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Full-Text Articles in Law

Workplace Privacy In The Age Of Social Media, Tess Traylor-Notaro Jul 2018

Workplace Privacy In The Age Of Social Media, Tess Traylor-Notaro

Global Business Law Review

This note addresses the lack of adequate protections in Ohio for social media privacy laws in the workplace and compares proposed legislation in Ohio to legislation that has passed in other states. It examines the provision of the SCA including the definition of "user" and whether social media sites fall under its umbrella. It also looks at the safeguards and limitations of the SCA and how it is used to protect a private employee’s social media account. It analyzes the state statutory laws in Arkansas, Illinois, and California passed specifically to prevent employers from requesting passwords to personal Internet accounts. …


When Wage Theft Was A Crime In Canada, 1935-1955: The Challenge Of Using The Master’S Tools Against The Master, Eric Tucker Aug 2017

When Wage Theft Was A Crime In Canada, 1935-1955: The Challenge Of Using The Master’S Tools Against The Master, Eric Tucker

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

In recent years the term “wage theft” has been widely used to describe the phenomenon of employers not paying their workers the wages they are owed. While the term has great normative weight, it is rarely accompanied by calls for employers literally to be prosecuted under the criminal law. However, it is a little known fact that in 1935, Canada enacted a criminal wage theft law, which remained on the books until 1955. This article provides an historical account of the wage theft law, including the role of the Royal Commission on Price Spreads, the legislative debates and amendments that …


Leaving Labour Law’S Pragmatic And Purposive Fortress Behind: Canadian Union Successor Rights Law As A Case Study, Pascal Mcdougall Sep 2016

Leaving Labour Law’S Pragmatic And Purposive Fortress Behind: Canadian Union Successor Rights Law As A Case Study, Pascal Mcdougall

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

In this article, I analyze a series of Canadian cases on union successor rights defining the circumstances in which labour rights should be transferred to a successor entity in the context of business sales, restructuring and subcontracting. My analysis casts doubt on a globally influential theory of legal interpretation, which I call the “old legality.” According to this theory, labour law is made not through conventional legal reasoning but through non-legal, pragmatic, and purposive applications of loose industrial relations standards. I claim that the old legality paradigm is analytically inaccurate and has the perverse effect of normalizing the status quo …


Legal Barriers To Age Discrimination In Hiring Complaints, Pnina Alon-Shenker Apr 2016

Legal Barriers To Age Discrimination In Hiring Complaints, Pnina Alon-Shenker

Dalhousie Law Journal

Studies have shown that senior workers endure longer spells of unemployment than their younger counterparts. Age discrimination has been identified as one of the main obstacles to reemployment. This article critically examines how Canadian anti-age discrimination law has responded to the contemporary challenges experienced by senior job seekers. It articulates several difficulties in our existing age discrimination legal framework by analyzing and contrasting social science literature on the present labour market experience of senior job applicants with human rights tribunal and court decisions in hiring complaints. It concludes by sketching a preliminary set of workable proposals for change that derives …


The Hidden World Of Unconscious Bias And Its Impact On The "Neutral" Workplace Investigator, Ashley Lattal Jan 2016

The Hidden World Of Unconscious Bias And Its Impact On The "Neutral" Workplace Investigator, Ashley Lattal

Journal of Law and Policy

Workplace investigations into complaints of harassment, discrimination, and other allegations of workplace misconduct have become a critical method for employers to establish that they have complied with certain obligations to provide a discrimination-free workplace. As a result, the fairness and effectiveness of the workplace investigation process utilized by employers has increasingly come under judicial scrutiny. The nature of workplace investigations rests upon the assumption and expectation that workplace investigators are capable of being impartial in making findings of fact. For this reason, courts have identified the impartiality of the investigator as a key tenet of a fair and effective workplace …


Voluntary Plant Closings And Workforce Reductions In Canada, Innis Christie Jan 2015

Voluntary Plant Closings And Workforce Reductions In Canada, Innis Christie

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.


