Ontario passed pay transparency legislation on Thursday, making it the first province to do so. Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, the province will require all job postings advertised publicly to include salary rate or range information, prohibit employers from asking candidates about past compensation and ban reprisals against workers who discuss or disclose their pay, according to […]
Fewer than half (40 per cent) of human resources professionals said their organization takes a reactive rather than a proactive approach to sexual harassment in the workplace, according to a new survey by the Human Resources Professionals Association. The survey also found 17 per cent of respondents have witnessed an employee being sexually harassed or assaulted and 20 per […]
The dispute over pension rights at Carleton University heated up this week as the Canadian Union of Public Employees called on the Financial Services Commission of Ontario to investigate a controversial amendment to the pension plan that dates back 15 years. The amendment, which permitted the elimination of a benefit guarantee feature for all service after July 1, […]
With fraud prevention month underway, just how big of a problem is the issue for plan sponsors? “As an industry, we estimate that benefits fraud is costing . . . hundreds of millions in terms of the impact, so certainly not a small problem,” says Karen Voin, vice-president of group benefits and anti-fraud at the Canadian Life […]
A former Atlas Copco Canada Inc. manager sentenced to jail time for his part in a benefits kickback scheme now faces a $20-million bill from his former employer after the multinational industrial giant won a civil judgment against him. Dirk Plate, a one-time manager of Atlas Copco’s construction and mining division at its Canadian base in […]
The #MeToo movement may have given national prominence to the issue of sexual misconduct on Parliament Hill, but some of the responses to a recent Canadian Press survey suggest bullying and exploitation of those who work for political bosses are largely unexamined problems. “Sexual harassment happens and is devastating to those that experience it, but […]
With the impending legalization of marijuana in Canada, what do plan sponsors need to consider? How will the workplace be affected by both recreational and medical marijuana? What are the legal implications? Should benefits plans cover medical marijuana? All these topics and more will be on the table during a panel discussion at Benefits Canada’s 2018 […]
Some 223 Toronto Transit Commission employees have been dismissed or have resigned or retired to avoid dismissal as part of an ongoing investigation into benefits fraud, the organization has announced. The TTC began investigating its benefits claims in 2014 following a tip that suggested service provider Healthy Fit Inc. was providing receipts to TTC employees with inflated […]
Though Canada has only two statutory religious holidays, Christmas Day and Good Friday, some Canadian employees may be seeking to take time off for other religious holy days. So how are employers required to accommodate them? Ontario’s Human Rights Commission notes “employers have a duty to accommodate an employee’s creed to the point of undue hardship, […]
The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission is introducing new online resources to help employers address and prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. According to a news release, the commission has seen a significant rise in the number of calls concerning sexual harassment, including from employers asking for advice and training. Through its new campaign, it’s […]