Clik here to view.
Court of Appeal Recognizes that Employees Terminated “For Cause” May Still Be...
The law concerning the rights and responsibilities of Ontario’s employers to dismiss an employee “for cause” , and the rights of employee to nonetheless receive statutory termination pay and severance...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Court of Appeal Confirms Public School Teachers are Protected from...
Are public school teachers protected from unreasonable search and seizure by section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms if the search and seizure is performed in the workplace by their...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Employees Cannot Waive Right to Compensation for Workplace Injury
Can a worker waive his right to compensation for a workplace injury? In Fleming v. Massey, 2016 ONCA 70, the Court of Appeal for Ontario held that based on the wording of the Workplace Safety and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Do You Have a Second to Talk About Secondments?
What is the effect of the termination of a secondment agreement if an employee expressly remains an employee of his original employer? In Nader v. University Health Network, 2022 ONSC 447 (CanLII), the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Court Relies on Wage Surveys to Impute Income
Can the court rely on wage surveys to impute income to someone who has refused to provide evidence of his actual earnings? In Lewis v. Willis, 2022 ONCJ 421 (CanLII), a family law decision of Justice...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Lowered Expectations” – Catchy Sketch Comedy Jingle, Bad Legal Principal
Those of us of a certain age will remember a sketch comedy television series originally inspired by Mad magazine that aired on Fox from 1995 to 2009 called “MADtv”. Among the recurring sketches on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lawyers Owe No Duty to Complainants When Acting as Workplace Investigator: ONSC
Does a lawyer acting as a workplace investigator owe a duty of care to the complainant in the workplace harassment case? In Mezikhovych v. Kokosis, 2022 ONSC 6480, Justice Howard Leibovich of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Discretionary” Bonuses Contain Implied Term that the Discretion Will be...
If a company describes an employee’s bonus payment as being “discretionary”, with the allocation of bonuses to employees being “purely subjective” and completely bereft of any calculations, does that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Trumping of Hope. The Court of Appeal for Ontario’s Merciless Approach to...
On September 16, 2021, I published a post titled “Hope for Ontario's Employer Bar: The ONSC's Decision in Rahman v. Cannon Design Architecture Inc.” The artwork I selected for that post was the iconic...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Just Cause Not Yet a Lost Cause. Deliberate Destruction of Company Property...
Is the intentional destruction of company property cause for termination of employment without notice? Does it meet the higher burden of statutory “wilful misconduct”? In Park v. Costco Wholesale...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Changed Substratum” Doctrine voids Executive’s Contractual Entitlement to...
Can substantial increases to one’s job responsibilities void what would otherwise be a binding termination provision in an employment contract? In Celestini v. Shoplogix Inc., 2023 ONCA 131, the Court...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Employee’s Surreptitious Recording of Termination Meeting Leads to Award of...
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” Almost everyone has heard the “Miranda” warning. While those rights come out of the United...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Employee Ordered to Repay Employer for “Time Theft”
Can an employee be made to repay her employer for hours for which she was paid but did no actual work? In Besse v. Reach CPA Inc, 2023 BCCRT 27 (CanLII), the British Columbia Civil Resolution Tribunal...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Labour Board Refuses to Appoint Alternate Workplace Harassment Investigator
Can a worker complaining of workplace harassment who pre-emptively refuses to participate in the resulting investigation because she believes the investigator is unsuitable, ask the Ontario Labour...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ontario Labour Relations Board Orders Employer to Turn Over Workplace...
Does an “inspector” appointed by the Ontario Ministry of Labour pursuant to the provisions of Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act have the right to receive and review the entire, unredacted...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Report of Workplace Harassment Investigator Shielded by Qualified Privilege
Is the report of an investigator hired to investigate allegations of workplace harassment shielded by the doctrine of qualified privilege? In Safavi-Naini v. Rubin Thomlinson LLP, 2023 ONCA 86...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Court of Appeal Clarifies Test for Condonation of Layoff
If an employee does not immediately object to being laid off, or “furloughed,” does that mean that the employee has agreed to or condoned such action? In Pham v. Qualified Metal Fabricators Ltd., 2023...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Efficiently Get Your Wrongful Dismissal Case Through the Ontario...
On July 6, 2022, the applicant commenced employment with her employer pursuant to the terms of a one-year fixed-term contract agreement. Sometime before the end of that one-year term, the employer...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mandatory Fun? Can your employer force you to take your vacation time in July?
Can your employer force you to take your vacation time in July? A guest post by Blake BochinskiFor many employees, vacation time is essential for maintaining a work-life balance to relax and spend time...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Termination for Failure to Respect Workplace Rules Regarding Decorum When...
Sometimes it is not so much what you say, but rather how you say it that matters. In Derya Marquardt v Rasmussen Starr Ruddy LLP, 2022 CanLII 9123 (ON LRB), the Ontario Labour Relations Board held that...
View Article
