employment lawyer maple ridge Archives

Retaining an employment, labour, or human rights lawyer: buyer beware!

Retaining a labour lawyer – Recent changes to ICBC have led to personal injury lawyers masquerading as employment, labour, and human rights lawyers. Retaining an experienced employment, human rights or labour lawyer is often one of the most critical decisions you will make. Unfortunately, if you’re making this decision in BC, you should make this decision even […]

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What is “just cause” dismissal?

Latest Articles / Labour Rights Law

“Just cause” dismissal means a dismissal where the employer had cause to terminate the employment of an employee. Why might it be important for an employer to claim that a dismissal was with cause? In a “without cause” dismissal, the employer will usually have an obligation to provide notice, pay in lieu of notice, or

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What Can I do if I am Being Bullied and Harassed at Work?

Latest Articles / Labour Rights Law

What Can I do if I am Being Bullied and Harassed at Work? Under the BC Workers Compensation Act, regulations, and policy, it is the obligation of everyone in the workplace, i.e., the employer, supervisors, and employees, to take all reasonable steps to prevent bullying and harassment from taking place. However, not every unpleasant interaction

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Have I been constructively dismissed?

Latest Articles / Labour Rights Law

In a previous blog, we discussed what options an employee has available to them if they are being harassed and bullied at work. One of the options we outlined there was for the employee to resign from their employment on the basis that they have been constructively dismissed. What does it mean to be “constructively dismissed?” If an

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Can I stay home from work when it’s snowing?

Latest Articles / Labour Rights Law

Can I stay home from work when it’s snowing? It’s snowing outside, and you’re wondering if you can stay home from work. If you’re in BC, and you have kids, the answer may be “yes!” Under the Employment Standards Act (the “ESA”), if your child has to stay home from school because of a snow day,

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What are employees owed under the BC Employment Standards Act when their employment ends?

Latest Articles / Labour Rights Law

BC’s Employment Standards Act (ESA) sets out the minimum amount non-unionized employees in BC must receive when their employment ends. This article sets out what these amounts are. It’s important to remember that if you’ve been fired, you could be owed more than just severance under the ESA that’s described below. You could also be entitled to something called

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Introduction to Labour Relations Process

Latest Articles / Labour Rights Law

The labour relations process that produces a union-management relationship consists of three phases: union organizing, negotiating a collective agreement, and administering or enforcing the collective agreement. Phase One of Labour Relations Process: Union Organizing In phase one of the labour relations process, a non-union employer becomes unionized through an organizing campaign. The campaign starts either

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Human Rights Law 101: What do I do if I’ve been discriminated against?

Latest Articles / Labour Rights Law

What do I do if I’ve been discriminated against? Do you think you’ve been discriminated against? This blog entry sets out what discrimination is under human rights legislation, and what you can do if you’ve been discriminated against. 1) Is the discrimination illegal? Discrimination is illegal under the laws of all provinces and territories in

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Employment Law 101: What you need to know if you’ve been fired or laid off

Latest Articles / Labour Rights Law

Employment law 101 – Fired. Laid off. Terminated. Whatever you call it, losing your job can be devastating. Your job often isn’t only how you make a living, but a big part of who you are. So, if you’ve been fired, what do you do? You should talk to a lawyer before you agree to

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