Calgary & Strathmore Employment Lawyers Representing Employees

Getz Collins and Associates services Alberta employees with exceptional employment law advice. They are willing to advise on various legal services such as wrongful dismissal, constructive dismissal, and drafting employment agreements. While searching for skilled employment lawyers, you want to receive sound advice from a legal team that will effectively settle your employment matters. Protect your employee rights, legal rights, and yourself from bogus employment contracts, false allegations, workplace harassment, and improper termination notices.

Laws Protecting Employee Rights in Alberta

Your rights as a non-unionized employee in Alberta are protected by federal and provincial laws. These rights include the right to a safe working environment, the right to earn a minimum wage, and the right to dispute any violations of your rights in the workplace without retaliation.

The Employment Standards Code

Many non-unionized employees in Alberta are protected by the provincial Employment Standards Code (some employees will fall under federal legislation instead if they work within federally regulated industries). Independent contractors are generally exempt from provincial employment standards because they are self-employed.

The Employment Standards Code in Alberta regulates most aspects of employment, including:

• Pay;
• Employment records;
• Hours of work;
• Overtime entitlement and overtime pay;
• Holiday entitlement and holiday pay;
• Vacation entitlement and vacation pay;
• Maternity leave and parental leave;
• Reservist leave;
• Compassionate care leave;
• Death or disappearance of a child leave;
• Critical illness of a child leave;
• Long-term illness and injury leave;
• Personal and family responsibility leave;
• COVID-19 vaccination leave;
• Bereavement leave;
• Leave for citizenship ceremony;
• Employment termination;
• Layoffs and recall; and
• Restriction of employment of children.

The Alberta Human Rights Act

The Alberta Human Rights Act protects Albertans from discrimination based on race, religious beliefs, colour, gender, gender identity, gender expression, physical or mental disability, age, ancestry, place of origin, marital status, source of income, family status, or sexual orientation.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act

Alberta’s workplace health and safety rules fall under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, but the Alberta Human Rights Act also applies here.

Alberta employers have a legal duty to protect the health and safety of all employees. This includes protecting the rights of all Alberta employees to a workplace free of discrimination and bullying in all aspects of the workplace, including advertising, hiring, employment terms and conditions, and terminations.

Employers must also accommodate their employees’ protected grounds, such as physical or mental disability or religious beliefs. This demands that employers take reasonable measures to accommodate, up to the point of undue hardship for the employer.

Protection From Employer Retaliation in Alberta

One of the most essential protections for Alberta employees is the right to report employer violations without retaliation. This is crucial to protecting employment rights because employee rights can’t be protected without the freedom to report violations. Reports and disputes are a form of accountability and ensure that the rights of employees are respected.

All Alberta employers are held to the same employment standards. These are clearly defined by law, yet many employees assume violations are acceptable because it’s a regular practice in their industry or for various other reasons.

If you’re an employee in Alberta, you’re legally protected from working too many hours, receiving inadequate pay, working in an unsafe environment, and many other employment issues.

Employee Claims Against Employers

When experiencing a disagreement with your employer, the odds can feel stacked against you. An employer holds your paycheck and livelihood in their hands. Union members have labour lawyers and union leaders to turn two while settling disputes, but what allies does a non-union employee have on their side?

Typically, employment lawyers mediate or contend issues with an employer on behalf of the employee as an acting ambassador for their rights. Employees may have several disputes against their employers, including those relating to:

• Human rights violations committed by the employer;
• An employer’s failure to meet Employment Standards requirements;
• Whether or not the employer terminated the employee with just cause;
• Possible misinterpretations of the employment contract that could have resulted in the employer’s dissatisfaction and termination of the employee; and
• Human rights violations that the employer may have committed in its discipline or termination of an employee.

Exceptional Advocacy for Employees

When hired by an employee with a grievance against their current or former workplace, the employment lawyer must work diligently to understand and best represent the situation from the employee’s perspective. To do so, the employment lawyers at Getz Collins and Associates may perform any or all of the following tasks, depending on the particular situation’s needs:

• Host an initial consultation visit with the employee;
• Meet with recently dismissed employees to see if more litigation is needed;
• Draft a letter to the former employer seeking a more beneficial severance package for the released employee;
• Review contracts, specifically the termination clause, for misrepresentation or errors;
• Consult on any executive employment agreement proposed by a company;
• Attend court, tribunals, or other litigation matters with or on behalf of their client;
• Attend evidence discoveries;
• Attend workplace investigation meetings;
• Draft letters explaining the employee’s side of the story if the employee was accused of workplace harassment;
• Attend dispute mediation meetings; and/or
• Draw up a Statement of Claim to launch a lawsuit concerning wrongful dismissal, if necessary.

Getz Collins and Associates Provides Exceptional Representation to Employees in Calgary & Strathmore

Hiring someone to help you with your employment law needs can seem costly while under workplace investigations, after employment termination, or during employment disputes. However, an experienced employment lawyer can ensure your occupational health remains, you always have reasonable notice before layoff or terminations, and your wages are protected and maintained.

As a cornerstone of the Alberta legal landscape, Getz Collins and Associates maintains an unyielding commitment to providing employees with top-tier service and advocacy. Combining big-firm innovation with a community focus, our skilled employment lawyers represent clients in Calgary, Strathmore and across Alberta, including Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, Drumheller, Chestermere, Hussar, and all surrounding areas. To schedule a confidential consultation, please contact us online or call 587-391-5600.