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The legalization of marijuana in Canada is expected to have a significant impact on workplaces, requiring the development or updating of company drug-related policies and procedures. To help employment relations stakeholders with this change, recommendations are made based on an analysis of 93 past arbitration/tribunal/court cases involving marijuana-related policy violations, drawn from the Labour Source database. Issues addressed include language and communication of the work rule, reasonableness of drug tests, standard of proof, duty to accommodate, and mitigating factors. Based on the study of those 93 court cases, some recommendations can be formulated. First, employers need to clearly state their drug-related policies, taking into consideration safety-sensitivity and any substance abuse culture. This may include prohibition of possession, use, and distribution of drugs at the workplace or working under the influence, and the need to report any medical drug use that requires accommodation. Drug tests should only be done when there is a bona fide occupational requirement or where safety is a concern, such as post-incident or when there is reasonable suspicion of drug impairment. Also, it is important to understand that positive drug test results can only show past drug use but not the level of impairment or whether the drug was used while on a work shift. Therefore, to support an offence violation and discipline, corroborating evidence from multiple witnesses and sources are often necessary. Supervisors should be trained to identify the characteristics related to marijuana and drug impairment and the procedures to follow when an incident occurs. Employers must be cognizant of the duty to accommodate medical marijuana users or recreational users who are addicted, under human rights protection for disability. Such accommodation may include work reassignment or a leave of absence. In deciding on a penalty, other than past performance and disciplinary records and personal extenuating circumstances, arbitrators may consider rehabilitation situations to assess the prognosis and viability of the employment relationship. Employers and unions are advised to stay abreast of latest developments in the laws, drug test technologies and medical research related to marijuana use.
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This study identifies and compares the severance compensation determinants of legal and human resource professionals, using court cases and policy-capturing HR survey. Results confirmed that HR practitioners not only considered the factors critical in court decisions, which were length of service, age, employment status, and labor market conditions, but also had economic and social justice concerns as revealed by significant factors such as a company's financial situation and reason for dismissal. Certain HR decision-makers' characteristics were also found to influence the decision. Overall, HR notices were shorter than court notices in similar situations. Implications of such findings are discussed.
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Quality improvement (QI) and downsizing have been 2 popular initiatives to enhance firm competitiveness. When used together, the relationship between them is neither simple nor straightforward. Although there have been many separate studies of QI and downsizing, there is a paucity of empirical work on the relationship between them and their organizational implications. A study is presented that seeks to fill this lacuna by shedding light on: 1. how employees respond to these initiatives when combined, 2. their compatibility, and 3. ways to alleviate the negative effects of one initiative on the other.
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The Canadian union certification system guarantees workers rights to organise, bargain collectively, and strike only when a majority of co-workers favours unionisation. This contravenes International Labour Organisation standards, in which the freedom to associate is unqualified by majority support. In recent years, the Supreme Court of Canada has drawn on ILO principles to interpret constitutional rights as covering organising and collective bargaining activities related to freedom of association under section 2(d) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, it has not as yet ordered Canadian governments to enact labour relations laws consistent with these new constitutional rights. Neither has there been a general call for such legislative change. Instead, many fear that statutory support for non-majority unionism would lead to multi-union representation and intensified inter-union competition, but fail to consider that sharing the workplace might actually promote inter-union cooperation against a common adversary in management. This study addresses this shortcoming by looking at the extent and nature of inter-union collaboration in New Zealand, where non-majority, non-exclusive representation exists already. Collaboration was found to be common, not only over bargaining and lobbying, but also in organising. Implications for Canada are explored.
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