Jones v. Tsige

Privacy class action to proceed

July 22, 2014 Adam Gorley Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Privacy and Security

Canada will see its first class action lawsuit based on the new tort of invading another’s privacy, after a Bank of Nova Scotia employee leaked customers’ personal information to his girlfriend for personal gain. At least 138 customers were subsequently defrauded. Ontario’s Superior Court accepted that the employer was vicariously liable for the employee’s actions […]

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BC vs Ontario: BC Supreme Court confirms no common law tort for invasion of privacy

July 8, 2013 Occasional Contributors Employee Relations, Human Resources, Privacy and Security

The Supreme Court of British Columbia recently confirmed that there is no common law tort of invasion of privacy in that province. This is in contrast to an earlier decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal which accepted such a cause of action.

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What’s reasonable when assessing an employee’s fitness to return to work?

March 6, 2012 Christina Catenacci Employee Relations, Human Resources, Human Rights, Privacy and Security, Union Relations

When an employee refused to disclose any medical details prior to returning to work following a leave of absence due to mental disability, the employer was left without the necessary knowledge to determine her fitness to return to her pre-disability leave position and if accommodation was required…

accommodation, collective agreement, confidential information, cooperate during accommodation, Disability, Disclosure of medical information, duty to accommodate, employment law, fitness to return to work, functional limitations, human rights code, independent medical review, invasion of privacy, Jones v. Tsige, mental disability, Ontario Labour Arbitration Board, undue hardship

Invasion of personal privacy

February 22, 2012 Earl Altman Employee Relations, Human Resources, Privacy and Security

The Ontario Court of Appeal decision in Jones v. Tsige deals with a novel claim, one for damages for invasion of personal privacy. This decision has garnered a great deal of comment in the popular press in the time since its release. Is the decision as radical as some writers have suggested? What are the implications for privacy rights in Ontario, and, in particular, the conduct of employers and employees?

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