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 […]
New draft regulations from the federal government would allow registered pension plans to borrow money and extend the deadline to retroactively credit pensionable service under a defined benefit plan in a bid to help plan sponsors maintain their pensions through the coronavirus pandemic. As part of the government’s coronavirus economic response plan, the regulations would apply to employers […]
Canada is providing federally regulated employers with more time to recall employees who were laid off due to the coronavirus pandemic. Under employment legislation, employers could temporarily lay off staff for up to three months if no notice with a recall date was provided or for up to six months or if they provided a notice with an expected […]
The Ontario government is amending the Employment Standards Act to make temporary layoffs which occurred after March 1, 2020, part of new emergency leave provisions put in place in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Normally, employees are legally considered terminated after 13 weeks of a temporarily lay off and are therefore entitled to severance […]