Originally argued in front of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) last fall to lively online and media debate, the recent decision of NASA v. Nelson (2011) 562 U.S. (pdf link) was released on January 19, 2011 to considerably less fanfare in the blogosphere. As discussed in my prior post about this case, [...]

This March, the United States Supreme Court (“SCOTUS”) will consider whether to certify the largest employment discrimination class action in the country’s history.  For nearly ten years, Betty Dukes and five other representative plaintiffs have held the “David v. Goliath” title after they brought a lawsuit against Wal-Mart on behalf of all women employed by [...]

Two years ago, the Federal Appeals Court for the Ninth Circuit (the “Ninth Circuit”) in Nelson v. NASA, No. 07-56424 (9th Cir. 2008) (pdf link) decided a case that has re-opened constitutional debate about employees’ right to protect personal information – especially from the allegedly prying eyes of the government. At issue for the Ninth [...]

Most employees commence legal action against an employer after formal termination; however, Ms. Jennifer Lewis is part of the small minority who choose to sue before the employment contract has been formally repudiated.  In Lewis v. Terrace Tourism Society 2010 BCCA 346, the British Columbia Court of Appeal grappled with the issue of dismissing employees [...]

Ontario employers can rest easy as a result of the Ontario Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Piresferreira v. Ayotte, 2010 ONCA 384.  The appeal revisited the issue of an employer’s duty to protect an employee against mental suffering in the workplace. The Court of Appeal held that restricting an employee’s ability to hold an [...]

On February 25, the British Columbia Court of Appeal released its decision in the administrative law case Taiga Works Wilderness Equipment Ltd. v. British Columbia (Director of Employment Standards), 2010 BCCA 97.  At issue was whether an appellate body is able to cure breaches of the rule of natural justice or procedural fairness committed by a [...]

When two trial courts faced with similar facts come to opposite conclusions, it’s almost certain that the cases will go up the appellate ladder. So it is with two class actions getting underway against CIBC and the Bank of Nova Scotia, both of whom are alleged to have withheld overtime pay from their employees. The [...]

Ricci v. DeStefano, a case concerning reverse discrimination in the form of a denial of promotions to a group of white firefighters who did disproportionately well on qualifying exams, is the United States Supreme Court’s latest decision and arguably its most important of the year. The decision sought to resolve the conflict between eradicating intentional [...]

Last Thursday, the SCC granted leave to appeal in Fraser v. Ontario (Attorney General) (32968). This case involves the appeal of an Ontario Court of Appeal decision (2008 ONCA 760) finding that a provincial law prohibiting the ability of agricultural workers to bargain collectively violates the workers’ s. 2(d) Charter right to freedom of association. [...]

One of my constitutional law professors once remarked that the rights-based ethic of my generation is largely informed by the fact of our coming of age in the post-Charter era. Personally, I believe that the Charter, for all of its positives, is a systemically underinclusive document. Nevertheless, as a child of the post-Charter era, I [...]