Wednesday, April 13th, 2011
I recently told you about the high school office assistant who was suspended with pay for making porn movies on the side—well, the school board has decided to terminate her employment.
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Thursday, April 7th, 2011
Employers that dismiss employees without cause, and without ensuring that they take steps to preclude all potential claims, can face significant liability beyond the “typical” wrongful dismissal damages. The recent decision of Mr. Justice Echlin of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Brito v. Canac Kitchens is an example of the type of situation employer’s dread. In that case…
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Friday, February 18th, 2011
The mitigation of damages has become a hot employment law issue. In this recent British Columbia case, the employee was entitled to damages for wrongful dismissal after the employer terminated her during the economic downturn. Although the employer argued that the employee failed to mitigate her damages when she did not accept the employer’s subsequent offer of re-employment, the Court found that the uncertainty of work and payment was such that the employee did not act unreasonably when she declined the job offer. Thus, the employee was entitled to 12 months’ termination notice.
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Wednesday, February 16th, 2011
It is not uncommon in smaller family run or closely held businesses to have a situation where a key employee is also a significant shareholder in the business. However, this can create significant issues if the relationship with the employee changes, particularly if the relationship deteriorates. This is because such employees are subject not only to employment laws, but also can take advantage of shareholder protections.
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Wednesday, February 9th, 2011
Dealing with disabled employees can be a vexing issue for most employers. A number of questions arise when an employee takes time off either temporarily or permanently due to a disability, whether physical or mental. These issues include:
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Thursday, December 2nd, 2010
A topic that I address often in presentations and with clients is the failure, on the part of the vast majority of employers in Canada, to use employment agreements properly (if at all). As I have said many times, policies and agreements are the easiest ways for employers to establish the rights and obligations of the parties and avoid having them imposed by common law or other principles.
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Thursday, October 7th, 2010
Mitigation of damages in the context of a wrongful dismissal claim is one of those concepts that is often referred to but not well understood.
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Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
Most employers understand a claim for damages for wrongful dismissal as arising from the termination of an employee’s employment without adequate cause or notice. It can be argued that this in fact reflects a misconception of the nature of the employment contract. Except in certain limited cases of federally regulated companies,…
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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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Monday, July 19th, 2010
We’ve heard a bunch of stories over the past year about companies firing or not hiring employees, or challenging their claims of illness, over inappropriate online behaviour, particularly comments and photos posted on Facebook and other social networking websites. While the media have made a big deal of these cases, none has had the profile of CNN’s recent firing of Middle East correspondent, Octavia Nasr. The US news giant felt Nasr had compromised her credibility by publicly tweeting her respect for a prominent Islamic cleric on his death. The Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah had ties to controversial political action group Hezbollah.
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Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
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.
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Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
In yet another example of the reluctance of the Ontario Superior Court to restrict competitive activities of former employees, the Court rejected an employer’s request for an injunction…
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Tuesday, June 15th, 2010
The Ontario Superior Court re-affirmed the freedom of employees to leave their employer and set up a competitive business.
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