damages
March 11, 2013 Alison J. Bird Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits,
If an employee negotiates a termination package with an employer but does not sign a release, can they successfully claim additional pay in lieu of notice in a court action? Interestingly, the Ontario Superior Court recently held that the answer for one employee in these circumstances was “no”.
absence of a release, additional damages, additional pay in lieu of notice, Bland v Canadian Farm Insurance, damages, Employee does not sign a release, employee negotiates a termination package, Emplyment law, fifteen months of service, Notice of termination, Ontario Superior Court, pay in lieu of notice, release, settlement, terminated without cause, termination, termination package, terminations, wrongful dismissal
January 14, 2013 Alison J. Bird Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Wages and Compensation,
Since the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Honda v. Keays, dismissed employees have increasingly sought bad faith damages in severance negotiations and wrongful dismissal actions. A key issue in these claims is whether the employer’s conduct was sufficiently egregious to justify these damages. The courts are clear that not every perceived offence or instance of misconduct will give rise to a finding of bad faith.
bad faith damages, damages, deprive the employee of a benefit, dismissed employees, employer’s conduct was sufficiently egregious, employment law, employment relationship, Evans v. Complex Services Inc, evidence of mental distress, Honda Canada Inc. v Keays, liable for bad faith damages, malice or blatant disregard for the employee, management and the employee, misrepresenting the reason for the termination, must still establish actual loss caused by the misconduct, perceived offence or instance of misconduct, severance negotiations, Supreme Court of Canada, termination, termination notice, terminations, time of dismissal, wrongful dismissal actions
November 12, 2012 Alison J. Bird Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources,
In AMEC Americas Limited v. MacWilliams, 2012 NBCA 46, the New Brunswick Court of Appeal held that an employer’s defence that an employee failed to mitigate his damages by refusing to accept its settlement offers had no merit. As leave to appeal the decision was recently refused by the Supreme Court of Canada, the current answer to our question (at least in New Brunswick) is “no”.
common law notice, damages, denial of liability, disputes and litigation, employee's legal entitlement, failure to mitigate, full and final release, New Brunswick, obilgation to pay damages, reasonable notice, settlement offer, Supreme Court of Canada, wrongful dismissal
November 5, 2012 Matt Lalande Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources,
A few months ago I provided a contribution to this blog concerning an update on the law of just cause. I am doing so again with today’s blog, not for the fact that I am really interested in the law of just cause, but rather, judicial decisions that supported the defendant’s termination for just cause are quite uncommon and the factual circumstances are always quite interesting, such as in the newly released decision of Mykki Cavic v. Costco Wholesale Canada Limited.
benefits carrier, benefits insurer, Costco Wholesale, damages, dishonesty, employment law, employment relationship, falsifying health benefit claims, forgery, just cause, Manulife, misappropriation of benefits, reasonable notice, self-insurer, termination for just cause, terminations, wrongful dismissal
April 27, 2012 Christina Catenacci Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice just decided that an employer terminated a 65-year-old long-term employee without the proper amount of notice or severance. As a result, the employer had to pay hefty damages, interest and costs award
Age at termination, damages, employment law, long-term employee, mitigation, notice period, reasonable notice, reasonable termination notice, statutory obligations, statutory requirements, Statutory severance, supervisor, termination, termination notice, termination without cause, wrongful dismissal, years of service
May 31, 2011 Earl Altman Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources
A recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision dealt with a number of issues arising from the dismissal without cause or notice of a senior vice-president of an investment company. One of the more difficult issues addressed at trial, and considered by the Court of Appeal, was the trigger date for the right of the employer to re-purchase the employee’s two percent interest in the company.
Bardal v. The Globe & Mail, case law, Court of Appeal, damages, determination of reasonable notice, dismissal without cause, employment contract, employment law, length of service, longer notice period, notice period, pay in lieu of notice, Pensions and Benefits, reasonable notice, right of the employer to re-purchase the employee’s interest in the company, stock grant, stock options, stock options on dismissal, termination
September 7, 2010 Earl Altman Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources
The scope of damages available in wrongful dismissal claims has been steadily widening over the past decade. However, in a decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal, released on May 28, 2010, the Court reversed this trend by rejecting tort liability of an employer for intentional infliction of mental suffering arising from a dismissal.
bad faith in the matter of the dismissal, constructive dismissal, damages, discipline, Dismissal, employer code of conduct, employment law, intentional infliction of mental suffering, Ontario Court of Appeal, performance review, personal liability on a manager, terminations, tort liability, tort of negligence in the employment context, torts of battery, vicarious liability, vicariously liable, wrongful dismissal, Wrongful dismissal claims
August 27, 2010 Christina Catenacci Health and Safety, Human Resources
Last week, I wrote about the incident in which five migrant workers fell 13 storeys when a platform collapsed on Christmas Eve, 2009. Four died instantly, but one survived. This fifth worker, who suffered grave injuries, has now launched a civil suit for damages.
accident, Bill C-45, civil suit, criminal code, damages, employment, employment law, health and safety, migrant workers, Ministry of Labour, occupational health and safety act, ontario, platform, scaffold, scaffolding incident
July 7, 2010 Yosie Saint-Cyr Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources
In December 2008, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice awarded Marta Piresferreira, a former employee of Bell Mobility Inc., more than $500,000 in damages arising from an assault at the hands of her supervisor. The Court found the company and supervisor jointly liable for Piresferreira’s damages. Then in May of this year, the Court of Appeal reversed the lower court decision.
constructive dismissal, contract law, damages, emotional distress, employment contract, employment law, in the course of employment, law of tort, negligent infliction of mental suffering, ontario, Piresferreira v. Ayotte, termination, tort, wrongful dismissal
June 1, 2010 Earl Altman Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources
“Employees are not like tissues to be used up and then thrown out at a whim into a bin of low-level employment or unemployment.” The arbitrator in a recent case concluded that the Greater Toronto Airports Authority’s conduct in terminating a disabled employee was a violation of its collective agreement…
bad faith damages, Canada Labour Relations Act, canadian employment law, damages, discipline, Dismissal, employee return to work, employee surveillance, employment law, Federal Labour Relations Board, general damages, leave of absence, mental distress, punitive damages, sick-leave benefits, termination, Wallace damages, workplace investigation, wrongful dismissal, wrongful dismissal claim
Hi John, Thanks for your comment. Check out paragraph 67 of the decision: "Accordingly, none of what I have written above is to suggest or... – May 22, 4:38 PM
This is really spin doctoring the decision. My firm appeared at the Court of Appeal for an intervenor the University of Saskatchewan. Whatever the Supreme... – May 22, 1:00 AM
