Wednesday, February 8th, 2012
The federal government is facing a $450-million class-action lawsuit for failing to provide sickness employment Insurance benefits to women already receiving maternity EI benefits while on maternity leave. The aim of the lawsuit is to ensure no other new mother who becomes seriously ill during maternity leave has to fight for sickness benefits.
Read the rest of this post »Friday, February 3rd, 2012
The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal recently examined an application before it and an earlier statement of claim made in court by the same person, and concluded that the claims were virtually identical. They were based on the same facts, made the same allegations and sought similar remedies…
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
Employment lawyers are generally quite adept at negotiating and resolving disputes arising out of the termination of an individual’s employment. We have all seen the statistics that only a miniscule number of dismissals result in a full trial and we know that in almost every case, it is better for the parties to reach a resolution than to proceed with litigation. That said, many traps exist in the settlement of a wrongful dismissal claim.
Read the rest of this post »Monday, January 30th, 2012
Under employment standards legislation, birth mothers receive a total of 52 weeks of leave when they combine maternity (17 weeks) and parental leave (35 weeks), and are entitled to receive a total of 50 weeks of EI benefits (15 weeks maternity, 35 weeks parental) for that period. However, the same benefits are not available to adoptive mothers, who only receive 37 weeks of parental leave and 35 weeks of EI benefits. Now a new movement to challenge the law to provide equal EI benefits to adoptive parents is gaining momentum…
Read the rest of this post »Friday, January 27th, 2012
Here’s an interesting case from the British Columbia Court of Appeal. When an employer left a termination letter on a bus driver’s seat for him to find, The Court found there was inadequate notice of termination. The fact that the bus driver left work immediately instead of working the notice period did not negate his right to sue for damages in lieu of notice.
Read the rest of this post »Friday, January 20th, 2012
Since Honda v. Keays, employment law and human resources practitioners have been watching how the law regarding bad faith dismissals has developed, in particular, the assessment of moral damages. A recently published decision has added some clarity to the moral damages question. The case, Canada (Attorney General) v. Tipple (2011) dealt with the well known case of Douglas Tipple.
Read the rest of this post »Monday, January 16th, 2012
The federal government gave royal assent to Bill C-13, Keeping Canada’s Economy and Jobs Growing Act on December 15, 2011. Several of the measures enacted have an impact on employment law for federally regulated workplaces. One of the measures amends the Canadian Human Rights Act to eliminate the mandatory retirement age for federally regulated employees.
Read the rest of this post »Wednesday, January 11th, 2012
Employers should never accept resignations from employees that are upset. It simply casts a “wider net of possible financial exposure” if things turn nasty. In other words, judges or juries probably won’t sympathize with the issue of resignation acceptance if the employee is genuinely and legitimately upset (not because someone misplaced their red stapler).
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, January 5th, 2012
I have often written and spoken about misclassification of workers, specifically that many organizations agree to call workers “contractors” or “consultants” even though they are, in reality, employees. The bottom line is that our courts and government agencies, including the Canada Revenue Agency, will not be swayed by the terms used in a document or the manner in which parties describe their relationship. They will look at the reality of the situation, and…
Read the rest of this post »Friday, December 23rd, 2011
We’ll be taking a short break from posting and will be back in the New Year. However, before we go, we want to remind employers there are three public (statutory holidays) between December 25, 2011 to January 1, 2012. Happy Holidays to all!
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, December 22nd, 2011
It’s the time of the year again when employers and payroll specialists have to start their T4 year-end process and need to know what’s new in payroll for 2012. In addition, several changes to pension, employment standards and other legal requirements are coming into force January 1, 2012. This blog post provides you with a brief summary of some of the changes employers need to know and prepare for:
Read the rest of this post »Wednesday, December 21st, 2011
On December 8, 2011, the Ontario Liberal Government introduced Bill 30, entitled the Family Caregiver Act. This Act intends to create an additional entitlement to a leave of absence from work while the employee’s job is protected. The proposed Act will provide for an unpaid leave of absence for up to eight weeks to allow an employee to care for a sick relative.
Read the rest of this post »Wednesday, December 21st, 2011
Constructive dismissals are something that most employers are aware of, but many may not be aware that constructive dismissals are in fact very difficult cases for employees to win. This is illustrated by a recent case out of Nova Scotia, Gillis v. Sobeys Group Incorporated 2011 NSSC 443.
Read the rest of this post »Monday, December 12th, 2011
Last month I was consulted by a woman with respect to a new employment agreement that she wanted reviewed. The employment opportunity presented to her was by a company that had purchased the software company she was currently employed with for the past 19 years. Her salary remained the same, as did the total of her bonus, although the bonus structure was altered to reflect seemingly unattainable goals. While the new bonus structure did in fact reflect the purchasing company’s exact bonus structure with all of its existing employees, this arrangement was originally her main concern.
Read the rest of this post »Friday, December 9th, 2011
Bill 115, An Act to Amend Chapter 246 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Labour Standards Code, Respecting Citizenship Ceremony Leave received first reading in the Nova Scotia Legislature, and is currently sitting with the Law Amendments Committee. The goal of the Bill is to create an unpaid leave of absence of up to one day under the Labour Standards Code so employment is protected while employees attend their citizenship ceremony.
Read the rest of this post »
Leslie D Foreman:Andrew Taillon:
Copyright © 2012 - First Reference | Entries (RSS) | Comments (RSS) | Twitter | Facebook
WordPress theme designed by 
web design
