Canadian HR Reporter unveils impressive list of leaders in legal arena
“My desk has literally been imploding over the last two years.”
So says Sandra Guarascio, partner at Roper Greyell in Vancouver, in referring to the unprecedented impact of COVID-19.
She is one of several employment lawyers named to Canadian HR Reporter’s 5-Star Employment Law Firms and Lawyers for 2022 who cited several issues as top concerns for employers these days, including vaccines and mask mandates, the rise of remote work and hybrid setups, and mental health challenges.
The rise of mandatory vaccine policies has led to a “massive uptick in complaints” related to the various workplace requirements, says Guarascio.
“That's years of litigation in that pipeline, not including the truckloads of complaints that are still going to come… [Employers are] aligned with public health directives by implementing mandates, but they don't have the safety net of legislation. So there's going to just be a lot of litigation.”
As for layoffs for employees who refuse to get a vaccine, it'll be interesting to see where things actually land, says Alexandre Buswell, partner at McCarthy Tétrault in Montreal, and another winner of the 5-Star Employment Law Firms and Lawyers.
“The first few decisions that have come out pertain to the validity of policy provisions and identity of policies themselves. But… there's no strong sense of what the courts and tribunals will actually end up saying, in as far as the possibility of terminating an employee who refuses to get vaccinated.”
It's been frustrating for many employers because the government keeps sending out suggestions and recommendations, but doesn’t legislate around the issue, says Jamie Knight, partner at Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti in Toronto, and another winner of the 5-Star Employment Law Firms and Lawyers.
“It's good for us lawyers but the result is that each client then has to consider what their policy is, and if they're in a unionized workplace, they're then susceptible to both policy grievances and individual grievances for employees who don’t comply,” he says.
For the full feature looking at other issues such as the hybrid workplace and mental health concerns, along with the list of winners of the 5-Star Employment Law Firms and Lawyers, visit here.
