Canadian Court Not Prepared to Act as Workplace Referee
By Sara Parchello Does an employer have a broad obligation to protect employees from mental distress that may be caused in the workplace? Ontario’s Court of Appeal recently answered this question in...
View ArticleAppeal Court Overrides Extravagant Jury Award in Wrongful Dismissal Case
By Kyla Stott-Jess Canadian employers that fear large jury awards in wrongful dismissal cases can breathe a little easier in the wake of a recent Alberta Court of Appeal decision. In Elgert v. Home...
View ArticleLayoff as constructive dismissal: a cautionary tale for employers
By Ralph N. Nero and Keri L. Bennett When is a layoff not a layoff? When it is a constructive dismissal, according to an Ontario judge. McLean v. The Rawyal Limited Partnership reaffirms the principle...
View ArticleSilence as acceptance when company sold
By Keri Bennett Canadian employees may believe that a change in ownership of a company results in a change in the terms of employment and requirement for a new employment contract. Not so. In...
View ArticleHuman rights damages awarded by Ontario court
By Eowynne Noble In 2008, Ontario’s Human Rights Code was revised to specifically permit Ontario courts to award damages for breaches of the Code. Before this, it was only the Human Rights Tribunal...
View ArticleTransferred employee’s wrongful dismissal suit lands in New York court
by Bonny Mak Waterfall and Rachel Younan When a Canadian employer transfers its employee to a non-Canadian entity, is it still on the hook for wrongful dismissal damages? Recently, an Ontario court...
View ArticleHow ‘come back to work’ doesn’t always work: offers of re-employment to...
by David McDonald In Canada, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia recently issued a decision narrowing the possibility for employers to use re-employment offers to support an argument that an...
View ArticleDisability benefits claimant abandoned job
by Shane Todd Disability claims management is never easy. It is particularly difficult when employees refuse to provide enough medical information to substantiate their absence and entitlement to...
View ArticleDamages for wrongful dismissal: Who must prove what?
by Keri Bennett As noted in past articles here, Canadian employees can sue for lack of adequate notice of termination. Fired employees seeking damages for inadequate notice have a corresponding duty to...
View Article‘You must be actively employed to receive bonus’—or not, says Ontario court
by Shane Todd In an attempt to their limit severance exposure, employers often require that an employee be “actively employed” on the bonus payment date in order to be eligible to earn a bonus. The...
View ArticleExtraordinary damages not automatic in ‘cause’ cases
by Keri Bennett In Canada, courts can award two extraordinary forms of damages in a wrongful dismissal action: aggravated damages or punitive damages. In a wrongful dismissal action, employees who are...
View ArticleWhen are criminal charges none of your business?
by Hannah Roskey Off-duty misconduct could lead to an employee’s dismissal. But a recent court decision in Ontario suggests that the circumstances where that will amount to just cause for termination...
View ArticleOntario court awards 3 types of damages in sexual harassment case
by Hannah Roskey An employee who was repeatedly sexually harassed by her coworker sued her employer after being terminated. In addition to normal damages for wrongful dismissal she was awarded $60,000...
View Article‘I quit … oh wait, I didn’t mean it!’
by Stefan Kimpton Employers don’t often enough think about the consequences of a heat-of-the-moment resignation. It is generally assumed that when an employee says “I quit” or storms out of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
When working notice just doesn’t work
by Jacqueline Gant For employers shutting down operations, providing working notice is often the best way to reduce severance amounts owed. Except when it’s not. In McLeod v. 1274458 Ontario Inc., an...
View ArticleDouble dipping: Can employees get severance plus pension or disability...
by Julie Robinson Employees in Canada are usually entitled to receive reasonable notice of termination or pay in lieu of notice unless fired for cause. But if the employees receive pension or sick...
View ArticleAvoiding liability risks when you fire a sexual harasser
by Theodore Fong The risks to employers in sexual harassment cases can be big. Potential liability can arise from any decision. Employers may then find themselves having to make tough decisions on...
View Article