Employment Laws in Ontario

Employment laws in Ontario are changing. Our blogs (i) explain how statute laws impose rights and obligations on employers; (ii) explain why terminating certain types of employees can attract more liability than others; (iii) identify proactive measures that an organization can take to reduce the legal exposure associated with its workforce; (iv) dispel common misconceptions about employer rights; and (v) summarize important legal cases of interest to employers.

(i) Explaining how Statute Laws Impose Rights and Obligations on Employers

Here are two recent examples:

On January 1, 2012 certain provisions of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act became law.   If you are unsure of your organization’s obligations under this law, read our blog, 5 Things You Should Know About the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act for more information.

If you employ 20 or more workers and don’t have a joint health and safety committee with a “certified” worker representative, then we suggest you take a look at our post, 7 Things You Should Know About the Occupational Health & Safety Act to find out more.

(ii) Identifying Instances where Terminating Employees can Attract Extra Liability

For example, if your organization is thinking about terminating an employee who has been on long-term disability for a long period of time, make sure you read our blog, Terminating An Employee on Long-Term Disability: Be Very, Very Careful before you make any decisions.

(iii) Identifying Proactive Measures that your Organization can take to Reduce Legal Exposure

We suggest that most organizations implement a sexual harassment policy. For a detailed explanation, see the article Investigating Sexual Harassment Complaints: Do you have a policy?.

Similarly, we believe there are a number of ways to protect an organization from departing employees. You can find out more about this topic by reading our blog, How to Protect Your Business From a Departing Employee.

( iv) Dispelling Common Misconceptions About Employer Rights

For instance, many employers believe they have the right to temporarily lay off an employee without attracting any legal liability, but this isn’t necessarily the case. To find out the facts, please visit our blog post, Beware of Temporary Layoffs.

(v) Summarize Important Legal Cases of Interest to Employers

For example, on January 18, 2012 Ontario’s highest court recognized a right to privacy that could require changes to existing employer practices and policies. For more information on this case, please visit our blog post Ontario’s Highest Court Recognizes a Right to Privacy.

We want our blogs to be practical and relevant. We therefore encourage you to e-mail us at [email protected] if you want us to blog on a particular topic.