Labour
Labour
Overview
Experience
People
News + Views + Events

Field Law’s Labour + Employment group has been providing advice and representation in labour relations matters throughout Alberta for many decades. Our clients include public sector employers (government, health care providers, police services and post-secondary institutions), national and international companies, provincial organizations, and professional associations, as well as medium and smaller size employers.

Our advice and experience runs the full spectrum of this area of law – labour arbitrations, Labour Relations Board hearings, workplace health and safety hearings and reviews and appeals, collective bargaining, collective agreement interpretation, HR policy and procedure, mediation, strike and lockout preparation and management, picket line activity, and all manner of day-to-day strategic and practical advice needed to effectively manage an employer’s labour force. Our labour lawyers are not generalists – they are dedicated experts in this specific area of the law, providing daily advice and representation to a wide range of employer clients in a way that allows them to be efficient and focused on the real issues and solutions for the client.  

Throughout our history and including the past few years, our work for our labour clients has taken us to all levels of the Alberta Courts, the Labour Relations Board, the leading arbitrators in the province, and the Supreme Court of Canada. Our efforts are not only focused on representation and advice in the adversarial setting, but on assisting our clients to proactively build strategic and effective labour relations with their workforce to limit unnecessary conflict and forge productive relationships.  

R. v. Kolesnikov, 2020, Provincial Court of Alberta
Canada Post Corporation v Canadian Union of Postal Workers, 2023 CanLII 7244
Canada Post Corporation v Canada Union of Postal Workers, 2022 CanLII 121430 (CA LA)
Canada Post Corporation v. Canada Union of Postal Workers, 2019 CanLII 131168
Muldoon and Corus Media Holdings Inc., 2017 CIRB 855
February 2024 - 5 min read
Unionized Employee: Grievance or Human Rights Complaint?
Workwise Newsletter
The Alberta Human Rights Commission and labour arbitrators hold concurrent jurisdiction over human rights issues in unionized workplaces, as highlighted by a recent decision from the Chief of the Alberta Human Rights. However, the Comm...
February 2024
2023 - A Year in Review: Labour + Employment (Part 1)
Seminars + Webinar
Join members of our Labour + Employment Group for our annual Year in Review, which focuses on legal updates for management and employee groups.Part 1 of this series covered Labour and Occupational Health + Safety. To view Part 2, which c...
August 2023 - 4 min read
Human Rights Claims After Termination of Employment: A Valid Release Puts the Past in the Past
Workwise Newsletter
Signing a release – or requiring an employee to sign one – should never be taken lightly. Nearly 25 years ago, the Alberta courts clarified that while an employee cannot contract out of their human rights protections, an em...
June 13, 2023
Coffee + Counsel: Common Pitfalls to Avoid with Employment Contracts
Q+A Session
Join us for Coffee + Counsel, a complimentary webinar series where you can connect with our lawyers for an unscripted discussion about legal issues relevant to organizations operating in Alberta and the Northwest Territories. We'll be sharing our l...
February 28 - 3 min read
Doth ‘Proclaim’ Too Much: Collective Agreement Gives the Word Special Meaning
Workwise Newsletter
A statement from the Prime Minister was not enough to "proclaim" the National Day of Mourning for Queen Elizabeth II's passing a holiday under a collective agreement in Ontario. The word "proclaim" used i...
January + February 2023
2022 - A Year in Review: Labour + Employment (Part 1)
Seminar + Webinar
Join members of our Labour + Employment Group for our annual Year in Review, which focuses on legal updates for management and employee groups.Part 1 of this series will cover Labour, Occupational Health + Safety and Immigration. To view the ...
June 2022 - 5 min read
Employment Contracts: Leave No Room for Interpretation!
Workwise Newsletter
What You Need To Know In the case of Rice v Shell Global Solutions Canada Inc, the majority of the Alberta Court of Appeal emphasized the importance of clearly identifying the term of an employment contract and the parties’ obligations and e...
April 2022 - 3 min read
Back to the Office: Legal Considerations for Employers
Workwise Newsletter
On March 1, 2022, the Province of Alberta entered stage 2 of the Government’s three-stage process for easing COVID-19 restrictions, which resulted in the lifting of nearly all remaining public health restrictions, including Alberta’s mandat...
April 7, 2022
Coffee + Counsel: Employer Considerations for the Removal of Vaccination Policies
Q+A Session
Join us for another edition of Coffee + Counsel, a complimentary series that brings you together with a few of our lawyers for an unscripted chat about legal issues pertinent to organizations in Alberta. Your questions guide the discussion, and we prov...
January 2022 - 4 min read
Significant Changes to Union Dues + Union Financial Statements
Workwise Newsletter
On July 7, 2020, the Government of Alberta introduced Bill 32, Restoring Balance in Alberta’s Workplaces Act, 2020. The intent of Bill 32 was to support economic recovery, restore balance in the workplace, and get Albertans back to work.Whil...
January 25, 2022
2021 - A Year in Review: Labour + Employment (Part 1)
Webinar
Join members of our Labour + Employment Group for our annual Year in Review, which focuses on legal updates for management and employee groups.Part 1 of this series covered Labour and Occupational Health + Safety. To view the recording for Part 2,...
December 7, 2021
