In Yates v Langley Motor Sport Centre Ltd (2022 BCCA 398), Justice Bauman finally definitively answered the issue of whether or not CERB payments received by a terminated employee are deductible from wrongful dismissal damages that cover the same time period.
The answer was NO, they are not deductible and thus the windfall goes to the benefit of the employee, not the employer.
The analysis was largely based on social policy. The concluding words say it all:
“Whether the payments are in the end to be repayable by the plaintiff is of no concern to the defendant employer. It is a matter between the plaintiff and the authorities administering the plan.”
This is the first appellate decision on this issue, and as this is a federal law, it is my understanding that all lower courts in Canada are obligated to follow it.
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