In Oostlander v Cervus Equipment Corporation, 2022 ABQB 200, the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta awarded 24 months’ pay in lieu of reasonable notice to a long-term heavy duty mechanic, less mitigation income. The court also...more
In Currie v. Nylene Canada Inc., 2022 ONCA 209, the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) dismissed the employer’s appeal of a lower court decision in which trial judge held “exceptional circumstances” existed to justify making an...more
In United Utility Workers’ Association of Canada v Dataco Utility Services Ltd., 2022 CanLII 13414 (AB GAA), Arbitrator John Moreau, Q.C., dismissed 11 grievances filed on behalf of 11 service technicians (Grievors) of Dataco...more
3/9/2022
/ Breach of Contract ,
Canada ,
Collective Agreements ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Grievance Process ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Layoffs ,
Severance Pay ,
Wage and Hour
In Nader v. University Health Network, 2022 ONSC 447, the court examined the language of a secondment agreement and concluded that the plaintiff-employee was not a fixed-term employee of the organization to which he was...more
In Power Workers’ Union v Elexicon Energy Inc., 2022 CanLII 7228 (ON LA) (Elexicon Energy), a union challenged the reasonableness of an electricity distribution company’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy (Policy). ...more
2/17/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitrators ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
In 2021, Canada saw significant statutory and case law developments in labour and employment law, some of which related to COVID-19. This Insight provides an overview of key 2021 developments, with links to more detailed...more
12/17/2021
/ Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance ,
Workplace Violence ,
Wrongful Termination
In Russell v. The Brick Warehouse LP, 2021 ONSC 4822 (The Brick Warehouse), on a motion for summary judgment in a wrongful dismissal action, the court awarded $25,000 in moral/aggravated damages because the employer breached...more
7/22/2021
/ Breach of Duty ,
Canada ,
Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Notice Requirements ,
Without Prejudice Privilege ,
Wrongful Termination
In O’Reilly v. ClearMRI Solutions Ltd., 2021 ONCA 385 (ClearMRI Solutions), the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) decided that the motion judge erred in concluding that a majority shareholder of an employee’s contractual employer...more
7/8/2021
/ Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Responsible Party ,
Shareholders ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
Punitive damages are awarded against an employer in favour of an employee only if the employer engaged in wrongful acts that are outrageous, reprehensible, and offensive to ordinary standards of decent conduct in the...more
Just six weeks after holding in Coutinho v. Ocular Health Centre Ltd. that Ontario Regulation 228/20 (IDEL Regulation) under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) did not remove an employee’s common law right to claim...more
6/16/2021
/ Canada ,
Common Law Claims ,
Constructive Discharge ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Layoffs ,
Ontario
In Currie v. Nylene Canada Inc., 2021 ONSC 1922, Ontario’s Superior Court held that “exceptional circumstances” existed to justify making an award that exceeded the 24-month “high end” amount of reasonable notice for...more
In Czerniawski v. Corma Inc., 2021 ONSC 1514, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice concluded that a long-term employee’s misconduct did not justify dismissal for cause without notice. The court awarded 19 months’ common law...more
The Ontario Court of Appeal’s (OCA) recent decision in Abbasbayli v. Fiera Foods Company, 2021 ONCA 95 (Fiera Foods) reminds corporate directors that: (a) an employee may be able to make a claim against them in a wrongful...more
A recent Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision indicates that it is challenging for employers to obtain an interim injunction requiring an employee to remove allegedly defamatory social media posts pending resolution of...more
3/2/2021
/ Black Lives Matter ,
Canada ,
Defamation ,
Employment Litigation ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Injunctive Relief ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Race Relations ,
Social Media
In McGuinty v. 1845035 Ontario Inc. (McGuinty Funeral Home), 2020 ONCA 816 (McGuinty), the Court of Appeal for Ontario upheld the Ontario Superior Court’s decision to award an employee one of the highest damage awards ever...more
In Kaminsky v Janston Financial Group, 2020 ONSC 5320, Ontario’s Superior Court reminds employers they will not be entitled to plead cause in response to a wrongful dismissal claim if at the time of dismissal, the employer...more
In Abrams v. RTO Asset Management, 2020 NBCA 57 (Abrams), the New Brunswick Court of Appeal considered an employee’s appeal of a decision dismissing his action for damages in lieu of reasonable notice upon his job termination...more
In Hetherington v Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority, 2020 SKQB 110, the Queen’s Bench for Saskatchewan considered the impact of an employee’s voluntary interruption of employment on her entitlement to common law...more
In Rutledge v. Canaan Construction Inc., 2020 ONSC 4246, Ontario’s Superior Court held, rather surprisingly, that a termination provision in an employment contract that has even a remote possibility of violating the...more
In Kim v. BT Express Freight Systems (2020), 317 A.C.W.S. (3d) 255, Ontario’s Superior Court confirmed that an employer may be liable for damages if it withdraws an accepted offer of employment or terminates employment...more
11/2/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Termination ,
Wrongful Termination
In George v. Laurentian Bank Securities Inc., 2020 ONSC 5415, one of the first decisions from Ontario’s Superior Court since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the court focused on an employee’s responsibilities rather than his...more
On October 9, 2020, in Matthews v. Ocean Nutrition Canada Ltd., 2020 SCC 26, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC)—the highest court in the country—released a highly anticipated decision in an employee’s appeal of the Nova Scotia...more
10/22/2020
/ Bonuses ,
Canada ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Constructive Discharge ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Damages ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Incentive Compensation ,
International Labor Laws ,
Motion to Set Aside the Verdict ,
Supreme Court of Canada ,
Wage and Hour
In Porcupine Opportunities Program Inc. v Cooper, 2020 SKCA 33 (Porcupine), the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal affirmed, among other things, that a trial court appropriately decided to award $20,000 in moral damages to an...more
The recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Manthadi v. ASCO Manufacturing, 2020 ONCA 485, analyzed the common law approach to the calculation of reasonable notice when a vendor terminates a worker’s employment in...more
8/20/2020
/ Asset Purchase Agreements ,
Asset Purchaser ,
Canada ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Notice Requirements ,
Ontario ,
Successor Liability ,
Termination Clauses ,
Vendors
Cormier v. 1772887 Ontario Limited (St. Joseph Communications) (“St. Joseph”), 2019 ONCA 965, is an appeal from a summary judgment motion arising from the wrongful dismissal claim of a contractor who worked for St. Joseph for...more
2/26/2020
/ Appeals ,
Canada ,
Contract Terms ,
Employee Definition ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
International Labor Laws ,
Notice Requirements ,
Ontario ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Summary Judgment ,
Termination Clauses ,
Wrongful Termination