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Labour & employment law column by Robert Smithson

ALCOHOL TESTING IN INHERENTLY DANGEROUS WORKPLACES

Suncor Energy’s ongoing battle, in Alberta, to implement a workplace drug and alcohol testing program has gained a following as it works its way through adjudicative processes.  A similar case arising in New Brunswick, however, promises to be the first to receive the opinion of Canada’s top justices.

PROBATION MEANT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DEMONSTRATE SKILLS

I sometimes refer to the probation period as the Rodney Dangerfield of employment law (for those of you not old enough to know, that means it gets no respect).  But few legal mechanisms can be more effective in getting employers out of employment relationships which seemingly have no future.

I’ve written previously that the probation period can be viewed as one long audition for a job, revealing an individual’s true skills, attitude, and ability to fit in.  In my view, there simply is no substitute for viewing an individual on the job in real work situations.

KEEPING TRIBUNALS IN CHECK IS SOCIETY’S TASK

I don’t know if the downloading by government of the regulation of our lives to administrative bodies is a uniquely Canadian state of affairs. It certainly has, however, become characteristic of our legal system and it’s something that can be a cause for concern.

A BRIDGE, AND A MAN, CAME TUMBLING DOWN

Having grown up in a household with the sounds of ‘Bud The Spud’ and ‘Sudbury Saturday Night’ twanging away in the background, I’d long known of the collapse of Vancouver’s Second Narrows Bridge. But I had never researched it until just a couple of weeks ago and I tucked that story away thinking perhaps at some point I would have a reason to write about it.

YAHOO FOR GOING BACK TO WORK

In a news week in which B.C.’s Liberal Party committed suicide (again), Senator Mike Duffy proved that reading comprehension isn’t a requirement for journalists, and astronaut Chris Hadfield surely did something-or-other in outer space, it was an internal company memorandum which stole the media spotlight. When Yahoo! issued a memo telling employees they’d be expected to work at the workplace rather than from home, a firestorm of commentary broke out.

SIDE BOOBS NIXED, TATTOOS OKAYED

When CBS, the network airing the Grammy Awards, issued a wardrobe advisory in advance of the annual show, the mundane topic of dress codes suddenly became fashionable.

DEAR GOD: I QUIT

Approximately 1.2 billion Catholics woke up this week to the news that Pope Benedict XVI has given two weeks’ notice of resignation.  The Vatican Radio’s website reported the 85-year-old Pope said his health is the reason for the surprise announcement.

DECISION-MAKING, ON THE BRINK

For those who are interested in organizational dynamics, and decision-making in particular, there could be no better real-life example than the so-called Cuban Missile Crisis of October, 1962.  Perhaps at no other time in recorded history have the fortunes of so many rested in the deliberations of so few.

THIS COLUMN IS, LIKE, INCREDIBLE… LITERALLY!!

A while back, I wrote a column entitled, “Use Writing As A Tool, Don’t Be One”.  The point of that item was to encourage business people (myself included) to adopt some basic steps to improve their workplace writing.

As I said then, even with all the technology at our disposal, the written word is still our primary mode of communication.  It is important for us all – employers included – to write in a way that gets our message across without confusing or offending readers.

WORKPLACE DRUG TESTING BEING TESTED AGAIN

It seems that every few years a Canadian employer takes a run at the human rights-based rules preventing workplace drug and alcohol testing.  This time, it’s Suncor Energy in Alberta and it seems they lost the first round of the battle.

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