Workplace Human Rights
Workplace Human Rights
Overview
Experience
People
News + Views + Events

At Field Law, we don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach; we understand that each business, and each individual, has different needs and concerns that must be explored and considered, including the financial, reputational and time-related costs that often arise when dealing with human rights matters. Our lawyers will listen and work with you in order to develop effective strategies and solutions that are tailored to your specific circumstances.    

Let us help you navigate your path forward. We can provide assistance with:

  • Developing and implementing anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies and guidelines
  • Providing training for front-line supervisors and managers, and other managers or executives, with respect preventing or responding to human rights complaints
  • Disability management, performance management or absenteeism concerns
  • Advice regarding a return to work after an absence due to a disability
  • Conducting investigations related to harassment or discrimination complaints
  • Negotiating settlements
  • Providing representation and acting in hearings before federal and provincial human rights tribunals

Field Law’s Labour and Employment group has the knowledge, skills and resources to help you navigate the human rights landscape and can assist, whether you are a business or an individual.

Businesses

  • Looking to take proactive steps to prevent harassment and/or discrimination
  • Investigating a complaint of harassment or discrimination
  • In need of assistance in determining or fulfilling the duty to accommodate
  • Required to respond to a potential or actual human rights complaint

Individuals

  • Seeking accommodation on the basis of disability, family status, religious beliefs or any other protected ground
  • Who may have experienced discrimination based on a protected ground under human rights legislation

To discuss how Field Law can help you with your business or individual human rights matters, please contact Kelly Nicholson in Calgary or Joël Michaud  in Edmonton and Yellowknife. Stay up-to-date with all labour law issues by clicking here to sign up for our Workwise eNewsletter. 

