McMahon Molyneaux Henriquez Lawyers In The Media
The Hamilton labour and employment lawyers at McMahon Molyneaux Henriquez are sought by reporters, editors, and TV and radio producers for their opinions and analysis of important, breaking employment law issues and labour law issues. They are also regular columnists at The Lawyer’s Daily, one of Canada’s important publications for the legal profession. The labour and employment lawyers at McMahon Molyneaux Henriquez Law believe in making things fair for employees in Hamilton and surrounding communitites.
Contact us at 905.522.0600 or info@mmhlabourlaw.ca
Feb 13, 2023
Hogtown Smoke in Hamilton closed, up for sale, while owing over $100K in unpaid wages and rent
CBC News | Roberto Henriquez
Roberto Henriquez, a lawyer with the Hamilton-based firm McMahon Molyneaux Henriquez, said it can be “challenging” for workers to get their money back. “The systems are set up in a way that often leaves employees at the bottom of the list in terms of priority for employers or organizations that are going into insolvency or bankruptcy,” he said. Read full article >
Nov 14, 2022
After Ontario’s labour resurgence, is it time for a general strike for climate?
CBC News | Sarah Molyneaux
Hamilton-based labour lawyer Sarah Molyneaux says Canadian labour law, mostly forged during the Second World War, was established on a “bargain” that included unions giving up certain rights — including many of their rights to strike — in exchange for legal protections and recognition. Read full article >
Nov 3, 2022
3 Niagara MPPs among 16 kicked out of Queen's Park chamber following education debate
CBC News | Roberto Henriquez
Hamilton labour lawyer Roberto Henriquez told CBC Hamilton this week he believes the provincial government is not justified in enacting the clause because he says it was created to “appease some of the outlying provinces” that didn’t want to join into the Charter of Rights and Freedoms “at the risk of of losing their full provincial autonomy.” Read full article >
Nov 2, 2022
Hamilton education workers prepare to walk off the job Friday amidst heated labour negotiations
CBC News | Roberto Henriquez
Hamilton labour lawyer Roberto Henriquez said he believes the provincial government is not justified in enacting the clause because he says it was created to “appease some of the outlying provinces” that didn’t want to join into the Charter of Rights and Freedoms “at the risk of of losing their full provincial autonomy.” Read full article >
July 27, 2022
What are your legal rights when your job is harming your mental health
Canadian Lawyer | Sarah Molyneaux
While always unpleasant, the conduct of the employer can make terminations particularly distressing. In the rare cases where the employer’s “unfair” or “bad faith” conduct caused mental distress, the former employee can get aggravated damages, writes Sarah Molyneaux. Read full article >
June 15, 2022
This Ontario restaurant chain owes over $35K in unpaid wages. Workers, vendors now ask: What can be done?
CBC News | Roberto Henriquez
Roberto Henriquez, a lawyer with the Hamilton-based firm McMahon Molyneaux Henriquez who isn’t connected to the Hogtown Smoke case, said he’s hearing stories about employees not getting paid more often. Henriquez said in the current business climate, where more people are working part time and juggling jobs, it’s easier for businesses to get away with not paying staff because they can rely on staff not complaining to the province or getting a lawyer. Read full article >
August 27, 2020
Ford government's changes undermine Ontario human rights tribunal's independence: experts
CBC News | Roberto Henriquez
The human rights tribunal was slow to adopt videoconferencing for hearings after health measures imposed in March prevented in-person proceedings, said Roberto Henriquez, a human rights lawyer in Hamilton. “The only way out of that you would see is to have an influx of adjudicators that can possibly deal with the backlog that already existed on top of the backlog that’s still been building,” he said. Read full article >
March 25, 2020
Amid COVID-19, companies struggle to balance operations with increasingly fearful workers
Financial Post | Sarah Molyneaux
Sarah Molyneaux, an employment lawyer based in Hamilton, said “It’s not that simple in the current crisis. Employees often feel like they cannot speak up because the law is often not set up to address employees’ concerns for their own health. “All they can really ask for legally is to be treated fairly by their employer if they are sick themselves with COVID symptoms or if they have been exposed to family members sick with the virus,” she said. Read full article >
March 21, 2020
Low-wage workers face tough choices during ‘unprecedented’ COVID-19 times
CBC Radio Calgary and New Brunswick | Roberto Henriquez
We’re all being told to stay home, but many of the jobs that can’t be done from home, like grocery store clerks and delivery drivers, are the same ones that place those employees at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19. Roberto Henriquez discusses temporary layoffs, benefits and relief programs. Listen to audio Calgary, audio New Brunswick or read full article >
March 5, 2020
Missing work to stop coronavirus spread not so easy for workers without sick pay, lawyer says
CBC Radio The Current | Sarah Molyneaux
Rules about sick days in Canada are regulated at the provincial level, and vary from coast to coast. Unpaid sick days average out at three to five days annually across the country. But what if somebody has to go into self-quarantine or be in isolation because they may have been exposed to something like the coronavirus? Sarah talks about these issues with Matt Galloway on CBC Radio The Current. Read full article >
February 24, 2020
Workplace investigations: Doing them right, setting good example
The Lawyer’s Daily | Roberto Henriquez
Rules about sick days in Canada are regulated at the provincial level, and vary from coast to coast. Unpaid sick days average out at three to five days annually across the country. But what if somebody has to go into self-quarantine or be in isolation because they may have been exposed to something like the coronavirus? Sarah talks about these issues with Matt Galloway on CBC Radio The Current. Read full article >
December 13, 2019
Show your solidarity with the 99 per cent who are fighting back
The Hamilton Spectator | Sarah Molyneaux
November 21, 2019
Roaches fester as Hamilton woman waits for hearing
The Hamilton Spectator | Roberto Henriquez
Teachers. School support staff. HSR Bus drivers. The number of workers in a legal strike position seems to be growing by the day. And, it’s not just here in Hamilton. Education workers engaged in a second single day strike in some Ontario school boards this week.
