February

The Right to Rent scheme is being extended across the country from February following a pilot in the West Midlands.
 
Under the scheme, landlords and letting agents face hefty fines if they rent a property to illegal immigrants without first making proper checks. Tenant Screening, a firm providing a vetting service to landlords and letting agents, is urging anyone renting property to ensure they do not fall foul of the new scheme, which aims to clamp down on illegal immigrants living in private rental property.
 
During the first six months of the pilot, 109 people in Britain illegally were identified as a result of the compulsory checks on new tenants. "The onus is on the landlord to carry out certain checks on prospective tenants to see if they have a right to rent in this country," said Kelvin McCarthy, screening manager at Tenant Screening.

The Ontario government unanimously enacted the Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015. The Act limits the types of information that can be released in each of three different types of police record checks.
 
Notably, it prohibits disclosure of mental health records and records from police "carding" checks and other non-conviction records, except in limited circumstances. It also standardizes the disclosure procedure.
 
The Act is not yet in force, but will come into force on a date to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor. Given the implementation of different types of checks that carry different disclosure permissions, there may need to be changes to the system for requesting background checks. This means that employers should be prepared for new logistical and organizational steps in order to adapt.

A landmark ruling involving medicinal marijuana makes it even more difficult for employers to enforce drug-related policies and to accommodate employees to ensure compliance with human rights legislation, says employment lawyer Gabriel Granatstein.
 
The Supreme Court of Canada's ruling allows Health Canada's medical marijuana program to include edible or topical cannabis products, so employees who are medically authorized to use marijuana can ingest such products as cannabis-based teas or baked goods.
 
While Canadians are still not legally entitled to consume marijuana in the workplace, Granatstein said, the ruling confirms that the prohibition cannot be applied without nuance. An employer can take disciplinary action if marijuana use negatively affects an employee's conduct, but this is harder to gauge if the employee can ingest doses of marijuana similar to traditional prescription pharmaceuticals.