Luchak v Primary Flow Signal Canada Inc. et al., 2023 AHRC 40
Boehnisch v Sunshine Village Corporation, 2019 AHRC 55
February 2024
2023 - A Year in Review: Labour + Employment (Part 2)
Seminars + Webinar
Join members of our Labour + Employment Group for our annual Year in Review, which focuses on legal updates for management and employee groups.Part 2 of this series covered Employment, Privacy and Human Rights. To view Part 1, ...
August 2023 - 4 min read
Human Rights Claims After Termination of Employment: A Valid Release Puts the Past in the Past
Workwise Newsletter
Signing a release – or requiring an employee to sign one – should never be taken lightly. Nearly 25 years ago, the Alberta courts clarified that while an employee cannot contract out of their human rights protections, an em...
August 2023 - 9 mins
Russian Association Claims Exclusion from Edmonton Heritage Festival is a Human Rights Violation
Edmonton AM with Mark Connolly, Tara McCarthy
The Edmonton Heritage Festival has made the decision to bar the Russian pavilion from the annual event due to "safety concerns." Now, the Russian association says the exclusion is a human rights violation. Jason Kully joined Edmonto...
July 2023 - 3 min read
Screening Stage Showdown: Increased Odds of Complaints Going to Hearing
Workwise Newsletter
This ruling implies that human rights complaints are more likely to proceed to a hearing when credibility is a significant factor. It is crucial for employers to be prepared for such situations and ensure they gather sufficient evidenc...
February 2023
2022 - A Year in Review: Labour + Employment (Part 2)
Seminar + Webinar
Join members of our Labour + Employment Group for our annual Year in Review, which focuses on legal updates for management and employee groups.Part 2 of this series will cover Privacy, Employment and Human Rights. To view the recording for Part 1, whic...
April 2022 - 3 min read
Back to the Office: Legal Considerations for Employers
Workwise Newsletter
On March 1, 2022, the Province of Alberta entered stage 2 of the Government’s three-stage process for easing COVID-19 restrictions, which resulted in the lifting of nearly all remaining public health restrictions, including Alberta’s mandat...
April 7, 2022
Coffee + Counsel: Employer Considerations for the Removal of Vaccination Policies
Q+A Session
Join us for another edition of Coffee + Counsel, a complimentary series that brings you together with a few of our lawyers for an unscripted chat about legal issues pertinent to organizations in Alberta. Your questions guide the discussion, and we prov...
February 24, 2022
2021 - A Year in Review: Labour + Employment (Part 2)
Webinar
Join members of our Labour + Employment Group for our annual Year in Review webinar, which focuses on legal updates for management and employee groups.Part 2 of this series will cover Privacy, Human Rights and Employment. To view the recordin...
February 2022 - 3 min read
Substantial Damages Awarded for Refusal to Use Proper Pronouns
Workwise Newsletter
What You Need to Know A recent British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal (BCHRT) decision awarded $30,000 in damages to a restaurant employee due to the actions of a co-worker who repeatedly and deliberately misgendered them by referring to them using ...
December 7, 2021
Mandatory Vaccination Policies: What Case Law is Telling Us So Far
As we all learn to live with COVID-19 and as workers move back into the workplace, many employers have implemented various types of policies regarding COVID-19 vaccination. A few months have passed, some specific legal cases have started to slowly...
November 2021
Case Law Update: Are Mandatory Vaccination Policies Allowed in the Workplace?
Workwise Newsletter
Various questions arise from the competing interests of employees and employers when dealing with mandatory vaccination policies. While there were labour arbitration decisions relating to influenza and other vaccines, until very recently, there were ...
November 17, 2021
Coffee + Counsel: Family Status Accommodation - Where Are We Now?
Q+A Session
Join us for another edition of Coffee + Counsel, a complimentary series that brings you together with a few of our lawyers for an unscripted chat about legal issues pertinent to organizations in Alberta. Your questions guide the discussion, and we prov...
October 2021 - 3 min read
Human Rights in Unionized Workplaces: Do Arbitrators Have Exclusive Jurisdiction?
Workwise Newsletter
In a decision released last Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed the exclusive jurisdiction of labour arbitrators to consider all matters falling under a Collective Agreement, including human rights claims. In Northern Regional Health Auth...
July 2021 - 7 min read
Clarity From Confusion: Court Confirms Test for Family Status Discrimination
Workwise Newsletter
Jonathan Swift once observed that there is nothing constant in the world but inconsistency. The truth of that statement is nowhere more apparent than in the Canadian law governing family status accommodation, where the legal test applied to a...
May 19, 2021
Coffee + Counsel: Employers, Are You Ready for the COVID-19 Vaccine?
Q+A Session
Join us for another edition of Coffee + Counsel, a complimentary series that brings you together with a few of our lawyers for an unscripted chat about legal issues pertinent to organizations in Alberta. Your questions guide the discussion, and we prov...
February 24 + March 10
2020 - A Year in Review Webinar Series
Did you miss the Field Law Labour + Employment Group's annual Year in Review? The recordings are now available! Is employer-friendly OHS legislation coming to a worksite near you? What are the impacts of COVID-19 on employment legislation a...
June 2020 - 2 min read
What to do When an Employee Resigns after Being Recalled to Return to Work
Employers Asked, We Answered
As restrictions begin to lift, many employers are recalling employees from temporary layoff. In some cases, employees are responding to the request to return to work by resigning. As a result, many employers are wondering whether they are complicit in ...
March 18, 2020
UPDATE: Alberta Government Announces Details of COVID-19 Leave
On March 16, 2020, Field Law reported on the Alberta government’s plans to amend the Employment Standards Code to allow employees who are required to self-isolate or care for a family member with COVID-19 to take 14 days of paid leave to cover th...
February 2020
Just Horsing Around: When Off-Duty Conduct Becomes Cause to Terminate
Workwise Newsletter
The ever pertinent question of when off-duty conduct will constitute just cause dismissal was recently considered by an arbitration board in Prince Edward Island (Canadian Union of Public Employees v A Nursing Home Inc.). An individual was termina...
Winter 2020
2019 - A Year in Review Seminar Series
Seminars
Join the Field Law Labour + Employment Group for our annual seminars featuring legal updates and practical challenges for management and employee groups.Part 1 has been approved for 1.75 CPD hours and Part 2 has been approved for 2.25 CPD hou...
December 11, 2019
Human Rights + Professional Regulation: What Every Organization Needs to Know
Webinar
Human rights principles can be at play in many issues faced by professional regulatory bodies. A sound knowledge and understanding of human rights concepts can ensure that regulators are carrying out their functions in a manner that respects and i...
September 26, 2019
Must Have Policies for Employers: Why, What + How
Seminars
Join Field Law in Edmonton and Calgary and learn tips and tricks to assist with the implementation and enforcement of three workplace policies Employers should have in place in today’s market.We will explore how changes in legislation and culture...
February 6, 2019
2018 Year in Review for Northern Employers
Seminars
Join Field Law for a review of the most important legal cases from 2018. Topics covered will include: Labour Employment Human Rights Occupational Health + Safety Privacy Immigration Cannabis This seminar will be broadcast live via ...
Winter 2019
2018 A Year in Review Seminar Series
Seminars
The Field Law Labour and Employment Group presents the annual Year in Review seminars in Calgary and Edmonton. Join us for legal updates and practical challenges for management and employee groups in the areas of:  Part 1: Human Rights ...