Members enjoy legal support in a variety of situations
I wanted to send you a note of thanks for connecting me with legal services. They have been so helpful with my case and I am relieved to have some closure on this matter.
If you need access to legal support, please follow this process: Legal Services Process
NOTE: This service is provided by a third party service provider and is a confidential matter between the OCASA member and the service provider. OCASA assumes no responsibility or liability for the services provided.
Many members use the member consultation services. Contacting the lawyer doesn’t mean immediate legal action. Throughout the process you will always have full control of the process and your legal counsel will not take any action on your behalf without your complete agreement. Involving a lawyer does not mean that the discussions have to be adversarial, often involving a neutral third person for assistance or advice can de-escalate conflict and enable you to learn more about your rights, and explore creative options or strategies to resolve your concerns in a positive way.
Here are some situations when our members have consulted with the lawyer:
- Harassment complaint brought against the member, or being experienced by a member;
- Legislative compliance matter, where member has been named in an official notice;
- Notice of discipline placed in file;
- An unexpected poor performance review, with or without other indicators that termination might be the eventual outcome;
- Unilateral changing your scope or duties (i.e. a reduction in your pay grade, change in title, change in the location of employment, changing the reporting structure or removing employees from your supervision without notice);
- Pressure or questions about voluntary retirement or resigning from your employment;
- Access to and continuation of short- and long-term disability benefits; or
- Review of new employment contracts when moving to another college or accepting a promotion.
Of course, members should always immediately access legal services when they receive a notice of termination, or notice that their current position is being reorganized. We strongly recommend that you also consult with a lawyer if you encounter this situation, prior to signing or agreeing to anything.
Because of distances across the province, these consultations are completed by telephone as needed. Email/fax correspondence is also used to quickly relay documents and information.