Roberts’ Rules: What can Leslie Roberts teach us about Conflicts of Interest and Restrictive Covenants?
The Toronto Star investigative reporting team has been keeping busy. First, they unearthed the drug scandals of former mayor Rob Ford. Next came the unleashing of the Jian Ghomeshi scandal, which was based largely on months of tracking the radio personality. The Star’s investigation has since led to Ghomeshi’s termination, several suspensions by his employers […]
A Promise to Behave: What the Supreme Court Now Says About the ‘Duty of Good Faith’
We all live our lives bound by a series of contracts. Whether we buy a house, a car, get married, buy something, sell something, there’s usually some sort of contractual relationship at the forefront. It seems only natural, if not idealistic, that two parties entering into a contract would treat each other honestly, and deal […]
Cough Cough: Stick Out Your Sick Leave Policies and Say “Ahhh”
Winter is here. The leaves have fallen, snow has arrived, and the office soundtrack is in full symphony with the sounds of coughing, sneezing, and trips to the supply room to grab another box of Kleenex. That’s right – cold and flu season is back, which means it’s a perfect time to talk about sick […]
The many Qs surrounding Jian Ghomeshi: What happens when a bitter termination goes public?
There are two sides to every story and terminations are of course no exception. For every reason a company may have to terminate an employee, an employee will likely have countless responses to excuse his or her behavior or conduct, even if such attempts are fruitless. However, few terminations become so public, and are such a shock […]
Ideal Waste of Time: Social Media and its Seismic Shift in the Workplace
A young employee at an automobile service station is having a sluggish day. He tweets from his workplace in search of a marijuana delivery at work, to, in his words, “help him last this open to close.” Local police not only caught wind of the tweet but they tweeted back, asking “can we come too?” […]
Work Hard, Pray Hard: The Delicate Balance of Religious Accommodation
Late last month, a female Canadian Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) screener revealed that five male passengers travelling through Toronto’s Pearson airport were given permission to be screened by only male guards. The reason? The five men are Hindu priests known as Sadhus, whose religious adherence does not permit any contact with women. The female officer […]
Closing the New Gender Gap: Assessing Issues of Gender Identity in the Workplace
Last fall, a 10-year-old Vancouver girl and her family made headlines for her fight to get her birth certificate amended. It was not for any name or address change though; Harriette Cunningham has transitioned from a boy to a girl and wants her government-issued paperwork to reflect this. Other stories have come forward of individuals […]
Everything but those Two Little Words: The Truth Behind Constructive Dismissal
On his hit television show The Apprentice, business mogul Donald Trump turned the words “you’re fired” into a novelty catch phrase. In reality though, these are likely the two most difficult words any employee could hear. Work is one of the most important relationships in people’s lives, and the end of that relationship can be […]
American Apparel Dismisses Its Canadian Bad Boy: How Sexual Harassment Can Put a Company in Peril
A recent shake-up at American Apparel saw CEO and founder Dov Charney ousted from the company amidst a damning history of sexual harassment scandals. Scandal is old hat for Charney; he’s been plagued with claims of bizarre and inappropriate behavior since a peculiar interview with Jane magazine over a decade ago, and he has faced […]
Helpless No More: The Potential Change for Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) Coverage for Workplace Bullying
There is new light at the end of the tunnel for employees suffering from acute workplace stress. In a recent decision, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT) allowed an appeal from an employee who was claiming mental disability from a workplace bullying situation. This is a marked change from prior policy of the […]