Williams HR Law LLP

Supreme Court of Canada: Federally Regulated Employers Only Need to Inspect Workplaces Under Their Control for Employees’ Safety

In a decision rendered just before the new year, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) clarified that federally regulated employers’ obligation to inspect workplaces for safety hazards only extends to parts of workplaces over which they have control. Most employers in Canada are provincially regulated, which means that they are subject to provincial legislation, such […]

Section 7 and the Right to Be Left Alone Outside of Work

Last month, the Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to appeal a judgment of the Federal Court of Appeal that overturned a determination of the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board (the “PSLREB”) that not compensating employees for on-call hours violated section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the “Charter”).

Supreme Court Enhances Workers’ Charter Rights

In early 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada (the “SCC”) released three decisions in a two-week period that collectively expanded the reach of the constitutional right of freedom of association as it pertains to collective bargaining.  Throughout the past thirty years, the SCC has periodically altered employees’ rights related to collective bargaining as provided by […]

Employers, Take Care when Suspending During Workplace Investigations

There was a time when workplace harassment—at least by today’s definition and standards—was relatively common across Canadian workplaces. Be it an inappropriate comment here or an unseemly touch there, these unwelcome advances were simply part of another day at the office.