Browse through brief employment and labor law updates from around the globe. Contact a Littler attorney for more information or view our global locations.

Download full Q1 2023 Global Guide Quarterly

British Columbia: New Statutory Holiday for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

New Legislation Enacted

Authors: Rhonda B. Levy, Knowledge Management Counsel, and Monty Verlint, Partner – Littler LLP

On March 9, 2023, British Columbia’s Bill 2, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Act, received Royal Assent and came into force. Bill 2 amends British Columbia’s Employment Standards Act to provide eligible workers in British Columbia a new statutory holiday, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, to be observed annually on September 30. This holiday commemorates the history and legacy of Canada’s residential school system.

Statutory Tort of Human Trafficking May Be Available in Labor Context

Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency

Authors: Rhonda B. Levy, Knowledge Management Counsel, and Monty Verlint, Partner – Littler LLP

In Osmani v. Universal Structural Restorations Ltd., 2022 ONSC 6979, an Ontario court was the first to consider a claim for damages for the statutory tort of human trafficking under the Prevention of and Remedies for Human Trafficking Act in the labor context. Although the court denied the claim in this case, it explained that such a claim can be made in the labor context if it can be proved that the employer’s purpose in directing, controlling or influencing the employee’s movements was to exploit them, knowing that its actions would cause a reasonable person in the employee’s position to believe that their safety would be threatened if they failed to provide the labor or service.

ABCA Decides CERB Paid to Workers Affected by COVID-19 Should Not Be Deducted from Damages for Wrongful Dismissal

Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency

Authors: Rhonda B. Levy, Knowledge Management Counsel, and Monty Verlint, Partner – Littler LLP

In Oostlander v Cervus Equipment Corporation, 2023 ABCA 13, the Alberta Court of Appeal held that financial support provided under the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) program to workers directly affected by COVID-19 should not be factored into wrongful dismissal damages awards. Following a period of inconsistency in the approach taken on this issue by Canadian trial courts, two appellate courts—the BCCA in Yates v. Langley Motor Sport Centre Ltd., 2022 BCCA 398, and now the ABCA in Oostlander - have both decided that a reduction should not occur.

Ontario Court: Employee's Refusal to Comply with COVID-19 Vaccination Policy Frustrated Employment Relationship

Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency

Authors: Rhonda B. Levy, Knowledge Management Counsel, and Monty Verlint, Partner – Littler LLP

In Croke v. VuPoint Systems Ltd., 2023 ONSC 1234, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice decided that an employee’s refusal to comply with mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements resulted in the frustration of the parties’ employment relationship. The employer, therefore, was entitled to terminate the employee’s employment without providing notice of termination or damages in lieu of common law reasonable notice.

Looming Deadline for Certain Federally Regulated Employers

Upcoming Deadline for Legal Compliance

Authors: Rhonda B. Levy, Knowledge Management Counsel, and Monty Verlint, Partner – Littler LLP

By June 1, 2023, federally regulated employers that had 100 or more employees in 2021 must comply with the first deadline for compliance with the Accessible Canada Act (ACA). An employer that is subject to the ACA is required to prepare and publish an initial accessibility plan and update it at least every three years. Federally regulated employers that had between 10 and 99 employees in 2021, or who were established or became federally regulated in 2022, must comply by June 1, 2024. Federally regulated employers that are established or become federally regulated in 2023 must comply by June 1, 2025.