Employment Law Archives - Watson Goepel Vancouver Lawyers

8 March 2023

, ,

Exploring Surrogacy: Its Legality, Compensation, and Other Considerations

By Alexandra Levine

This article is part of a series of educational blog posts created by a team of Watson Goepel women lawyers in light of International Women’s Day 2023, to empower, celebrate, and encourage women in Canada.   Defining Surrogacy A surrogate mother is a woman who carries a baby full term on behalf of someone else. In some cases, the…

Read more

6 February 2023

Time Theft – Monitoring Remote Workers

By Sarah Hentschel

Increasing demand for remote work has presented new challenges for businesses, particularly where it comes to recording time for work completed.  While time theft has historically been difficult for employers to prove, the rise of remote work has ushered in new methods such as activity tracking software which has simplified the employer’s ability to prove…

Read more

6 February 2023

Extension of EI “Sickness Benefits” in 2023

By Sarah Hentschel

Employees and self-employed persons who contribute to Canada’s Employment Insurance (EI) plan will now have access to expanded EI sickness benefits. Those who made their claim on or after December 18, 2022, may receive up to 26 weeks of EI sickness benefits, extended from the previous limit of 15 weeks.   EI Sickness Benefits are…

Read more

5 October 2022

What obligations do Canadian employers have to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace?

By Lawyers Associated Worldwide

The COVID-19 pandemic presented many challenges for Canadians. Employers and employees have had to adapt to changing public health measures throughout the past few years. Provincial governments lifted most, if not all of their public health mandates in early 2022. Although public health mandates are no longer in effect for most Canadians, employers still have…

Read more

20 October 2020

COVID-19 as an “Occupational Disease”

In August the B.C. government implemented changes to the Workers Compensation Act through Bill 23, which received Royal Assent on August 14, 2020. Several notable changes were introduced; one of these changes widened the “Occupational Disease” framework to capture COVID-19 infection in certain circumstances. Workers Compensation Act Section 238 now reads: (1) Subject to subsection…

Read more

20 August 2020

Temporary layoffs, CERB, and CEWS: A COVID-19 update

By Sarah Hentschel

Both provincial and federal governments continue to update legislation and programs introduced this year in response to COVID-19. This blog post highlights some of the recent changes. Temporary Layoffs in B.C. Under the Employment Standards Act, RSBC 1996, c. 113 (the “Act”), as long as an employer has the contractual authority or the employee agrees…

Read more

8 May 2020

Protected leave and sick leave: What counts as “reasonably sufficient proof”?

By Sarah Hentschel

** This article does not contain legal advice. There can be legal differences across industries and jurisdictions (i.e. federally versus provincially regulated workplaces). In addition, employee contracts can vary the suggestions set out in this article. Please consult with counsel before you implement any new strategy which deviates from your current policies and procedures.** The…

Read more

16 April 2020

COVID-19 has shuttered my business. Can I lay off my workers? Should I abandon my lease?

By Micah Goldberg

The novel coronavirus has disrupted British Columbia’s economy and the province may not fully recover from the effects of social distancing for months to come. For many business owners, working from home is either not possible with social distancing orders, or it provides limited (if any) economic benefits. Businesses are facing massive difficulties in trying…

Read more