Employment Law

Interview Summary

As more income-generating opportunities are created online, questions have arisen regarding employee rights. What can Canadians who use social media or delivery apps as a source of income do to protect their rights? Are digital platforms beholden to Canadian employment laws? Who decides whether or not an individual is an employee or a contractor?

Lior Samfiru, an Ontario employment lawyer and Co-founding Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP joined Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Bill Carroll to discuss digital platforms and their obligations to employees.

Interview Notes

• What is the gig economy: Lior explained that determining whether or not workers in the gig economy are considered employees is a highly contested issue. “These individuals have been treated as independent contractors even if they work full-time, even if they work exclusively for one of these companies…they’ve always been treated as contractors,” said Samfiru. Samfiru went on to note that there appears to be a shift happening. “In B.C. the government has made some changes to treat them as employees.”
• Signing a contract: “There is extensive paperwork that comes with taking on one of these roles,” Samfiru stated. “Often what is included is terminology stating they are a contractor, not an employee,” Samfiru explained that ultimately the law dictates whether or not someone is an employee or independent contractor.
• The point of an employment contract: “The contract governs rules and...

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