Findings of investigation: LifeLabs breach
On June 25, 2020, the Ontario and British Columbia Information and Privacy Commissioners just shared the results of their joint investigation regarding a serious breach that took place in 2019 – the findings revealed that LifeLabs, Canada’s largest provider of general health diagnostic and specialty laboratory testing services, failed to protect the personal health information of millions of Canadians.
Christina Catenacci, BA, LLB, LLM, PhD
6 minutes read
July 21, 2020
(Another) Pit-fall warning for fixed-term employment agreements
In Makela v. Horizon School Division No 67, 2019 ABQB 974, Master J.T. Prowse of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench dismissed an employee’s claim for wrongful dismissal arising out of a fixed-term employment agreement. While this case ultimately had a happy ending for the employer, Makela provides a warning for yet another potential pit-fall of fixed-term employment agreements.
Occasional Contributors
Good Friday, Easter and Passover in 2020
Good Friday and Easter Sunday coincide with the Jewish observance of Passover in 2020. Easter and the holidays that are related to it are moveable feasts in that they do not fall on a fixed date in the Gregorian or Julian calendars which follow only the cycle of the sun; rather, their dates are determined on a lunisolar calendar similar to the Hebrew calendar. It has come to be the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or soonest after 21 March, but calculations vary in East and West.
Ted Kenney
Alberta employers can now use and maintain electronic employment records: Amendments to the Electronic Transaction Act General Regulation
Recent amendments to the Electronic Transactions Act General Regulation remove restrictions on employers’ use of electronic signatures and storage of electronic documents.
Occasional Contributors
Topping up employee pay during temporary layoffs using a Supplementary Unemployment Benefit Plan (SUB Plan) (Canada)
Recently, more employers have begun to consider using Supplementary Unemployment Benefit Plans (SUB Plans) to provide financial assistance to their employees during a period of layoff due to temporary stoppage of work, training, or illness, injury or quarantine.
Occasional Contributors
No obligation to accommodate employee’s “preference” to work closer to home
A recent arbitration decision is helpful for employers dealing with accommodation requests, particularly with respect to a request to be transferred to a different location.
Rudner Law, Employment / HR Law & Mediation
Significant online defamation damages in Canada — are online platforms immune?
If only Canada were to have such clear laws. Here, it is critical for operators of online platforms to understand that this issue remains largely unlegislated and left to the common law; which holds that a person will not be responsible, as a publisher, if the person’s sole participation in the publication of the defamatory material is merely their “innocent” involvement in the purely administrative or mechanical phases of publication.
Occasional Contributors
Non-consensual sharing of intimate images grounds for summary dismissal
Can sharing intimate photos of one your coworkers with your friends result in the summary dismissal of your employment for cause?
Sean Bawden
Case involving voyeuristic teacher leads to clarification of law relating to private vs. public places and provides valuable lesson for employers
On August 27th, 2019 former Ontario school teacher Ryan Jarvis was sentenced to six months in jail and 12 months’ probation after the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) convicted him of voyeurism earlier this year.
Occasional Contributors
