August

On June 18, 2015, the Canadian Parliament passed the Digital Privacy Act (DPA), Senate Bill S-4, into law. The DPA amends Canada 's federal data protection statute, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) in important respects, including introducing a new data breach notification requirement (which is not yet in force) and making other material changes to PIPEDA. This post summarizes key changes to PIPEDA brought about by the DPA.

An Alberta arbitration board allowed the union 's policy grievance and struck down the employer 's random drug and alcohol testing policy in Unifor, Local 707A v Suncor Energy Inc, 2014 CanLII 23034. The policy was part of an array of measures adopted by Suncor to ensure the safety of its workforce in an admittedly hazardous workplace. A majority of the board held that Suncor had failed to show an existing problem at the worksite and in the bargaining unit that would justify the intrusive nature of the random testing. The policy was held to be unreasonable.

NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio signed a bill (Int. 0261-2014) that amends the City 's Human Rights Law to prohibit most employers from inquiring into or considering a prospective or current employee 's credit history when making employment decisions. The law will take effect on September 3, 2015. NYC 's new law is among the broadest bans in the nation and will effectively eliminate the use of credit history for many employers in the City. NYC employers should start to review their background check policies and make any necessary changes. The price for non-compliance is steep, as the law affords aggrieved applicants and employees a private right of action with the promise of generous remedies.