As the U.K.’s new flexible working bill receives royal assent, Edward Majewski, partner at Ogletree Deakins International LLP, says similar legislation would benefit employers and employees in Canada. The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023, which received royal assent last month, sets out the right of employees to request variations to particular terms and conditions of […]
A consortium of five New York City defined benefit pension plans has led a successful campaign to launch an external review of labour practices at Starbucks Corp. NYC Retirement Systems, which includes the NYC Board of Education Retirement System, the NYC Fire Pension Fund, the NYC Fire Pension, the NYC Police Pension Fund and the […]
A regional office of the National Labor Relations Board says Starbucks Corp. is violating U.S. labour law by withholding pay hikes and other benefits from stores that have voted to unionize. The labor board’s Seattle office filed the complaint late Wednesday against Starbucks. The complaint is based on charges filed by Workers United, the union […]
A court in Amsterdam ruled Sept. 13 that Uber drivers fall under the Dutch taxi drivers’ collective labour agreement — meaning they’re entitled to the same employment benefits as taxi drivers. Uber said it would appeal the ruling. The Amsterdam civil court said in a statement that three judges ruled the legal relationship between Uber and its drivers “conforms to all […]
A judge is striking down a California ballot measure that exempted Uber and other app-based ride-hailing and delivery services from a state law requiring drivers to be classified as employees eligible for benefits and job protections. On Aug. 20, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch ruled that Proposition 22 was unconstitutional. Voters approved the measure […]
A trio of conflicting decisions from Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice has left employers confused about a possible onslaught of wrongful dismissal lawsuits stemming from temporary layoffs due to the coronavirus pandemic. The confusion arises because judges have come to different conclusions about Ontario’s infectious disease emergency leave regulation, which provides that temporary layoffs in […]
As Quebec updates its occupational health and safety legislation, Morneau Shepell is calling for the province to ensure the update stays true to the fundamental principles on which the regime was conceived, while keeping it competitive with other provinces. The company recently released a report on Bill 59, the act to modernize the legislation, and […]
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has issued additional reasons for judgment in a long-running unpaid overtime class action lawsuit against Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The court has followed up on its summary judgment decision from March 30, 2020, ruling the bank’s current overtime policy is illegal and unenforceable and that frontline employees who […]
British Columbia’s ministry of labour is introducing a new online portal to help the government process applications for temporary layoff extensions more quickly. In late June, the province extended the time period for temporary layoffs related to the coronavirus pandemic to a maximum of 24 weeks — up from 16 previously — expiring Aug. 30, following calls from opposition parties […]
More than eight million Canadians have received the $2,000 monthly Canada Emergency Response Benefit over the course of the pandemic. But labour experts say its very existence, while a triumph of policy-making on the fly, proves the need for significant reform to Canada’s employment insurance system. The pandemic quickly exposed long-standing issues with the EI […]