The World Cup is fast approaching! Over the course of the tournament, we will be publishing our own matchups, comparing various aspects of labor and employment law in some of the participating countries. In Part I of this...more
In Lake v. La Presse, 2022 ONCA 742, the only issue on appeal was whether the lower court erred in reducing the employee’s wrongful dismissal damages for failure to mitigate. The Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) set aside the...more
UPDATE: On November 3, 2022, Bill 28, Keeping Students in Class Act, 2022, received Royal Assent.
On October 31, 2022, in an unprecedented bid to prevent school board employees represented by the Canadian Union of Public...more
11/4/2022
/ Canada ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
Ontario ,
Pending Legislation ,
School Boards ,
Strike ,
Students ,
Teachers ,
Unions
On June 23, 2022, Canada’s Bill C-19, Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1 received Royal Assent and amended Canada’s Competition Act. The Competition Act applies to all businesses operating in Canada, whether they are...more
11/2/2022
/ Canada ,
Competition ,
Competition Act ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Employee Mobility ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
International Labor Laws ,
No-Poaching ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage-Fixing
As of October 14, 2022, Ontario made the following changes to its COVID-19 requirements for long term care (LTC) homes, as set out in its COVID-19 guidance document....more
11/1/2022
/ Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs) ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Medical Residents ,
New Guidance ,
Nursing Homes ,
Ontario ,
Workplace Safety
The purpose of Canada’s proposed Bill S-211, Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act and to amend the Customs Tariff (Bill S-211) is, in part, to enact the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child...more
Employee filed action against company vice president for sexual harassment and sexual assault, and against company for vicarious liability for the sexual harassment.
Court confirmed that sexual harassment is not an...more
10/27/2022
/ Canada ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Human Rights Code ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Tort ,
Vicarious Liability ,
Workplace Safety
On October 1, 2022, Canada published two proposed Regulations under the Canada Labour Code (CLC) and requested comments by October 31, 2022, via a new embedded commenting feature....more
10/19/2022
/ Canada ,
Comment Period ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Out-of-Pocket Expenses ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reimbursements ,
Wage and Hour
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario recently held a preliminary hearing to determine whether allegations made under the Human Rights Code (Code) fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of a labour arbitrator, or whether the...more
10/14/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Canada ,
Collective Agreements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Tribunals ,
Human Rights ,
Human Rights Code ,
International Labor Laws ,
Jurisdiction ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Ontario ,
Unions
Although arbitrators in Canada have considered whether an employer in a unionized workplace can place an employee on unpaid leave for failing to comply with its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, the British Columbia...more
10/7/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
In Rayonier v Unifor, Locals 256 and 89, 2022 CanLII 75226 (ON LA), a union filed an individual grievance on behalf of an employee who died at age 66 while still an active employee. This grievance alleged that the employer...more
On September 26, 2022, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) announced that effective October 1, 2022, Canada’s COVID-19 entry restrictions will be removed for all travellers regardless of citizenship, and Transport...more
9/30/2022
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Foreign Workers ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
International Travel ,
Public Health ,
Screening Procedures ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Traveling Employee
In a wrongful dismissal action against four corporate defendants that were part of a family business, the plaintiff claimed the defendants were common employers, that he was their employee prior to his dismissal, and was...more
In Regional Municipality of York v Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 905 (Long Term Care Unit), 2022 CanLII 78173, Arbitrator Stephen Raymond decided that a mandatory vaccination policy (Policy) requiring employees in...more
9/22/2022
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Ontario ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
As Canada is a member of the British Commonwealth, the monarch of Britain is its head of state and is represented by the Governor General of Canada, who is appointed by the sitting Prime Minister....more
In Bowen v. JC Clark Ltd., 2022 ONCA 614, the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) put employers on notice that their discretion in awarding discretionary bonuses is not unconstrained and must be exercised fairly and reasonably. ...more
In Ferguson v. Yorkwest Plumbing Supply Inc., 2022 ONSC 4792, an employee who commenced a wrongful dismissal action via Ontario’s Simplified Procedure rules was granted an order striking the employer’s statement of defence...more
Two years ago in Waksdale v. Swegon North America Inc., 2020 ONCA 391, the Ontario Court of Appeal established the proper method for determining whether a termination clause in an employment agreement is enforceable. ...more
8/25/2022
/ Canada ,
Contract Terms ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Termination Clauses ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal’s decision in LaFleche v. NLFD Auto, 2022 BCHRT 88, provides employers with insight into how they should conduct themselves while their employees are on a leave of absence. The...more
8/22/2022
/ Canada ,
Demotions ,
Employees ,
Employment Litigation ,
Family Status Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Rights Code ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Leave of Absence ,
Maternity Leave ,
Sex Discrimination
Kosteckyj v Paramount Resources Ltd, 2022 ABCA 230 is an important Alberta Court of Appeal (ABCA) decision relating to constructive dismissal, as it assesses the timing of an employee’s objection to an employer’s unilateral...more
In Wisser v CEM International Management Consultants Ltd, 2022 ABQB 414 (CEM International), the court used the oppression remedy to hold directors of a corporation personally liable for damages for wrongful dismissal after...more
8/18/2022
/ Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Damages ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
International Labor Laws ,
Severance Pay ,
Wrongful Termination
Deemed IDEL No Longer Available -
In May of 2020, Ontario filed O. Reg. 228/20, which provided that a non-unionized employee who did not perform their job duties during the “COVID-19 period” because their work hours were...more
8/10/2022
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Layoffs ,
Ontario ,
Wage and Hour
In A.B. v. C.D., 2022 HRTO 890, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) found that the applicant was a victim of discrimination on the basis of sex and that her work environment was poisoned by repeated acts of...more
8/9/2022
/ Canada ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hostile Environment ,
Human Rights Code ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Ontario Human Rights Tribunal ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment
Earlier this year, pursuant to Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Canada Labour Code (Act) and Bill C-19, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 7, 2022 and other...more
In Benke v Loblaw Companies Limited, 2022 ABQB 461, the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta (ABQB) dismissed an employee’s claim that he had been constructively dismissed when his employer did not accommodate him with a mask...more