Canadian Employment Law Today

March 25, 2020

Focuses on human resources law from a business perspective, featuring news and cases from the courts, in-depth articles on legal trends and insights from top employment lawyers across Canada.

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PM41261516 Emplo y ment Law Today Canadian www.employmentlawtoday.com No walk in the park PG. 4 Managing employee vacation entitlements requires diligence and good policies Crying over workplace spills Ontario dairy failed in its duty to accommodate worker with fainting spells; claimed safety concerns but ignored medical information BY JEFFREY R. SMITH AN ONTARIO company discriminated against a worker suffering from fainting spells when it fired her over safety concerns without properly examining ac- commodation options in its plant. Madison Kittmer, 21, started working for Shepherd Gourmet Dairy, a dairy processing company in St. Mary's, Ont., on Feb. 22, 2017 with the intention of leaving at the end of the summer to go to college. Her job involved helping with the dairy's food processing and packaging operations. On April 25, Kittmer was packing filled yogurt con - tainers into boxes. She began to feel dizzy, told a co- worker she didn't feel well and fainted. She was taken to the management office when she came to and was allowed to go home. The next day she felt fine and worked as usual. However, Kittmer started feeling unwell on May 5. She told a co-worker she thought she was going to pass out. She tried to kneel down, but she fainted as she did so. This time, Kittmer was taken to the hospital, where she underwent various tests. The doctor said it was likely Kittmer had a common fainting condition but that she should see a specialist to be sure. The next day, Kittmer returned to work. She continued to work normally for nearly two Long-time B.C. contractor gets $180,000 for wrongful dismissal Worker started as independent contractor but was closely involved with employer's operations over 14 years BY JEFFREY R. SMITH A BRITISH COLUMBIA employer must pay a former independent contractor-turned-executive more than $180,000 for wrongful dismissal and bad behaviour leading to the dismissal. Shannon Liebreich, 52, was hired by Farm- ers of North America (FNA), a Saskatoon-based business alliance of farmers dedicated to in- crease farm profitability, in 2002 as a part-time independent contractor. She held several differ- ent roles with FNA over time, including direc- tor of development for the Pacific Northwest, preferred supplier and program development manager, Southern Alberta territory manager and member service manager. She also held the titles of chief operating officer and business de - March 25, 2020 A patchwork of family status accommodation, continued PG.3 A look at Alberta and suggestions for employers COMPANY on page 6 » CREDIT: BEKLAUS iSTOCK WORKER CLEARED on page 7 » with Tim Mitchell Ask an Expert PG. 2 Notice of retirement

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