Employment Law Conference 2021


Course Date: May 6, 2021

Full Course Materials
Total: 4h 16min

Welcome and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:05)

Valerie Dixon — City of Vancouver, Vancouver
James D. Kondopulos — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver

Resignation; Why So Difficult? (9:05 – 9:50)

  • the test for determining whether an employee has resigned and a review of recent decisions
  • whether and in what circumstances, an employee may retract their resignation
  • good faith and resignations
  • the circumstances in which an employees is obliged to accept an offer of re-employment to mitigate their damages when a resignation is alleged to be a termination

Laura DeVries — McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Vancouver
Donovan G. Plomp — McCarthy Tétraul LLP, Vancouver

Break (9:50 – 10:00)

Intersection of Human Rights and Employment Law (10:00 – 10:45)

  • jurisdictional limits on employee claims
  • potential contractual remedies
  • the trend is upwards—recent awards in tribunal sexual harassment cases

Steven R. Barker — Tevlin Gleadle Curtis Employment Law Strategies, Vancouver
Fiona H. McFarlane — Kent Employment Law Corporation, Vancouver
Laura Track — Community Legal Assistance Society, Vancouver

Break (10:45 – 10:55)

Employment Standards Update (10:55 – 11:25)

Jennifer O’Rourke — BC Labour Relations Board and Employment Standards Tribunal, Vancouver

Break (11:25 – 11:35)

Incentive Compensation: Design, Drafting, and a Discussion of Mathews v. Ocean Nutrition Canada Ltd., 2020 SCC 26 (11:35 – 12:20)

  • an overview of incentive compensation designs, including employment, tax and securities issues
  • incorporating incentive compensation into employment agreements
  • the treatment of incentive compensation awards upon termination, including a discussion of the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in Matthews

Taylor Buckley — Dentons Canada LLP, Vancouver  
Martin Sheard — Inlet Employment Law, Vancouver

Lunch (12:20 – 12:50)

The Inside View—In-house Counsel's Top 10 List for Employment Counsel (12:50 – 1:35)

  • insights and practice tips for plaintiff and employer-side counsel from the vantage point of an employer's legal department
  • hear about the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to in-house counsel's experiences with employment lawyers
  • topics will include client relations, negotiation strategy, billing practices, and more

Amy Frankel — Forte Law Corporation, Surrey
Lindsey Taylor — lululemon athletica inc., Vancouver

Break (1:35 – 1:45)

Director and Officer Personal Liability and Statutory Exemptions (1:45 – 2:30)

  • overview of director and officer personal liability for wages and other employment liabilities
  • managing personal liabilities in the face of contemplated receivership or insolvency proceedings
  • the importance of timing in relation to statutory exemptions from personal liability under the Employment Standards Act
  • enforcement-related matters

Jeffrey Bastien — Dentons Canada LLP, Vancouver

Break (2:30 – 2:40)

Transition Back to Normal: Employer and Employee Rights in the Post-pandemic World (2:40 – 3:25)

D. Michael Bain, QC — HHBG Employment Lawyers, Vancouver
Maggie Campbell — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver
Michael Jones — HHBG Employment Lawyers, Surrey
Tamara Navaratnam — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver

Closing Questions and Comments (3:25 – 3:30)

Valerie Dixon — City of Vancouver, Vancouver
James D. Kondopulos — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver