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 »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 »Thursday, November 24th, 2011
Probably the most prevalent misconception in the area of employment law is the notion that all employees are entitled to “one month per year” as notice of termination without cause. This has, in the past, been referred to as the golden rule. In spite of repeated judicial pronouncements that the rule no longer applies, human resources professionals continue to apply it.
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, October 6th, 2011
As I and others have frequently commented, there is widespread confusion and misunderstanding regarding how our courts determine the amount of notice of dismissal (sometimes referred to as “severance”) an employee is entitled to. The recent decision of the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench in Coppola v. Capital Pontiac Buick Cadillac GMC Ltd. provides a fairly thorough analysis.
Read the rest of this post »Tuesday, September 27th, 2011
“I am at a party on my day off and a coworker hurls racial insults at me or makes sexual suggestive comments to me.” Am I protected by my employer’s harassment and discrimination policy? Likewise, if I am the one doing the hurling or suggestive commenting, am I subject to discipline under my employer’s policies?
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, May 5th, 2011
As we all know, in the late 1990’s the Supreme Court of Canada held that employers had a duty to act in good faith in the course of terminating the employment relationship. In Wallace v. United Grain Growers, our High Court found that the employer had breached that duty, and the majority held that the remedy for such a breach would be to extend the applicable notice period. Over the following decade, claims for “Wallace damages” became commonplace, to say the least. Unfortunately, many courts seemed more than willing to oblige plaintiffs, finding bad faith in all sorts of circumstances that, while not demonstrative of perfect practice in the course of dismissal, hardly seemed to indicate conduct taken in bad faith.
Read the rest of this post »Friday, April 15th, 2011
What does an employee do if she has been constructively dismissed but has not been told to leave her employ? Is she still entitled to continue to work for the employer and look for alternative employment? Is she obligated to do so?
Read the rest of this post »Monday, February 14th, 2011
There has been a lot of press in the U.S. last week over the so-called “Facebook firing case”. An employee of the…
Read the rest of this post »Friday, November 12th, 2010
The British Columbia Labour Relations Board recently upheld the firing of two employees by a car dealership over comments they posted on Facebook about their employer. The lawyer for the employer stated that he believes this is the first Facebook firing case to be heard in Canada.
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, November 4th, 2010
I recently attended the Law Society’s annual Employment Law Summit, which is always filled with top-notch employment lawyers providing valuable insight and practical advice on issues relating to employment law and human resources. Many of the discussions touched upon issues relating to the use of employment agreements, including termination clauses. The comments caused me to consider my own experiences in dealing with…
Read the rest of this post »Tuesday, September 14th, 2010
When providing evidence, your credibility is judged by how consistent your story is with common sense…
Read the rest of this post »Tuesday, September 7th, 2010
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.
Read the rest of this post »Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
The Court of Appeal in Alberta has just ruled that there was no basis to award “The Damages Formerly Known as Wallace” in Soost v. Merrill Lynch Canada Inc., dramatically reducing the value of the award.
Read the rest of this post »Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
In a decision released on July 19, 2010, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario held that an employee who was fired because she was pregnant had been discriminated against on a prohibited ground…
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, August 5th, 2010
One crucial piece of advice that I offer to employers is to have every single employee sign an employment agreement that, if nothing else, sets out what will happen in the event of dismissal without cause. The reason for this suggestion is simple: without a contractual dismissal provision, an employer’s obligations in the event of dismissal without cause are unpredictable and often extensive.
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Leslie D Foreman:Andrew Taillon:
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