Legal issues dealing with cannabis and harassment are expected to top the list of employment law trends in 2020, a lawyer from Williams HR Law Professional Corp. has predicted.
Laura Williams told a meeting of the Canadian Group Insurance Brokers (CGIB) on March 4 that it’s important for companies and managers to realize the changes that have taken place regarding these issues over the past few years.
For example, Williams said there are laws that limit the use of products such as cannabis in the workplace since it became legal for recreational and medicinal purposes in Canada in October 2018.
Originally, laws limited the use of cannabis in the workplace but there’s been much refinement and clarity by decision makers on managing impairment. The laws deal not only with smoking cannabis but also include edibles and topicals – lotions, balms and oils – as well as any product that can cause impairment, including prescription medication.
Hard to detect
What’s challenging about cannabis edibles and topicals in the workplace is that they’re hard to detect. Wiliams said that if someone smokes cannabis, there’s often a smell and different reactions like dilated pupils, but consuming cannabis doesn’t have those obvious effects.
“The one thing that employers have to focus on when managing cannabis or any substance in the workplace is making sure to state what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable [to employees],” she said.
When cannabis was first legalized, lawyers were inundated with calls after employers failed to make a distinction at holiday parties between drinking and smoking marijuana. “Employers found themselves flat-footed because they hadn’t stipulated what’s acceptable.”
Williams said it is “absolutely lawful” for organizations to make these distinctions and in fact, said companies should be very specific about what they consider to be acceptable.
Caught off guard
Companies have also been caught off guard when it comes to issues dealing with sexual harassment because many aren’t training front-line managers to deal with certain situations, she said. There are times when an employee may come to a manager saying they know there is sexual harassment taking place but don’t want to give names. “As of 2016 in Ontario if you know something, you have to do something,” said Williams.
She said courts have been considering society’s evolving perspective on sexual harassment in the workplace and that people should be aware that the liabilities have increased significantly now that they are part of provincial Health and Safety regulations.
