Law360 Canada (April 9, 2024, 1:56 PM EDT) -- Appeal by City of Vancouver (the "Employer") from an award of an arbitrator. The Employer and Vancouver Firefighters' Union, Local 18 (the "Union") were parties to a collective agreement. The collective agreement provided sick leave for covered employees after six months of continuous service. The collective agreement established a system allowing paid benefits for authorized sick leave absences. The first four days of sick leave were not paid by the Employer. Instead, the Union undertook responsibility for the wages covering the first four shifts of any non-occupational illness or injury. The Union created a fund for that purpose (the "Fund"). By agreement between the parties, the Employer directly paid the absent employee's net pay for the first four missed shifts and then invoiced the Fund. The central issue before the arbitrator was whether the Employer had breached s. 49.1 of the Employment Standards Act (ESA) by refusing to provide paid sick leave days to employees with more than six months' service. The arbitrator held that the Employer breached the ESA and accordingly issued a number of remedial orders. The Employer appealed arguing that the arbitrator erred in her interpretation of s. 49.1 of the ESA. The respondent took the position that the Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal. Alternatively, it submitted that the arbitrator did not err in her interpretation of s. 49.1 of the ESA....