Introduction To Roundtable On Comparative Labor Relations Law: The Law And Measures Affecting Workers In The Context Of Voluntary Plant Closings And Workforce Reductions, Georgia Journal Of International And Comparative Law Jan 2015

Introduction To Roundtable On Comparative Labor Relations Law: The Law And Measures Affecting Workers In The Context Of Voluntary Plant Closings And Workforce Reductions, Georgia Journal Of International And Comparative Law

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.


Recent Publications, Charles Mandel, Frank J. D'Oro May 2013

Recent Publications, Charles Mandel, Frank J. D'Oro

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Collective Representation And Employee Voice In The Us Public Sector Workplace: Looking North For Solutions?, Martin Malin Apr 2013

Collective Representation And Employee Voice In The Us Public Sector Workplace: Looking North For Solutions?, Martin Malin

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

Legislation enacted in many states following the 2010 elections in the United States strengthened unilateral public employer control and weakened employee voice. This rebalancing of power occurred in the context of state public employee labour relations acts modeled on the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), but with a narrower scope of bargaining than in the private sector. This narrow scope channels unions’ voice away from the quality of public services and towards protecting members from the effects of decisions unilaterally imposed by management. The Supreme Court of Canada has held that the freedom of association guaranteed by the Charter of …


Employee Free Choice: Amplifying Employee Voice Without Silencing Employers - A Proposal For Reforming The National Labor Relations Act, Amy Livingston Sep 2011

Employee Free Choice: Amplifying Employee Voice Without Silencing Employers - A Proposal For Reforming The National Labor Relations Act, Amy Livingston

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note investigates the effectiveness of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in balancing unions, employers', and employees' rights during the course of union organizing drives. After reviewing case law and commentary, it concludes that the NLRA's certification regime is ineffective and permits pressures that inhibit employees from expressing their real desires about whether or not to be represented by a union. This Note then examines proposed alternatives for certifying unions, and takes note of Canada's federal and ten provincial certification regimes. Finally, it concludes that the NLRA must be amended to protect worker free choice, and proposes reforms including …


Assessing The Regulation Of Temporary Foreign Workers In Canada, Sarah Marsden Apr 2011

Assessing The Regulation Of Temporary Foreign Workers In Canada, Sarah Marsden

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

There has been an increase in the number of incoming temporary migrant workers to Canada over the past decade. In this article, I critically assess recent changes in the law governing temporary migration to Canada by using theoretical tools from the fields of sociology, geography, and legal geography. A multidisciplinary framework to understand Canada's labour migration policies is provided. Within the socio-historical context of migrant labour regulation in Canada, I argue that political and regulatory developments function to further entrench segregation and exclusion of foreign workers by maintaining a subclass of flexible labour. Specifically, I show that Canada's current temporary …


Offshore Employment And Occupational Health And Safety Issues, John Macpherson Oct 2003

Offshore Employment And Occupational Health And Safety Issues, John Macpherson

Dalhousie Law Journal

In Canada responsibility for regulating labour relations, employment and occupational health and safety matters is shared between the federal and provincial governments. In this paper the author describes the complexities of the legislative regime governing the Nova Scotia offshore. Specifically, he looks at section 157 of the Nova Scotia Accord Act (Canada), certification of workers offshore, and occupational health and safety legislation.


Occupational Health And Safety: The New Regime For The East Coast Offshore, Susan E. Gover Oct 2003

Occupational Health And Safety: The New Regime For The East Coast Offshore, Susan E. Gover

Dalhousie Law Journal

The Governments of Canada, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador are moving to enshrine existing offshore occupational health and safety (OHS) practices into the Atlantic Accord legislation governing the regulation of petroleum-related activity off the eastern coast of Canada. The proposed OHS amendments discussed in this paper are intended to provide a comprehensive legal framework to achieve the same kind of protection for offshore workers that onshore workers currently enjoy. Application of occupational health and safety laws in the offshore will be clarified so that these amendments, and not other federal or provincial OHS laws, will apply to any workplace …


Twenty Years Of Labour Law And The Charter, Dianne Pothier Jul 2002

Twenty Years Of Labour Law And The Charter, Dianne Pothier

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This article critically reviews the Charter jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Canada relating to labour law. The rejection of the right to strike and to bargain collectively as part of freedom of association reflect substantial judicial deference to legislative policy choices. Recently, however, a constitutional right of unfair labour protection for particularly vulnerable workers shows some judicial willingness to intervene. While freedom of expression provides significant scope to union supporters, picketing and leafleting are still subject to wide restraint, the exact parameters of which remain unclear. The Charter has had only a modest effect on labour law. Even successful …


