COVID-19 Infection Considered an Employment Injury
On September 23, 2021, the Tribunal administratif du travail [Administrative Labour Tribunal] (the “Tribunal”) determined that a COVID-19 infection could constitute an employment injury[1], within the meaning of the Act respecting industrial accidents […]
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Nurses’ Union Lose Bid to Widen COVID-19 N95 Respirator Directive
In the early days of the pandemic, the Ontario Chief Public Health Officer issued a directive that healthcare workers be equipped with N95 respirators to protect against exposure to aerosols […]
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What to Do When an Employee Defies Your Mandatory Vaccination Policy
Find out why the worker is refusing before deciding what to do. Before the pandemic, mandatory vaccination policies were rare and limited to sensitive sectors like health care and travel. But […]
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Restaurant Ordered to Close for Not Verifying Customers’ Vaccination
Disobedience with COVID-19 public health orders is not an option. Just ask the restaurant that Fraser Health Authorities ordered to close for failing to comply with orders requiring restaurants to […]
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COVID-19 Infection Risks Don’t Justify Unilateral Staffing Cuts
To minimize risk of COVID-19 infection, a ferry operator reduced the number of crew personnel below the minimum staffing levels required by the collective agreement. The operator claimed that the […]
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Dec 1 – COVID-19 Status Update: Workplace Precautions, Vaccinations, and Where We Go From Here
Date: December 1, 2021 Time: 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM PST Speaker: Preston Parsons Register Here to register for this webinar. This session will look at the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic for your […]
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Workplace COVID-19 Vaccine Passport Policy
Although courts have yet to weigh in on the issue, regulatory guidelines indicate that employers may follow the lead of some provincial governments and implement COVID-19 vaccination passport policies requiring […]
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Lawscape: COVID-19 Vaccination Passport
Which provinces have adopted vaccination passport requirements? It’s up to each jurisdiction to decide whether to adopt a vaccination passport system within its own borders. Here’s a visual rundown of where […]
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Current Vaccine Passport Rules Across Canada
Ontario, BC, Quebec, Manitoba and Nova Scotia require proof of vaccination to participate in certain public activities. “Vaccination passport,” a term few of us had ever heard before the pandemic, has […]
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How to Implement a Workplace Vaccine Passport Policy
The 5 things to do to keep vaccination verification policies legally compliant. The COVID-19 vaccinations currently available have been shown to be safe and effective in preventing the spread of coronavirus. […]
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Part 3: HR Strategies for a Pandemic Recovery
Recorded Date: September 22, 2021 Time: 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM PDT Speaker: Norm Keith To access the recording of this webinar, please go here. All ancillary material is available as a handout with […]
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Worker’s Deliberate Refusal to Wash Hands Is Worthy of a 4-Month Suspension
A longshore worker passed by a wash station without stopping to wash his hands. When his supervisor ordered him to go back to the wash station, he refused and was […]
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Court Refuses to Order Government to Lift COVID-19 Emergency Measures
Three citizens claiming that there’s no decisive evidence to prove that COVID-19 poses a serious health and safety threat pose asked the court to order the Québec government to lift […]
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Face Mask Refuser Loses Her Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
A car dealer asked a customer to leave because she refused to put on a facemask. The customer claimed she was medically exempt from the mask order and sued for […]
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Failure to Cooperate Dooms Worker’s Face Mask Work Refusal
An aircraft engineer sought a medical exemption from the company’s mandatory 3-ply face mask policy and asked permission to wear a face shield instead. The company denied the request on […]
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Shift Cut Is Retaliation for COVID-19 Work Refusal
A security guard refused to work dayshifts at a downtown office building during the December COVID outbreak. He preferred to work at night when there’d be fewer people and he’d […]
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Employer Need Not Go Beyond COVID Health Orders to Protect Workers
TTC implemented a mandatory face mask rule, made face shields, safety glasses and disinfectant wipes available, disinfected buses every 23 hours, installed a partial plexiglass barrier around the driver’s seat […]
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Business Owner Hurt by COVID Travel Ban Can’t Sue Province for Damages
COVID-19 travel restrictions imposed a financial burden on many people. One of them was an Ontario resident who owned a small business in Newfoundland. The owner sued the Newfoundland government […]
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Court Sends Customer to Jail for Violent Refusal to Wear a Mask
A hardware store attendant politely asked a customer wearing a plastic face shield to remove it and put on a cloth face mask required by COVID restrictions. The customer flew […]
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Union Shop Steward’s Confrontational Protest of COVID Rules Is Insubordination
A union shop steward grew testy as the HR director went over the new infection control safety procedures and schedule changes the organization was planning to implement during the height […]
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Worker Gets 10-Day Suspension for Ill-Advised COVID Prank
An apprentice gardener just returning to work after a 2-week COVID absence thought it would be funny to prank a co-worker by waving him down, getting him to open his […]
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COVID Restrictions on Religious Gatherings Don’t Violate Charter Rights
The RCMP ticketed and later arrested a pastor for violating public health restrictions on the number of attendees allowed at religious services. Rather than pay the fines, the pastor chose […]
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Ask The Expert: Keeping Face Masks Mandatory After COVID-19 Health Order Expires
QUESTION As of July 1, masks are recommended but no longer required in indoor public settings in BC. To err on the side of caution, my employer would like to extend […]
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The Most Important OHS Compliance Cases of 2021 (So Far)
Although COVID-19 continues to command the attention of OHS regulators, courts across Canada have also issued a number of significant non-pandemic OHS compliance rulings in the first 6 months of […]
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August 4- The Fourth Wave of Safety: Training the Mind
DATE: Aug 4, 2021 TIME: 9:00-10:30AM PDT Speaker: Dr Ryan Todd Register Here to attend this free webinar Having lived through three full waves (!) of a pandemic, employers are now preparing for the […]
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August 18: COVID-19 Labour Relations and Safety Litigation
Date: Aug 18, 2021 Time: 9:00-10:30AM PDT Speaker: Norm Keith, B.A., J.D., LLM, CRSP Register Here with discount code "OHSIVIP21" to attend for free There have been hundreds of cases litigated and precedence has […]
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Surviving today’s OHS challenges in a COVID world – three steps to meeting your future OHS needs today! – Sponsored by Avetta
During these times of uncertainty and new ways of working – are you ready for the Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) challenges and rapid changes? What is the same and […]
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Smooth & Safe Operations: The Safety Leader’s Role in Business Continuity Planning – Sponsored by Avetta
With COVID-19 response and planning for future pandemic response, safety professionals are adding business continuity planning to their area of responsibility. It’s a natural fit for a safety-minded professional, and […]
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Work From Home Policy
To ensure that key functions within the XYZ Co’s business can be conducted from employees’ homes or, other remote locations is the purpose of this statement of Policy and Procedure.
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