The Wuhan Novel Coronavirus (or 2019-vCoV) is a public health emergency in Canada with confirmed cases in Ontario. This has led many employers to ask how they should manage their employees’ concerns, while still trying to operate “business as usual”.  On the one hand, employers are obligated to provide a healthy and safe work environment, while on the other, they must respect an employee’s privacy and ensure that their responses to any health or safety…

On January 1, 2020, changes were implemented to the Simplified Procedure under Rule 76 of the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure, as well as in Small Claims Court. The changes were brought to increase access to justice for individuals and businesses by reducing the cost of resolving disputes. New Limit in Small Claims Court From now on, all claims of $35,000 or less are brought to Small Claims Court, an increase from the previous $25,000…

We often get contacted by employees who are members of unions and employers looking to better understand the pros/cons when faced with unionization. What does it mean to be in a union? Collective Agreement vs. a Contract One big difference between unionized and non-unionized employees is that the employment relationship with the employer is governed not by individual contracts but by a collective agreement. The collective agreement will contain the terms and conditions of employment…

We are super excited to announce that our blog has been inducted into the Clawbies Hall of Fame! Our regular readers will know what a Clawbie is because, well, we’ve won before. The Clawbies are the Canadian Law Blog Awards. Since 2006 they have been showcasing quality Canadian legal blogging. Our blog won previous awards in 2019, 2018, 2013, 2011. Induction into the Hall of Fame is a big deal for our little blog…

As we shut the door on 2019 and begin 2020, we at SpringLaw thought this was a good time to look back on some of the biggest 2019 employment law cases in Ontario! Here is our list of the top 5 cases of 2019 and their key take-aways for employers and employees alike. 1. Colistro v. Tbaytel, 2019 ONCA 197 The facts in this case are fairly similar to other harassment cases we see nowadays,…

Bathroom breaks come up frequently in news stories about workers’ rights. The City of Hamilton just narrowly avoided a transit strike where bathroom breaks were a major issue. A City of Ottawa transit worker, calling himself a “whistle-blower” also recently spoke about lack of “recovery time” for drivers – aka not enough time to go to the bathroom between bus runs. Ottawa City Transit workers currently have three minutes per hour for “recovery” although drivers…

 …