The Division Of Labour: An Examination Of Certification Requirements, Gary Svirsky Jul 1998

The Division Of Labour: An Examination Of Certification Requirements, Gary Svirsky

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

Under Canadian and American labour law, organized workers must be divided into bargaining units. In order to negotiate with employers on behalf of workers, these bargaining units must be certified. This entails receiving the approval of the appropriate labour relations board. The author argues that this requirement informs the outcomes of collective bargaining. This article takes the position that certification is a subtle method for maintaining the existing social order and the consequent distribution of power, without actually appearing to do so. Certification can be understood as a tool for fragmenting the potential power of labour's unity. The present analysis …


Antidiscrimination And Affirmative Action Policies: Economic Efficiency And The Constitution, Edward M. Iacobucci Apr 1998

Antidiscrimination And Affirmative Action Policies: Economic Efficiency And The Constitution, Edward M. Iacobucci

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This article assesses the economic efficiency of race-based antidiscrimination and affirmative action policies with a view to assessing relevant Canadian and American constitutional law. The article reviews economic arguments about why antidiscrimination laws may be efficient in addressing externalities, in hastening the exit of bigoted employers from the market, and in preventing the potentially inefficient use of race as a proxy for information; affirmative action may be efficient in accounting for differential signaling costs across race. The article concludes that economic analysis supports the approach in section 15 of the Charter which generally bans discriminatory government action, but recognizes that …


International Treaties And Constitutional Systems Of The United States, Mexico And Canada - Foreword: Proceedings Of The Seminar On International Treaties And Constitutional Systems Of The United States, Mexico And Canada: Laboring In The Shadow Of Regional Integration, Marley S. Weiss Jan 1998

International Treaties And Constitutional Systems Of The United States, Mexico And Canada - Foreword: Proceedings Of The Seminar On International Treaties And Constitutional Systems Of The United States, Mexico And Canada: Laboring In The Shadow Of Regional Integration, Marley S. Weiss

Maryland Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.


A Historical Perpective On Contemporary Challenges In Workers' Compensation, Terence G. Ison Oct 1996

A Historical Perpective On Contemporary Challenges In Workers' Compensation, Terence G. Ison

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

Workers' compensation has entered a period of rising complexity and increasing pressures for system change. This article explains the extent to which important assumptions and assertions made in this process are historically correct. The discussion includes the historical interaction of tort liability with workers' compensation, and the current proposals for "privatization."


Accommodating Equality In The Unionized Workplace, Katherine Swinton Oct 1995

Accommodating Equality In The Unionized Workplace, Katherine Swinton

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This article explores the appropriate relationship between human rights and collective bargaining laws through an examination of the Supreme Court of Canada's jurisprudence on the duty to accommodate. While collective bargaining can be an important force to promote equality for disadvantaged groups, resistance to changing the terms of collective agreements to accommodate those groups can arise, especially when other employees' seniority rights are affected. The emerging jurisprudence suggests that seniority rights will be respected in many situations, especially in layoffs, but the article outlines circumstances in which accommodation will be necessary to vindicate equality rights.


Agenda For Canadian Labour Law Reform: A Little Liberal Law, Much More Democratic Socialist Politics, Harry J. Glasbeek Apr 1993

Agenda For Canadian Labour Law Reform: A Little Liberal Law, Much More Democratic Socialist Politics, Harry J. Glasbeek

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

Statutory collective bargaining has been the linchpin of Canadian industrial relations since World War I. It yielded benefits to large segments of workers, although its reach and impact were always exaggerated. As the economic entente which underpinned the scheme is unravelling, workers fight desperately to hang onto a system which, in retrospect, looks even better than it did before. But the narrow, male-centred, economic premises of collective bargaining make statutory collective bargaining reform a poor vehicle with which to offset employer attacks on the working classes. An agenda which seeks to link the economic and the political, men and women, …


Spacing Out: Towards A Critical Geography Of Law, Nicholas K. Blomley, Joel C. Bakan Jul 1992

