Employment law

[danaeris]

So, our new CEO has given us an Employee Manual. She expects us to sign a sheet saying that we have read it and understand what is expected of us.

The manual includes things such as:
-will give three weeks notice (legal obligation is 0 and industry standard is 2)
-following any incidents at work, will submit to alcohol blood level and drug testing (this is also illegal as I understand it)
-if prescribed a medication that could interfere with work, will inform boss immediately (this seems to me to violate privacy rights)

My feeling is that it would be inadvisable to sign this. She claims it isn't a contract, but I'm still wary of signing anything related to it.

I have no idea if it is enforceable or not... and even if it isn't, I'm still not comfortable. I take my word very seriously, and I feel that by signing this, I'd be giving my word to give three weeks notice. But, I don't feel that I'm willing to commit to that. It's not a promise I'm willing to make.

So, anyone been in a situation like this, or able to recommend a good lawyer in Toronto who works with employment law?

EDIT: Apparently when people objected to the three weeks notice thing in a meeting yesterday, she informed them that anyone giving less than three weeks notice would not get a reference from her. I'm pretty sure that IS legal... and evil.

x-posted to toronto

Comments

[yaksman.livejournal.com]

May I forward this to a lawyer friend?
She doesn't work employment law, but may be able to give an informal reaction, or point you towards an employment lawyer.

[danaeris.livejournal.com]

That would be super-awesome/helpful

[melsky.livejournal.com]

Is your new ceo from the states? I'm from the US and that sounds very much like the attitude about employee control and drug testing they have down there. In fact my husband left a job there because of being expected to sign something much like this. Good luck with your situation, that just sucks.

[90pointmetaphor.livejournal.com]

The Ministry of Labour has a helpline that may be useful here...

[dicedork.livejournal.com]

I had Manzanita try something like this. When I informed them that no one could ever sign away their rights, and that if any of the situations ended up in court (say if someone were fired for not disclosing a medication and they filed a lawsuit for unlawful termination), the contract would be certainly viewed as something of an "admission of guilt" and might even involve fines.

I never heard anything else about it.

[awfief.livejournal.com]

It is true that nobody can sign away their rights.

However, whether or not you sign it, that's what's expected of you at the company. Most of those are just "acknowledge receipt and that you understand" but it usually doesn't state that you promise to follow that stuff. Certainly ask what the penalties are if something's not followed. For instance, what can they do if you quit without 3 weeks' notice? Not much, they can't even hold back your last paycheck.

Ask what an "incident" is. If you come late to work, are they going to do a drug test? Also, you're not a drug expert, how do you know what might show up as an illicit substance? Are you supposed to just give them a list of what you're taking, in case whatever test they use (which may change over time) might show a false positive?

Also ask what precedence there's been that's public that can be talked about.

[con-girl.livejournal.com]

I'm nowhere near familiar enough will employment law in ON but I wouldn't sign it for other ethical reasons.

The Manual isn't a contact in itself but the separate sheet with it almost certainly is. What happens when you refuse to do anything in the manual? Is it grounds for dismissal? Fines?

[con-girl.livejournal.com]

And you shoudl tell the boss that you couldn't possibly sign until your lawyer reads it.

[fibro-witch.livejournal.com]

In the US if you have a work place accident while operating machinery you can be drug tested.

Medical privacy laws, and I think yours are stronger than ours also says you have the right to NOT tell your employeer about medical issues, including medications your taking.

Do you have a union? Is it company wide? Are you having training sessions about the manual?

[secretsoflife.livejournal.com]

http://equality-rights.com/

kim bernhardt is great.

[tocityguy.livejournal.com]

I did notice under the Ministry of Labour website this little snippet:

Do employees have to give notice to their employers when they quit their job?

The ESA does not address the issue of employees giving notice to the employer when they quit their job, except under the pregnancy and parental leave provisions, which require that employees give notice to their employer if they are not returning, and in cases where the employer is terminating the employment of 50 or more employees in a four-week period. Employees may be required to provide their employer with notice that they are quitting under other laws

You can find the rest of the FAQ under http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/factsheets/fs_faq.html

Hope that helps.

[cinnamyn77.livejournal.com]

At my last company, they gave out new employee agreements. There were at least two clauses I simply couldn't agree to (one was agreeing to never download and use any software from the internet). I told my manager I wasn't going to sign it, and I never did. Nothing in particular came of it.

[kajmal.livejournal.com]

As far as US laws go, you can be drug tested and breathalyzed if you are involved in an accident while using machinery. Same goes for medical stuff. If you operate machinery and you're on, say, vicodin.. you are obligated to say something.

The three weeks notice thing is overdoing it. There's no way to make that stick. The other stuff, if they have to do with safety issues, are enforceable. If they don't, it's just blowing smoke.

Of course, in Canadialand, YMMV.

[miekec]

Nasty. When I ran into something similar, I crossed out the sections I didn't agree with, and only then signed it and handed it in (after making copy). the HR guy started to make a fuss, and mumble crap like "everybody else signed it" "you can't do that" "you need to talk to our lawyer" etc. So, I said that I didn't agree with the changes to my contract he proposed (yes, a verbal contract is a contract), and if he felt that the lawyers needed to talk to me, they could, after they read my changes. Was never brought up again.
Try it :)
Just my $0.02