Handling Privacy Issues at the Workplace:
Dealing with medical information, video and
electronic surveillance, drug testing
Post-Conference Workshop

Presented by Lancaster House

Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Half-Day Interactive Session
1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

The Lord Nelson Hotel & Suites
1515 South Park Street, Halifax, NS B3J 2L2

Many of the most important aspects of the employment relationship are affected by privacy issues. These may include: security credit checks, searches of personal effects, monitoring of e-mail, drug and alcohol testing, video surveillance and the appropriate handling of employee medical information. In this half-day workshop, Lancaster's panel of experts will provide an update on the ever-evolving privacy legislation and case law across Canada. Topics to be covered include:

• The Right to Privacy: Can damages be obtained for a "breach of privacy" at arbitration or in the courts? What factors do arbitrators and courts look at to determine if a person's privacy has been violated? In what circumstances have arbitrators and the courts awarded employees damages for privacy violations?
• Searches of Personal Property: Under what circumstances can an employer search an employee's personal effects? Can a random search policy of employees' personal effects ever be justified? What if there is evidence of an increase in the theft of employer property?
• Drug and Alcohol Testing: When is drug and alcohol testing appropriate at the pre-employment stage? What about during employment? In what circumstances can employees be subjected to random drug or alcohol testing? What about for employees in safety-sensitive jobs and what is a "safety-sensitive" job?
• Employee Medical Information:  What limits do employees' privacy rights place on the medical information that employees must disclose? Who is entitled to see an employee's medical information? What is the role of the union in safeguarding the medical privacy rights of employees? How does federal and provincial privacy legislation affect the disclosure of employee medical information?
• Electronic Surveillance: What information should be provided to employees concerning the scope of monitoring and surveillance in the workplace? Is consent required? In what circumstances will arbitrators uphold the overt use of video cameras, biometrics or computer monitoring technology in the workplace? To monitor employee productivity? Ensure safety? Or counteract security breaches such as theft? When is covert or surreptitious video surveillance, inside or foutside the workplace, permissible? Do employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to e-mail messages, text messages, and personal files, such as bank statements, stored on employer-owned computers or phones?