damages
BC Court of Appeal clarifies employee’s duty to mitigate and necessary deductions for “avoided,” and “avoidable”, loss
A recent BC Court of Appeal decision is a good reminder and summary of the principles underlying an employee’s duty to mitigate following a wrongful dismissal, and confirms that post-termination income in excess of supplementary income that an employee has earned while employed is properly deducted from a wrongful dismissal damages award.
Wal-Mart employee awarded $250,000 in moral damages and $500,000 in punitive damages
Wal-Mart was found to have breached its duty as it was trying to find a new position for Ms. Galea. I don’t know if this case will turn out to be an outlier, but in the meantime employers should be very careful when dealing with an employee who is between jobs within the organization.
5 employment law predictions for 2018
‘Tis the Season and 2017 is coming to a close. With this, I am predicting some of the trends to follow from an employment law perspective of 2018. Here are 5 trends to follow in the new year.
Top 10 employment law cases of 2017
Here is a list of the cases which changed employment law in Canada in 2017 (in no particular order). Note that some of these cases are not yet published on CanLII and therefore, there is no link available.
Employers beware: Punitive damages for improper just cause allegations
Two recent Small Claims Court cases demonstrate the courts’ willingness to sanction employers for improper just cause allegations. These cases highlight the fact that employers need to be cautious in asserting just cause.
Talking damages: Put your money where your mouth is
When it comes to human rights cases, awards for general damages are often less than $10,000, even though the $10,000 cap on general damages was removed almost a decade ago.
Three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk
The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with: how an employee’s decision to retrain affected his right to damages after termination, improvements to CRA services for small and medium businesses and union-friendly changes to the certification process included in Bill 148, Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act.
The damages formerly known as Wallace – Are they still relevant?
It has been about eight years since the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Honda Canada v Keays, which dramatically altered the law with respect to damages relating to bad faith conduct in the course of dismissal. Is the topic still relevant? A recent Ontario decision confirms that it is.
Departing employees gone rogue
The business consequences of departing employees gone rogue were recently highlighted in Prim8 Group Inc. v Tisi. In that case, an officer and director of Prim8 Group Inc. (Tisi) resigned from his employment to set up a competing business. Two days before his resignation, Tisi removed electronic equipment from Prim8’s premises, some of which contained proprietary information, and refused to return it. Shortly thereafter, another employee resigned from Prim8 without notice to join Tisi’s competing business.
Three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk
The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with: Court of Appeal upholds award to constructively dismissed McDonald’s manager; Employer proves it accommodated employee’s disability to the point of undue hardship; and Employer’s LMIA application denied due to lack of “genuineness” of job offer.
Bad facts make bad law (for employers): Court recognizes new tort of harassment #learnthelatest
The Ontario Superior Court recently recognized a new tort that would allow employees to sue their employers for harassment in civil court. To find out more about how the new tort of harassment in the employment law context, register to Learn the Latest® at the Ontario Employment Law Conference on June 20, 2017.
OHSA in wonderland: Through the looking glass
If an employee alleges a violation of section 50 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) then the employer must prove there has been no violation. This is called a reverse onus clause which means an employer must prove it did not violate OHSA. After a brief summary of the remedies that are available to employees under section 50 of OHSA, this blog discusses three recent cases.
Three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk
The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with: Ontario Employment Standards Act reforms underway; employees awarded $15,000 each in moral damages against employer; and upcoming employment and labour law changes in Alberta.
Three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk
The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with: Changing Workplaces Review final report; employee wrongfully dismissed awarded $46,000 in damages; and employer successful in challenging worker’s entitlement to cost relief.
Disability and termination under the Human Rights Code
Under the Ontario’s Human Rights Code (the Code), an employee cannot be terminated due to a disability. If the Human Rights Tribunal finds that the termination was based in part or in whole on a disability, this may be considered a breach of the Code. The matter was addressed in one of the first Tribunal decisions of 2017, Ben Saad v. 1544982 Ontario Inc.
Get Free Updates
Resources and offers
Awards and recognition
#10 on Feedspot's Top 75 in 2016
Employment Blogs
Fodden Award for Best Canadian Law Blog
Legal Culture Award
Runner up in the Fodden Award for Best Canadian Law Blog
Finalist in the Fodden Award for Best Canadian Law Blog
First Reference HR compliance products and services
Recent comments
- { […] does an incident in the workplace require an investigation? Employers may find this a useful resource for issues of workplace violence, harassment, and sexual... }
-
Ontario Court of Appeal confirms 24 month cap on notice periods absent exceptional circumstances
Great article. Thanks for sharing. Can you provide some examples of what would be " exceptional circumstances" to warrant beyond 24 months. ?? Am i... – Jul 05, 6:34 PM
- Generated by BWP Recent Comments.
