judicial review

Ontario Divisional Court upholds a worst-case scenario decision from the Human Rights Tribunal

November 4, 2014 Employer Advisor, McCarthy Tétrault LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Union Relations

Last year, we reported on the notable Human Rights Tribunal decision of Fair v. Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board where the Tribunal ordered the reinstatement, along with over $400,000 in back pay and damages, to an employee despite the employee having been away from the workplace for almost a decade.

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Termination of a probationary employee was neither arbitrary nor discriminatory

August 21, 2013 Christina Catenacci Accessibility Standards, Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring, Standard for Employment, Union Relations

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice Divisional Court just quashed the grievance settlement board’s decision that a probationary employee’s termination was arbitrary and discriminatory and granted the application for judicial review. The evidence was clear that the employer’s decision to terminate the probationary employee was neither arbitrary nor discriminatory. In fact, the decision to terminate came after numerous reviews of the employee’s work and conversations about performance concerns.

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Federal Court clarifies that the prohibited ground of “family status” includes “childcare obligations”

February 19, 2013 Simon Heath, BA, MIR, LLB, Heath Law Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights

Do employers have to accommodate the “childcare responsibilities” of their employees to the point of undue hardship? The Federal Court has confirmed that in the federal jurisdiction the answer is yes subject to the requirement that the childcare responsibility be a “substantial parental obligation”.

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The Human Rights Tribunal says “no” to forum shopping

November 6, 2012 Stringer LLP Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Human Rights

It has been a year since the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in British Columbia (Workers’ Compensation Board) v. Figliola (“Figliola”). In Figliola, the Supreme Court stated that human rights complaints should not be relitigated before a human rights tribunal when they have already been litigated before another tribunal, such as the workers’ compensation board (“WSIB”), or a labour arbitration tribunal.

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