Author Archive - Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm

For the past 30 years, Doug MacLeod, founder of the MacLeod Law Firm, a Canadian labour and employment law firm, has been advising and representing employers in connection with employee terminations. If you have any questions, you can contact him at 416 317-9894 or at doug@macleodlawfirm.ca. Read more

Will a judge enforce the termination clause in your organization’s employment contract?

September 11, 2018 Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Recruiting and Hiring

Although it is theoretically possible to limit an employee’s rights on termination to ESA minimums, it is difficult to do so in practice because trial judges are reluctant to enforce them.

employment contract, employment law, statutory termination pay, Termination clause

Don’t let cannabis laws leave you dazed and confused

August 7, 2018 Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm Uncategorized

The intersection of issues surrounding cannabis at the workplace including health and safety considerations, the duty to accommodate, and the complex area of drug testing can result in the need for legal advice on how to create a reasonable and enforceable drug and alcohol policy.

Cannabis Act, cannabis laws, Cannabis legalization, Cannabis Regulations, employment law, Legalization of marijuana, marijuana in the workplace, recreational marijuana

Ontario employment law update: Mid-year report

July 4, 2018 Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll

Much has changed in recent weeks. The Liberal party has been replaced by the PC party as the governing party in Ontario, recreational-use cannabis will become legal on October 17, 2018, more employment standards inspectors have been hired and trained and are now conducting workplace inspections to ensure that employers are complying with Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, and there’s more.

cannabis, employment law, Health and safety violations, marijuana, Ontario employment law, Pay Transparency Act, termination

Court of Appeal upholds non-solicitation clause against departing employee

June 5, 2018 Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm Human Resources, Payroll, Recruiting and Hiring, Wages and Compensation

All employers should seriously consider including a property drafted non-solicitation clause in the employment contract of any employee who has a close working relationship with the organization’s customers.

employment law, non-solicitation agreement, non-solicitation clause, solicit clients, solicit customers, solicitation of former clients, soliciting employer customers

New Ontario law requires public disclosure of employee compensation

May 8, 2018 Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Wages and Compensation

On the heels of new amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000, which introduced changes to this law’s equal pay provisions, the Ontario government recently passed The Pay Transparency Act, 2018 (“the Act”). The Act is just one of many components of the Liberal government’s plan.

disclosure of employee compensation, employee compensation, employment law, equal pay provisions, gender biases, pay equity, pay transparency, sexual harassment complaints, sexual harassment in the workplace, sexual violence leave, women in the workplace, working mothers

Employer alert: Payroll costs in Ontario went up (again) on April 1, 2018.

April 10, 2018 Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Source Deductions and Reporting

Since April 1, 2018 Ontario employers have been required to pay temporary help agency workers and casual & part-time employers the same rate of pay as full-time employers performing substantially the same work unless an exemption applies.

casual employees, employment law, Employment status, equal pay for equal work, pay equity, Payroll, payroll costs, temporary agency workers

The latest on the legality of random drug and alcohol testing

March 6, 2018 Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Union Relations

This blog summarizes a recent arbitration award where a union challenged an employer’s random drug testing policy at a coal mine.

alcohol and drug use in the workplace, drug and alcohol testing, employment law, random drug and alcohol testing

Wal-Mart employee awarded $250,000 in moral damages and $500,000 in punitive damages

February 13, 2018 Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Recruiting and Hiring

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.

damages, employment law, Galea v. Wal-Mart, moral damages, punitive damages, termination, termination without cause, termination without notice, wrongful dismissal

Is the rule of law at risk in Ontario?

January 9, 2018 Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm Accessibility Standards, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Privacy and Security, Training and Development, Union Relations

Recently I concluded that the rule of law no longer applies in many Ontario workplaces. The epiphany hit me when I was meeting with the Managing Director of a boutique law firm.

accountability, employment law, Government enforcement, Government regulations, Ontario workplaces, Rule of law

Top 10 employment law developments in 2017

December 5, 2017 Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm Accessibility Standards, Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Integrated Accessibility Regulation, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Standard for Customer Service, Standard for Employment, Standard for Information and Communications, Standard for the Built Environment, Standard for Transportation

In 2017, the provincial legislature and Ontario judges continued to change Ontario’s employment laws. These changes resulted in higher payroll costs and a more regulated workplace. This blog briefly identifies 10 employment law developments from the past year.

accessibility, accommodating employees with disabilities, AODA, bonuses, drug testing, employee bonuses, employment law, employment law developments, employment standards act, human rights law, Ministry of Labour, pregnancy and parental leave, sexual harassment, termination

Case study: Why you need to periodically review your employment contract

November 7, 2017 Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Recruiting and Hiring

A well-drafted employment contract is the best employment law investment an employer can make. It can enhance or expand management’s rights, and it can save the employer thousands of dollars in termination costs.

amount of notice of dismissal, employment contract, employment law, ESA only termination clauses, fixed-term contract, termination clauses

Compliment or sexual harassment: Where do you draw the line?

October 10, 2017 Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm Employee Relations, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll

Despite a number of legislative initiatives that are intended to reduce and ultimately eliminate sexual harassment in society, sexual harassment continues to be a problem in Ontario’s workplaces.

alleged sexual harassment, compliment or sexual harassment, employment law, Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, sexual harassment, sexual harassment complaint

An employer’s duty to inquire into mental illness

September 12, 2017 Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights

Accommodating a mental illness does not only benefit the employee, but it also makes good business sense. Enabling employees with mental illness to access support can increase their productivity in the workplace.

coping with stress, Disability, duty to accommodate, duty to accommodate mental health disabilities, employment law, mental health, Mental illness

OHSA in wonderland: Through the looking glass

June 13, 2017 Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Penalties and Fines, Pensions and Benefits, Source Deductions and Reporting, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation

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.

aggravated damages, damages, disciplining an employee, employment law, health and safety complaints, lost wages, occupational health and safety act, OHSA, reinstatement, termination, workplace harassment, wrongful dismissal, wrongful dismissal damages

What to do when the MOL comes calling

May 9, 2017 Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Penalties and Fines

This blog discusses a group of orders that a MOL inspector recently imposed on a small employer after an employee complained that she had been harassed at work.

employment law, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Labour complaint, MOL, MOL blitz, MOL complaint, MOL inspections, occupational health and safety act, OHSA, Provincial Offences Act, workplace harassment