Mandatory Vaccination Policies: What Case Law is Telling Us So Far
As we all learn to live with COVID-19 and as workers move back into the workplace, many employers have implemented various types of policies regarding COVID-19 vaccination. A few months have passed, some specific legal cases have started to slowly...
November 2021
Case Law Update: Are Mandatory Vaccination Policies Allowed in the Workplace?
Workwise Newsletter
Various questions arise from the competing interests of employees and employers when dealing with mandatory vaccination policies. While there were labour arbitration decisions relating to influenza and other vaccines, until very recently, there were ...
November 17, 2021
Coffee + Counsel: Family Status Accommodation - Where Are We Now?
Q+A Session
Join us for another edition of Coffee + Counsel, a complimentary series that brings you together with a few of our lawyers for an unscripted chat about legal issues pertinent to organizations in Alberta. Your questions guide the discussion, and we prov...
October 2021 - 3 min read
Human Rights in Unionized Workplaces: Do Arbitrators Have Exclusive Jurisdiction?
Workwise Newsletter
In a decision released last Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed the exclusive jurisdiction of labour arbitrators to consider all matters falling under a Collective Agreement, including human rights claims. In Northern Regional Health Auth...
February 24 + March 10
2020 - A Year in Review Webinar Series
Did you miss the Field Law Labour + Employment Group's annual Year in Review? The recordings are now available! Is employer-friendly OHS legislation coming to a worksite near you? What are the impacts of COVID-19 on employment legislation a...
April 2020
The Nuts + Bolts of the CEWS for Employers
As the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (“CEWS”) was made official on April 14, 2020, employers potentially eligible for this subsidy should now be considering what proactive steps they can take to support the intent of the new legislation, sp...
April 2020
Eight Things to Know About the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy
The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (the “Subsidy”) is a measure announced by the Government of Canada providing a 75-per-cent wage subsidy to eligible employers for up to 12 weeks, retroactive to March 15, 2020.   On April 11, 202...
April 2020
Temporary Changes to Alberta Employment Standards Legislation
On April 6, 2020, the Alberta Government announced temporary changes to the Employment Standards Code and Employment Standards Regulation to assist employers and employees in this difficult time. What we know about the changes so far, and their po...
April 1, 2020
UPDATE: What Does the 75% Wage Subsidy Mean for Employers?
The Government of Canada continues to announce details of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (the “Subsidy”). On April 1, 2020, the following details were provided: The Subsidy is available to companies (including partnerships and sole p...
March 27, 2020
What Does the 75% Wage Subsidy Mean for Employers?  
On March 27, 2020, the Government of Canada announced that it would be increasing a previously announced wage subsidy for small and medium businesses from 10% to 75%. The stated goal is to help employers keep employees on the payroll. The wag...
March 25, 2020
Your Guide to the Federal COVID-19 Aid Legislation
Bill C-13 today received royal assent, bringing into force many of the initiatives first announced by the federal government on March 18, 2020 in response to the challenges employees and employers are facing due to COVID-19. Part of Bill C-13 brou...
March 19, 2020
New Federal Support for Employees + Employers
As part of a new $82 billion spending package, the federal government today announced that approximately $27 billion would be directed to support for employers and employees affected by the COVID-19 situation. Parliament could be recalled as early as n...
March 18, 2020
UPDATE: Alberta Government Announces Details of COVID-19 Leave
On March 16, 2020, Field Law reported on the Alberta government’s plans to amend the Employment Standards Code to allow employees who are required to self-isolate or care for a family member with COVID-19 to take 14 days of paid leave to cover th...
February 2020
Just Horsing Around: When Off-Duty Conduct Becomes Cause to Terminate
Workwise Newsletter
The ever pertinent question of when off-duty conduct will constitute just cause dismissal was recently considered by an arbitration board in Prince Edward Island (Canadian Union of Public Employees v A Nursing Home Inc.). An individual was termina...
Winter 2020
2019 - A Year in Review Seminar Series
Seminars
Join the Field Law Labour + Employment Group for our annual seminars featuring legal updates and practical challenges for management and employee groups.Part 1 has been approved for 1.75 CPD hours and Part 2 has been approved for 2.25 CPD hou...
September 26, 2019
Must Have Policies for Employers: Why, What + How
Seminars
Join Field Law in Edmonton and Calgary and learn tips and tricks to assist with the implementation and enforcement of three workplace policies Employers should have in place in today’s market.We will explore how changes in legislation and culture...
February 6, 2019
2018 Year in Review for Northern Employers
Seminars
Join Field Law for a review of the most important legal cases from 2018. Topics covered will include: Labour Employment Human Rights Occupational Health + Safety Privacy Immigration Cannabis This seminar will be broadcast live via ...
Winter 2019
2018 A Year in Review Seminar Series
Seminars
The Field Law Labour and Employment Group presents the annual Year in Review seminars in Calgary and Edmonton. Join us for legal updates and practical challenges for management and employee groups in the areas of:  Part 1: Human Rights ...