A recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal raises questions about the legality of overtime pre-approval policies and the way they are applied, Toronto employment lawyer Kumail Karimjee writes in Lawyers Weekly. Read Lawyers Weekly
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce v. Fresco [2012] S.C.C.A. No. 379 is a class action claiming compensation for unpaid overtime work brought on behalf of 31,000 tellers and customer service employees of CIBC, writes Karimjee. The certification motion was unsuccessful in the first instance before the motion judge and on appeal before the Ontario Divisional Court; however, the Ontario Court of Appeal certified the class action, he writes, adding an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada is pending.
In certain cases, jail time over Employment Standards Act violations is justified, Toronto employment lawyer Kumail Karimjee says in Law Times. Read Law Times
“It is harsh, but I see it as the court saying that workers’ rights really do matter, and if you persistently and seriously violate the law, there are significant consequences,” Karimjee says in the article.
TORONTO – Canada’s federal court has ruled that employers must try to accommodate the family obligations of their staff.
The ruling concerns the case of Fiona Johnston, who worked rotating shifts with the Canada Border Services Agency at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport before having her first child.
Johnston argued the agency refused to accommodate her request for more stable hours, which would have allowed her to arrange for child care.
Her case went before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, which found the agency had discriminated against Johnston on grounds of family status.
The federal court ruling by Justice Leonard Mandamin upheld the tribunal’s findings.
Toronto employment lawyer Kumail Karimjee recently participated in a panel discussion on legal issues facing housing co-operatives at the Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto’s (CHFT) fall conference.