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British Columbia Employer Advisor Blog: Month in Review

Mandatory Retirement for Firefighters — Is it valid?
By Christopher McHardy on March 28th, 2013

 

The BC Human Rights Tribunal has decided to hear a complaint from an on-call firefighter in Chilliwack about his forced retirement at age 60 (news reports claim Mr. Shellard is now 63 years old). The case is significant for at least two reasons. First, it is a challenge to mandatory retirement in a job that is generally …

Murphy’s Laws of HR — Bullying and Harassment
By Earl Phillips on March 22nd, 2013

We have published our first 3 Murphy’s Laws of HR. It’s time for #4. Bullying and harassment is much in mind these days, especially in BC under the new Workers Compensation Act provisions. Go here – Client Conference materials – if you want to see what we had to say about those provisions at our recent …

Terminating Employees on Disability — Truly Shark Infested Waters
By Earl Phillips on March 14th, 2013

The media is full of the story of a couple from Wales who were fired from their jobs after the husband helped save children from a shark attack. It seems that the husband’s heroics generated a media stir at the time, which led to the employer back in Wales finding out the couple were vacationing …

Annual Client Conference — Conference Materials Available Online
By Earl Phillips on March 11th, 2013

Thanks to over 230 clients who attended our annual full day client conference on Friday March 8. The materials for all the presentations and workshops are available online here. The materials cover: What we can expect from an NDP government in Victoria Privacy in workplace computers Bill 14 – The new harassment, bullying and violence in the workplace …

UPDATED POSTS
We have updated two posts where the Supreme Court of Canada has made recent decisions.

Mandatory Retirement for Law Partners
By Earl Phillips on July 19th, 2012

(The Supreme Court of Canada decided on March 7, 2013 to hear an appeal of this case.)

A partner is a partner and cannot be an employee of the partnership. That decision came today from the BC Court of Appeal in the Fasken Martineau case.

The decision is of great interest to law firms of course, and to other partnerships. But it is also important for employers generally. It helps to better understand who is and is not an employee entitled to human rights protections ...

Overtime Class Actions and the Special Position of BC Employers
By Christopher McHardy on July 11th, 2012

Big news from Ontario on overtime claims – the Court of Appeal will allow claims for statutory overtime by CIBC and Bank of Nova Scotia employees to proceed as class actions. (Update: The Supreme Court of Canada decided on March 21, 2013 that it will not hear the banks’ appeals, so these cases may be going to trial next.) ...