VBF-More than Just a Duty to Accommodate: Feb 15, 2024

More than Just a Duty to Accommodate – BC Employers Now Have New Duties to Cooperate and Keep Injured Workers Employed!

The BC Workers Compensation Act was amended as of January 1, 2024, to introduce new duties to cooperate and maintain the employment of certain injured workers upon their return to work.

In this webinar, employment lawyers from Cassels, Brock and Blackwell, Dianne Rideout and Michelle McKinnon, will walk through everything you need to know about the new duties to cooperate and maintain employment, including:

1. What types of injuries are protected under the new duties.
2. The application of the new duties to injuries that arose before January 1, 2024.
3. The scope of the duty to cooperate with the injured worker and WorkSafeBC.
4. The scope of the duty to keep an injured worker employed.
5. How the new duties interact with the duty to accommodate under human rights law.
6. How the new duties apply to unionized employees and employees employed on fixed term employment contracts.
7. The penalties for failing to comply with the new duties.

Presented by:

Dianne Rideout

Partner, Employment & Labour
Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP

Dianne Rideout has been practicing in the area of employment law for more than 18 years.  As part of her practice, Dianne regularly advises domestic and international clients in all aspects of the employment relationship, including provincial and federal employment law, hiring, discipline, termination, human rights, wrongful and constructive dismissals, and other employment-related litigation. Dianne regularly acts for vendors and purchasers in connection with employment and labour implications arising from complex corporate transactions. Dianne has appeared as counsel in all levels of Court in British Columbia, as well as the Supreme Court of Canada.  She is recognized as a leader in her field with rankings in Best Lawyers in the areas of Labour & Employment Law and Workers’ Compensation Law, and in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory for Employment & Labour law.

Michelle McKinnon

Partner, Employment & Labour
Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP

Michelle McKinnon advises on all aspects of the employment relationship, including employment law, labour law, human rights, employment standards, terminations, pay equity and pay transparency, privacy, health and safety, prohibited action complaints and employment litigation. Michelle has an established federal employment practice and has a deep understanding of the unique employment law landscape that applies to federal employers. She is regularly interviewed and sought out to speak at conferences – including recently on the evolving area of pay equity and pay transparency. Most recently, Michelle was interviewed by Canadian Lawyer and the Society of Human Resources Management regarding British Columbia’s new Pay Transparency Act.

All EHSCBC Members are invited to join us for this free forum.