Spacing Out: Towards A Critical Geography Of Law, Nicholas K. Blomley, Joel C. Bakan

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

The authors analyze the interconnections between space, law, and power and forge links between critical studies in law and geography. Analytical categories of space-for example, the divide between public and private space, or the concept of national citizenship-are all politically constructed. The authors analyze Canadian and American concepts of federalism and their impact on regulating worker safety. A common judicial mapping of work, local space, and state regulation determines whether local officials have enforcement authority in contexts where national worker safety regulations apply. Through this analysis, the authors illustrate the potential for future studies in critical legal geography.


Labouring Outside The Charter, David M. Beatty Oct 1991

Labouring Outside The Charter, David M. Beatty

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

In this essay, Professor Beatty reviews the leading Charter cases decided by the Supreme Court of Canada which consider the constitutionality of a variety of different labour laws. In reasoning and result, he finds that by and large these cases provide strong support for those legal scholars who are generally sceptical of the law and critical of the courts and who predicted that, even with the Charter, it was unlikely the Court would change the antipathy judges have historically displayed to the interests of workers and their associations. However, while these legal theorists may draw some comfort from these decisions …


Contempt For Workers, Harry J. Glasbeek Jan 1990

Contempt For Workers, Harry J. Glasbeek

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

Charter proponents have been hopeful that the courts will use the constitutional entrenchment of rights to enlarge the political freedom of Canadians. Charter opponents have been doubtful of the court's ability to do so and, more importantly, of their willingness to do so where the enhancement of rights would undermine existing power relations. While many cases which come before the courts do not raise this issue squarely, the contradictory propositions are tested where capital labour conflicts are the subject of litigation. The argument is that it is the courts' historic mission to safeguard capital from working class challenges. Two recent …


The New Fordism In Canada: Capital's Offensive, Labour's Opportunity, Daniel Drache, Harry J. Glasbeek Jul 1989

The New Fordism In Canada: Capital's Offensive, Labour's Opportunity, Daniel Drache, Harry J. Glasbeek

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

The breakdown in the links of mass production and mass consumption poses problems throughout the advanced industrial world. In each nation-state the ensuing struggles will take different forms. In postwar Canada, the link between mass consumption and mass production did not lead to the same kind of trade union participation in decision-making as it did in much of Europe. Workers were unable to establish embedded rights of worker participation. What was known as the fordist model in Europe did not have deep roots in Canada. Canadian workers are now being attacked by employers whose bargaining powers were never seriously blunted, …


Shop Talk: Conversations About The Constitutionality Of Our Labor Law, David M. Beatty Apr 1989

Shop Talk: Conversations About The Constitutionality Of Our Labor Law, David M. Beatty

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

In this essay Professor Beatty joins the debate as to how, if at all, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the process of judicial review can be integrated with our tradition of democratic rule and the sovereignty of the popular will. Rather than deal directly with the arguments of those who are critical of the entrenchment of a written bill of rights, Professor Beatty endeavors to cast the Charter and the new role of the judges in the best possible light. Analogizing the process of constitutional review to "conversations of justification" (using examples drawn from the labour law field), …


Collective Bargaining In The Federal Public Service Of Canada -- After Four Years -- A Time To Reflect, Review And Reform, C. Gordon Simmons Jan 1971

Collective Bargaining In The Federal Public Service Of Canada -- After Four Years -- A Time To Reflect, Review And Reform, C. Gordon Simmons

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.


Collective Bargaining In The Public Service Of Canada: Bold Experiment Or Act Of Folly?, H. W. Arthurs Mar 1969

Collective Bargaining In The Public Service Of Canada: Bold Experiment Or Act Of Folly?, H. W. Arthurs

Michigan Law Review

This brief background sketch of the Canadian labor relations scene suffices to indicate that several important impediments to the introduction of a full-fledged system of public service collective bargaining which exist in the United States have no counterpart north of the border. Particularly at the practical level, there were no insuperable hurdles to the enactment of the 1967 Canadian federal law. To understand how and why the new federal statute came to be enacted within this reasonably hospitable environment, it is important to trace the course of employment relations in the Canadian Public Service.