In Hucsko v. A.O. Smith Enterprises Limited, 2021 ONCA 728 (A.O. Smith), a long-term senior employee’s co-worker alleged that the employee sexually harassed her. After a workplace investigation that determined the co-worker’s...more
11/22/2021
/ #MeToo ,
Canada ,
Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hostile Environment ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Termination for Cause ,
Wrongful Termination
On October 29, 2021, in Blake v. University Health Network, 2021 ONSC 7139 (Blake), the Ontario Superior Court of Justice discontinued an interim injunction that it had issued on October 22, 2021, staying the terminations of...more
11/10/2021
/ Canada ,
Collective Agreements ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Injunctions ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Stays ,
Unions ,
Wrongful Termination
In Goruk v. Greater Barrie Chamber of Commerce, 2021 ONSC 5005, the Ontario Superior Court found that the Chamber of Commerce (COC) was justified in dismissing with cause a 75-year-old, long-term employee with no prior...more
10/7/2021
/ Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Canada ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fiduciary ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Termination for Cause ,
Wrongful Termination
In Scott v. Community Living Temiskaming South, 2021 ONSC 5402 (Community Living), the court dismissed an employee’s claim for wrongful dismissal from his unionized position on the ground that it lacked jurisdiction to hear...more
9/30/2021
/ Arbitration ,
Canada ,
Collective Agreements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Jurisdiction ,
Ontario ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Unions ,
Wrongful Termination
In Kraft v. Firepower Financial Corp., 2021 ONSC 4962 (Firepower Financial), an employee brought a motion for summary judgment seeking 10 months’ salary in lieu of notice, commissions and bonuses, and holiday and vacation pay...more
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 a wrongful dismissal claim in Ontario, it is up to the employer to prove that employees failed to mitigate their damages and that had they taken reasonable steps to do so, they would have likely obtained equivalent or...more
6/29/2021
/ Bonuses ,
Canada ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Mitigation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Termination
To date, few decisions in Canada have considered whether the amount of the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) employees receive after their job termination should be deducted from their damages in lieu of common law...more
6/9/2021
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair-Notice Standard ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Layoffs ,
Wrongful Termination
In Perretta v. Rand A Technology Corporation, 2021 ONSC 2111, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice ordered an employer to pay an employee damages for reasonable notice at common law when it decided the employer repudiated its...more
In Anderson v Total Instant Lawns Ltd, 2021 ONSC 2933 (Total Instant Lawns), an employee claimed her job was terminated and sought damages for wrongful dismissal. The employer denied the employee was dismissed and argued...more
5/13/2021
/ Breach of Contract ,
Canada ,
Contract Terms ,
Counterclaims ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Ontario ,
Repudiation ,
Wrongful Termination
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
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 Quach v. Mitrux Services Ltd., 2020 BCCA 25 (Quach), the British Columbia Court of Appeal overturned the trial court’s decision to award aggravated damages to an individual whose job was terminated before his employment...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 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
A recent Ontario Superior Court decision, Kerner v. Information Builders (Canada) Inc., 2020 ONSC 2975, clarified whether an employee was entitled to commissions that were “booked and billed” after his job termination, but...more
9/22/2020
/ Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Notice Requirements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sales Commissions ,
Wrongful Termination
Recently, in Bank of Montreal v. Li, 2020 FCA 22, the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) dismissed the Bank of Montreal’s (BMO’s) appeal of the decision of the Federal Court (FC) in Bank of Montreal v. Li, 2018 FC 1298....more
Whether a wrongfully dismissed employee is entitled to damages as compensation for the value of incentives that would have vested during the reasonable notice period is frequently litigated in Canada....more
2/27/2020
/ Ambiguous ,
Bonuses ,
Canada ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Contract Drafting ,
Contract Terms ,
Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Incentive Stock Options ,
Ontario ,
Summary Judgment ,
Wrongful Termination
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
In a recent appeal to the Divisional Court of Ontario’s Superior Court in Shete, Lada, and Chung v. Bombardier Inc., 2019 ONSC 4083, the court applied the most basic principle that serves as the foundation of common law...more
12/20/2019
/ Canada ,
Common Law Claims ,
Contract Terms ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Legal Fees ,
Ontario ,
Reimbursements ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Settlement Negotiations ,
Statement of Claim ,
Termination ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Termination
The Federal Court of Canada recently confirmed in Bank of Montreal v. Li, 2018 FC 1298 CanLII (Bank of Montreal), that an employee’s signed release and settlement agreement will not preclude a complaint for unjust dismissal...more
Employers in Ontario will likely welcome the decision in Katz et al. v. Clarke, 2019 ONSC 2188 (Divisional Court), which addressed the scope of the duty to accommodate in the event of an employee’s permanent disability. ...more
8/29/2019
/ Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Damages ,
Duty to Accommodate ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Essential Functions ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Rights Code ,
Labor Regulations ,
Lost Wages ,
Ontario ,
Permanent Disability ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Wrongful Termination