Author: Amy Loo
Province’s minimum wage set to increase by over a dollar
Yesterday, the Province announced that British Columbia’s minimum wage for workers will be increasing from $15.65 to $16.75 an hour on June 1, 2023. The increase is based on British Columbia’s average inflation rate in 2022, which was 6.9%. The Government has also indicated an ongoing commitment to tie annual minimum wage increases to inflation. […] Read more
Human Rights Tribunal Denies Application Alleging Discrimination Based on Creed Related to Mandatory Vaccine Policy
Negina Khalil On September 29, 2022, in Brown v. Planet Fitness (Dundas), the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario dismissed an application alleging discrimination based on creed with respect to a mandatory vaccine policy. The decision was made following a hearing in writing. The applicant alleged that they were denied access to the facility because of […] Read more
Temporary changes to the performance of job duties may not amount to constructive dismissal
In certain circumstances, an employer may temporarily change how an employee performs the duties of their job and it will not be considered constructive dismissal. In constructive dismissal cases, an employee must prove the employer evinced an intention to no longer be bound by the employment contract, and the employee can do so in one […] Read more
Refusal to comply with face mask policy was repudiation, not constructive dismissal
Benke v Loblaw Companies Limited, 2022 ABQB 461 (CanLII) In this case, a grocery store employee, Mr. Benke, refused to comply with a municipal bylaw requiring face masks in public premises and his employer’s policy requiring face masks to be worn at the workplace. The court determined the employee’s refusal to perform his job in […] Read more
Non-Disparagement Clause Upheld
Pulver Crawford Munroe LLP recently represented a Municipal Police Board (the “Board) in an arbitration decision which determined that a non-disparaging comments clause in a Settlement Agreement between the Board, a Police Association (the “Union”), and a Former Police Constable (FPC), was enforceable 17 years after the Agreement was originally signed. The Arbitrator determined that […] Read more
Single-step Union Certification Receives Royal Assent and Comes into Effect
Bill 10, the Labour Relations Code Amendment Act, 2022, was introduced by the Government of British Columbia on April 6, 2022. On June 2, 2022, Bill 10 received Royal Assent and is now in effect. As a result, business can expect significant changes to the bargaining unit certification process. The new amendments to the Labour […] Read more
BC Hydro’s Mandatory Vaccine Policy was Reasonable, but Threat of Discipline was Not
A recent arbitration decision, BC Hydro and Power Authority v International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 258, 2022 CanLII 25764 (BC LA), determined that BC Hydro’s mandatory vaccine policy was reasonable but the threat of discipline against those who remained unvaccinated was not. The decision is the first in BC to consider a mandatory COVID-19 […] Read more
B.C. Government Re-Introduces Automatic Union Certification
On April 6, 2022, the Government of British Columbia introduced Bill 10 to amend the Labour Relations Code (the “Code”). The proposed changes to the Code will re-introduce a single-step certification process which enables unions to be certified, without a vote, where 55% or more employees in the proposed bargaining unit have signed union cards. […] Read more
