Business Beat: What You Need to Know About Employment Law in 2019
Did you know that the Alberta Government made sweeping changes to the Employment Standards Code in 2018? On Feb. 27, APEX will be sponsoring a free seminar outlining some of these key changes. Staying informed on employment law changes is important for both employees and employers in our region. This two-day program will feature a main presentation as well as individual meetings during which individuals will be given the opportunity to meet one-on-one with an experienced employment law lawyer.
The featured guest and mainstage presenter is Jennifer Koschinsky. Koschinsky is a partner in the Calgary office of Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP, practising primarily in the area of labour and employment law. She routinely advises employers on the entire employment relationship from pre-hiring to termination and everything in between. She has appeared before all levels of the Courts of Alberta and Saskatchewan as well as before the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal and Alberta Labour Relations Board.
This will be an interactive session, encouraging audience input, participation and discussion from our group.
According to Koschinsky, “The challenges facing employers in 2019 are things we would never have been concerned with years ago. Now I get questions about whether employees can use cannabis during business networking, how to handle employees who need time off to care for an elderly parent, and employees who are posting negative things about their employer online. Employment law is adapting to meet these challenges.”
Here is a summary of what you will learn about:
Why employment agreements are important, when you need them, what you should cover, and how to change them.
Cannabis became legal in October 2018. What does this mean for employers?
With the proliferation of social media and employees taking to the internet to post about their jobs and views on the world, what can employers control? Can employees be terminated for their off-duty conduct?
How do you handle accommodation requests? What needs to be accommodated, what can you do when an employee is on leave and what if you cannot accommodate the employee?
The delivery of the session will be from both a business perspective and a legal perspective.
We are also offering one-on-one meetings where you can meet directly with Jennifer to discuss any employment issues that you are encountering in your business. While Jennifer can’t provide legal advice in this setting, she can provide some guidance as to what options may be available to you. These one-on-one sessions will also be offered at no charge however, an appointment is not guaranteed as appointments will be booked on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The appointment time you will be allotted will be 45 minutes in length.
For registration information, please visit 2019employmentlaws.eventbrite.ca
Community Futures Entre-Corp has been supporting small business since 1988. We provide the tools and guidance you need to run your business. For more information about our programs and how we can connect you with helpful resources, please call Community Futures at 403-528-2824.
Elizabeth Blair is the regional innovation network coordinator for APEX Alberta. APEX Alberta has programs to help support the growth of innovative and technologically-oriented businesses in Southeast Alberta. APEX Alberta is a collaborative initiative between three core service providers: Community Futures Entre-Corp, Medicine Hat College and Alberta Innovates.