In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, existing Provincial Health Officer Orders, and WorkSafe BC Guidelines, the Labour Relations Board will be conducting proceedings using a virtual platform in order to ensure the health and safety of the Board's staff and the public.
These Guidelines are for online Board proceedings, including formal adjudicative hearings, mediations, and informal settlement processes undertaken by the Board and the Collective Agreement Arbitration Bureau (CAAB) under the Labour Relations Code (the Code). The Board may depart from these Guidelines at its discretion. These Guidelines do not affect the ability of the Board to control its own processes when conducting online proceedings.
Structure for online proceedings
The Board currently uses Zoom as its platform for online proceedings. Parties must familiarize themselves with Zoom in preparation for an online Board proceeding. For security purposes, the Board will use the waiting room function and will not use the record function. The Board will determine whether the break out room, chat, screen sharing and other functions will be used for a particular proceeding on a case-by-case basis.
Prior to the proceeding
- Each party must provide the Board and the other party/parties with a complete list of participants, including counsel, support staff, parties and witnesses. For each participant, the list must include full name, contact information including email address and text phone number, and the user name to appear when joining the video conference.
- So that the hearing can proceed in an orderly fashion, each party must ensure that each of their participants is properly equipped with hardware, software, and technical support, and is in a suitable location.
- Each party must ensure that each of their participants have been provided with the applicable information:Online Etiquette and Zoom for Online Proceedings, and understand the points outlined in these Guidelines.
- The Board may require each party to submit all exhibits in advance of the proceeding. These exhibits may be required to be in a PDF file format that is paginated, clean, and unannotated.
- Based on the participant list provided, the Board will send a meeting invitation and password to parties and participants prior to the proceeding. For security purposes, this invitation and password must not be shared. If someone wants to attend an online proceeding, they must email the Board to request an invitation and password.
Conduct during the proceeding
All participants are expected to behave in a manner which is respectful towards other participants and the proceeding. Although a participant may be attending from home, they should behave in the same manner as though they were attending the proceeding in our office. All participants must remain visible at all times during the proceeding and must not use a virtual background.
Witnesses:
- must be clearly visible, face the camera and speak directly and audibly into the microphone
- must sit at a clear desk or table, with only exhibits that have been permitted by the Board
- must be alone in the room, except as permitted by Board
- must not use a virtual background
- may be excluded when not giving evidence
- may be asked to use their camera to show the room where they are giving their evidence
Exhibits must be provided to witnesses in a clean unannotated form.
Witnesses may be asked to show the document to the Board. In the event of technological issues, the Board may adjourn the proceeding.
No recording of any part of the proceeding is permitted. This includes, but is not limited to, taking screen shots, recording conversations, and/or using third party software to record the proceeding. Any questions about the online proceedings should be directed to the Board prior to the start of the hearing. Please refer to Zoom for online proceedings or the Zoom Support Centre for technological issues.