Staying Compliant: Key Legal Updates for B.C. Employers – Webinar

This webinar will provide up-to-the-moment legal information on the province’s everchanging labour and employment environment. During this webinar, MLT Aikins lawyers will explore three areas in-depth from the employer perspective: disability & accommodation, freedom of expression and end of employment, followed by a moderated Q&A period open to all attendees.

• B.C. employers have a duty to accommodate employees with disabilities to the point of undue hardship. B.C.’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner describes the point of undue hardship as the point at which “it is too unsafe, difficult, or expensive to remove barriers…” While straightforward in principle, the point of undue hardship fluctuates as it is an employer-specific assessment, making it difficult for employers and HR professionals to determine accommodations that appropriately balance both the business and employee’s needs.
• Everyone has the freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression in Canada. However, such rights are not absolute, particularly in the workplace, and must be balanced with other rights like the right to a safe and respectful workplace free of discrimination, harassment and hate. The pandemic, recent geo-political events and a full slate of upcoming elections, has pushed employee freedom of expression, both inside and outside the workplace, and its intersection with other important workplace rights to the top of the pile for many employers and HR professionals in B.C.
• Employment ends for a myriad of reasons: a new opportunity, retirement, relocation, poor performance/misconduct or business. An employer’s duties and an employee’s rights at the end of employment may be governed by legislation, contract, or the common law, often leading to confusion amongst both parties as to appropriate entitlements. This confusion has only be exacerbated by a series of recent decisions from outside of B.C. that call into question the contractual language that employers have relied on to bring clarity to end of employment entitlements.

On the agenda:

• Disability & accommodation
• Employee free speech
• End of employment provisions
• Q&A

Presenters:

• Lynsey Gaudin
• Graham Christie
• Alizeh Virani
• Paul Jeronimo (Moderator)

Event details:

• Date: Thursday, October 24
• Time: 9-11 a.m. PDT
• Cost:
  • Regular fee $250 + GST ($12.50 ) = $262.50 per person
  • CPHR members: $225 + GST ($11.25) = $236.25 per person
  • Group of four discount: $200 + GST ($10) = $210 per person
• Registration closes: October 22, 2024
• For a full refund, cancel before October 22.
• Registrations submitted after October 22 will not qualify for a refund and are subject to capacity.
• Substitutions may be made at any time. Contact labourlaw@mltaikins.com to process.
• Program and speakers are subject to change.
• Space is limited. Only employers or their representatives are eligible to attend. We reserve the right to decline registrants.
• Pre-approved for 2.0 CPD hours with CPHR British Columbia & Yukon.

Contact: