Subscribers to this blog receive a brief description of a new employment law development every two weeks.

Some topics however deserve more than a cursory discussion. We have selected three such topics to cover in a ½ day seminar on October 23rd in Toronto and on October 24th in Barrie.

Here is a brief summary of the three topics we will be discussing at this seminar:

The legalization of the cannabis

On October 17, 2018, Canada is scheduled to become the second country on earth to legalize cannabis. The federal government could have simply decriminalized cannabis use but it went further and established a framework for the legal sale of cannabis. Each province will decide how to distribute cannabis, how to amend impaired driving laws, and set the price of cannabis.

It is important that each employer understand its rights and obligations under the new cannabis legislation and to set and enforce expectations with respect to cannabis use and impairment in the workplace including employees who have been prescribed medical marijuana.

We will discuss issues that should be addressed in a workplace drug policy.

The employment law landscape is changing under the new PC government

The Progressive Conservative government has stated that Ontario is open for business and we expect this will mean less regulation of Ontario workplaces and it may mean that certain legislation will not be implemented as expected. For example, during the provincial election campaign, leader Doug Ford stated that a $1 per hour increase in the minimum wage will not take effect on January 1, 2019 as planned. There are a number of planned amendments to the Employment Standards Act that are scheduled to take place in 2019 and we believe the PC government may delay or scrap some of these proposed changes.

We will discuss what laws the PC government has introduced as of mid-October and identify which laws will not be enacted in 2019 as originally planned.

The human rights landscape is changing

The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario processes thousands of applications each year and issues decisions that affect all employers. These decisions can provide guidance to employers such as its decisions on what an employer must do to satisfy its duty to accommodate an employee with a disability. Did you know that an adjudicator recently concluded that a law which allows an employer to provide an employee over 65 years old with lesser health benefits than a younger worker was unconstitutional? Does your group health plan permit this kind of age discrimination?

We will discuss the most significant human rights decisions in the last year and what they mean to employers.

The cost of this seminar is $199 plus HST. To register, please email judy@macleodlawfirm.ca or call 647-204-8107.

For over 30 years, Doug MacLeod of the MacLeod Law Firm has been advising employers on all aspects of the employment relationship. If you have any questions, you can contact him directly at 416-317-9894 or at doug@macleodlawfirm.ca