in 2022, separated roughly into subcategories … [Read more...]
Defending Your Workplace Rights in Alberta Can Be More Difficult Than It Should Be
The Workers' Resource Centre sees common scenarios where workers do not understand their rights and options, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation. For someone experiencing legal issues in the workplace for the first time, navigating the system for information and help can be a dauting task. … [Read more...]
The (Sometimes Complicated) Rules that Apply to Farm Workers in Alberta
In January 2020, the rules changed to exempt farm and ranch employees on small farms from employment standards laws. Alberta’s Employment Standards Code (and the Employment Standards Regulation) applies to most workers in Alberta. But it creates all kinds of exceptions for farm workers, including … [Read more...]
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Migrant Farm Workers
Each year, between 50K and 60K migrant farm workers come to Canada. But are their working conditions in violation of the Charter? “The fight is never about grapes or lettuce. It is always about people.”- Cesar Chavez, civil rights and farm labour activist Chavez uttered those words in 1970 in the … [Read more...]
Small Business Essentials: An employment lawyer’s perspective
Three essentials all small business owners should have in place are employment agreements, policies, and termination letters and releases. One of the most common mistakes small business owners make is assuming a small number of employees means proper employment documents are less important. On the … [Read more...]
#WFH: Considerations from an employment lawyer
Remote work or hybrid work arrangements have become the norm for many office workers due to COVID-19, but what are the legal considerations? I started this article perched on a kitchen chair watching snow fall outside of my in-laws’ house in Calgary. And I am finishing it relaxing on a couch in … [Read more...]
