Labour and Employment Law Blog

It’s hard for me to take off the labour and employment lawyer hat. I view everything through a certain lens. 

Even as an avid Royal watcher, I was initially quite critical of Prince Harry and thought of him as a disgruntled employee who had quit his job, yet strangely thought he should retain his salary and benefits. Then, as I read his memoir “Spare” I considered what an ...

“I gotta get out of here before I slap someone,” said actor Jim Carrey discussing his decision to retire. He was, of course, referring to the now famous moment during the Oscars where Will Smith essentially attacked a co-worker, Chris Rock, who was doing his job.

Much fun and nuanced commentary has been provided about the Oscars slap, including discussions about how the ...

Twenty years ago, a really entertaining movie came out called “Catch Me if You Can”, which featured Leonardo DiCaprio as a con artist who found work as a doctor, lawyer, and pilot by forging his credentials.

That film highlighted how far charm and confidence can get someone in the hiring process. Recently, we had our own version in British Columbia where a woman worked as a ...

In the recent decision of Matijczack v. Homewood Health Inc., 2021 BCSC 1658 (Homewood Health), the BC Supreme Court confirmed that employers must provide consideration to make amendments to existing employment agreements enforceable.

Following a 2018 decision from the BC Court of Appeal (Rosas v. Toca, 2018 BCCA 191), the law relating to consideration for contractual ...

As we look forward to returning to our normal routines, after we have all had the opportunity to be vaccinated, many people are wondering what permanent workplace changes will remain in place or will be introduced for workers; as well as the pets they either acquired or became more attached to during quarantine. I am certain my dog thinks I decided to stay home with him all day ...

Workplace harassment is once again in the news given our former Governor General’s resignation from her post after a 132 page investigation report was issued following accusations of a toxic work environment at Rideau Hall.

While the Government of Canada took the correct steps in hiring an independent investigator once the allegations surfaced, meeting with all ...

As we all know by now, the U.S. Capitol was stormed by a mob of President Trump’s supporters on Wednesday January 6, 2021. A great deal of the mob, as well as police officers who appeared to stand aside as rioters streamed inside, were captured on video and replayed repeatedly over the news. This includes two Canadian nurses who allegedly travelled to Washington D.C. to ...

It is astonishing that in the same week that we’ve read about astronauts going into space in a reusable rocket, we have also experienced the horrors of humanity reading about the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. It is a horrific paradox and many of us are asking – what can I do? And we in Lawson Lundell are also asking ourselves what can we do? How can ...

On May 4, 2020, the B.C. government passed an Order in Council to add a new provision to the BC Employment Standards Regulation (the “Regulation”) during the current provincial state of emergency. Temporary layoffs related to COVID-19 can now last up to 16 weeks in a 20 consecutive week period without triggering termination of employment.

This is the second change to ...

At the time of writing, more than 1,600 people have died in Canada due to COVID-19. The total number of confirmed cases is over 35,000. Given the magnitude and the seriousness of COVID-19, it was astonishing to read about an 18 year old girl from Hamilton, Ontario, who forged a medical note from her doctor stating she had tested positive for the virus. Not only did this excuse the ...