Read full article >
October 21, 2019
Doug Ford’s cuts to Ontario’s administrative tribunals set back justice
Roberto Henriquez | The Hamilton Spectator
Unfortunately, over the last year, numerous groups have been raising alarm bells about the present state of Ontario’s administrative tribunals and their lack of resources and funding. Beginning in 2018, the Ford government took steps to create a single entity known as Tribunals Ontario. Read full article >
September 10, 2019
Reality check: Hiring no ‘attractive’ women is not the solution to #MeToo fear Global News | Sarah Molyneaux
Men being more likely than women to label a behaviour sexual harassment is “pretty telling,” says Sarah Molyneaux, a human rights lawyer based in Hamilton, Ont. Read full article >
August 30, 2019
Workplace bullying solutions in a social media age The Lawyer’s Daily | Roberto Henriquez
Adults bullied in the workplace are more likely to suffer from both psychiatric concerns and cardiovascular health problems. Additionally, the cost of anxiety and depression, two conditions closely associated with workplace bullying, are estimated to account for US$1 trillion in lost productivity per year globally. Read full article >
August 29, 2019
City of Hamilton’s Marc Lemire probe glosses over internal questions
The Hamilton Spectator | Sarah Molyneaux
The City of Hamilton’s recent announcement that Marc Lemire would not be returning to work in the City’s IT department is welcome news, but it should not be the end of efforts to hold the City to account for his employment and broader inaction on hate crimes in Hamilton. Read full article >
August 23, 2019
Gig economy certification highlights flaws in independent contractor exception
The Lawyer’s Daily | Sarah Molyneaux
Drivers and cyclists for food delivery app Foodora are trying to unionize. Unsurprisingly, the app isn’t prepared to accept unionization without a fight. You can have all the innovation, back-end processing power and user-friendly interfaces you want, but disruptors need to deal with this fact: their business is really about getting things or people from A to B. Read full article >
June 27, 2019
Bill 124: Government eroding workers’ rights in Ontario
The Lawyer’s Daily | Roberto Henriquez
The Act proposed by the Ontario government is troublesome in several ways. The first is the government’s disregard for agreements negotiated with private individuals. On the side of non-unionized employees, the Act undercuts individual choice by eliminating and making illegal any terms that offer individuals anything more than a one percent increase in compensation per year. Read full article >
June 12, 2019
Unclear who benefits from Ontario’s WSIB review
The Lawyer’s Daily | Roberto Henriquez
Whatever your belief on this point, it is obvious that a 30 percent reduction to the WSIB’s premiums will not increase the financial resources available to compensate injured workers. Similarly, a lowering of the WSIB premiums passed onto employers as a form of “rebate” will only reduce the financial incentive for maintaining a safe workplace. Read full article >
June 6, 2019
Facebook ads face legal scrutiny
Canadian HR Reporter | Sarah Molyneaux
June 6, 2019
Canada’s ranking on Amal Clooney’s TrialWatch
Sarah Molyneaux | The Lawyer’s Daily
With the goal of monitoring and responding to human rights abuse in criminal trials worldwide, TrialWatch has bold objectives: advocating for defendants in the press, funding legal representation and developing a global justice index to rank countries on the fairness of their justice systems. Read full article >
May 3, 2019
Migrant workers fight back through courts, law reform advocacy
The Lawyer’s Daily | Sarah Molyneaux
Among other things, the workers allege that they paid $82,000 to the Link4Staff recruitment agency, which promised them work permits that never arrived. Once they started work, they allege improper deductions from their paycheques, long hours and poor living conditions. Read full article >
May 2, 2019
“The Cost of Children” The Agenda, with Steve Paikin – TVO | Sarah Molyneaux
Among other things, the workers allege that they paid $82,000 to the Link4Staff recruitment agency, which promised them work permits that never arrived. Once they started work, they allege improper deductions from their paycheques, long hours and poor living conditions. Read full article >
March 8, 2019
Why employment standards legislation is a feminist issue
The Lawyer’s Daily | Sarah Molyneaux
Amendments to the Employment Standards Act and the Labour Relations Act by Bill 47 and its companions have rolled back recent strides for workers. Unfortunately, these recent amendments will have a disproportionate and negative impact on women. Women of colour, Indigenous and newcomer women stand to lose the most. Read full article >
January 29, 2019
#BellLetsTalk about practical mental health help for lawyers
The Lawyer’s Daily | Sarah Molyneaux
Tackling mental health challenges isn’t easy. It’s not a job for individuals to address on their own through mindfulness and meditation. If we want to continue to practise and lead long, happy lives, we need to radically rethink how we practise. And, we need to be prepared to incur some expense in the form of health and disability benefits and reduced billable targets to do so. If we’re talking about mental health, we need to put our money where our mouth is. Read full article >