The Supreme Court of Canada has provided some important guidance
regarding who qualifies as an "employee" under the
British Columbia Human Rights Code in the case of
McCormick v. Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP (2014 SCC
39).
Mr. McCormick was an equity partner at Fasken. The Fasken
Partnership Agreement required Mr. McCormick to divest his
ownership in the partnership and retire at the end of the year in
which he turned 65. Mr. McCormick filed a complaint with the
British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal alleging that the
requirement to divest and retire discriminated against him as an
"employee" on the basis of his age. While the Tribunal
found that Mr. McCormick was an "employee" for the
purposes of human rights legislation, its decision was eventually
overturned by the British Columbia Court of Appeal. In upholding
the Court of Appeal's decision, the Supreme Court of Canada
found that the factors determinative of an employment relationship
are the extent to which an
