Canadian Employment Law Today

PM40065782 Emplo y ment Law Today Canad ad a ian www.employmentlawtoday.com November 21, 2018 Work refusals for immediate danger only No history of incidents and CSC's mitigation plan indicated no increased risk to correctional offi cers from reduction of managers on duty BY JEFFREY R. SMITH WORK REFUSALS are for situations with imminent risk and danger and not to con- test staffi ng policy, the Canada Occupa- tional Health and Safety Tribunal has stat- ed in dismissing an appeal by correctional offi cers who engaged in work refusals fol- lowing a reduction in managers overseeing combined institutions. On April 1, 2014, Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) implemented a new policy for a number of locations across Canada where both a medium security and a mini- mum security institution were located next to each other. e new policy integrated the administration of such institutions so they shared offi ces. e integration at two locations — Bea- ver Creek/Fenbrook in Gravenhurst, Ont., and Collins Bay/Frontenac in Kingston, Ont., involved the elimination of a correc- tional manager position on the morning shift on the minimum security side of the "clustered" institutions. Correctional man- agers are responsible for the daily opera- tions of the institution, such as operational planning, fi nancial management, staffi ng, inmate movement, visits, work schedules, and supervising correctional offi cers. With the integration, the correctional manager on the medium security side would also oversee the minimum security side. e elimination of the position prompted several correctional offi cers at both Beaver Creek and Collins Bay to fi le work refusals An employment standards U-turn in Ontario Ontario's new government has rolled back many of the province's big changes, but now employers must shift gears with their policies BY JOEL SMITH WHEN ONTARIO'S Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017, was introduced and eventually became law in 2017, it was widely regarded as the most ex- tensive package of amendments to Ontario's labour and employment standards legisla- tion in a generation. Bill 148 earned the ire of many employ- ers. While workers' rights groups and labour advocates lauded the bill as a progressive change designed to protect employees in an era of precarious work and labour mar- ket uncertainty, employers complained that the measures put them at a clear competitive disadvantage. Amendments of particular concern to employers included a swift in- crease to the minimum wage of more than 30 per cent over a two-year period, changes to employee scheduling entitlements im- Suspension of sick benefi ts not discrimination against worker's mental disability pg. 3 Request for independent examination based on lack of medical information Suspension of sick benefi ts not discrimination against worker's mental disability pg. 4 Lack of medical information reasons for examination request MOST on page 6 » NEW PROTOCOLS on page 7 » CREDIT: LESPALENIK/SHUTTERSTOCK with Brian Johnston Ask the Expert pg. 2 Making a retirement notice offi cial

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