The Covid-19 pandemic has proven just how adaptive and resilient we are as a society. In the face of this crisis, we have embraced drastic changes to how we live, work, shop and even interact with one another....
The Ford Government has made a crucial, temporary change to Ontario's Employment Standards Act (ESA) that will impact countless employers and employees in the Province....
With words like “pandemic” and “state of emergency” being used to describe the novel coronavirus, it is understandable to feel a bit overwhelmed....
With mandatory retirement no longer legal in Ontario, older employees are gaining stronger protections. Employers must tread carefully—forced retirements can lead to significant wrongful dismissal claims....
Under Ontario law an employee terminated without just cause must receive either reasonable notice or pay in lieu. While the Employment Standards Act sets a statutory minimum—such as termination notice and severance pay—it is common law that often provides far greater compensation for longer-serving or...
Ontario courts look at the true nature of a work relationship—not just what the contract says. If a worker behaves like an employee (e.g. under direction, using company tools, with little financial risk), they may be legally considered one. Misclassifying employees as contractors can lead...
There are big differences between the ways the law treats employee layoffs and permanent terminations. Although the terms are often used interchangeably when describing employment that has ended, they are not the same thing at all....
Employment agreements will often include language that is intended to restrict the actions of employees following the end of their employment. These types of clauses, typically relating to confidentiality, non-solicitation and non-competition, are aptly referred to in the employment law world as restrictive covenants....
Employment agreements in non-union environments typically govern the terms of the working relationship itself, but they may also set out exactly how the employment relationship may be brought to an end....
It is never a pleasant experience to learn that your employment is being terminated, no matter what the circumstances may be. Nonetheless, there is a right way of handling your dismissal. If you are careful in the way you handle your exit, it is possible to protect your...
A cautionary tale for employees - an employer can and very likely will sue you, if you breach the confidentiality clause of an employment law settlement agreement....
This grocery store worker from Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y, was terminated for leaving work with far more meat in his pants than he arrived with. $1,200.00 more meat, to be precise. (Make up your own punch lines...
What kind of off-duty conduct could justify an Ontario employee's dismissal for cause?...
In many workplaces in the service sector, tips are pooled together and, at the end of a shift, divided up among the workers on duty during that shift. It is common practice for the employer to take a portion of the tip money in...
It is a well founded principle in the law of contracts that once a breach occurs, a plaintiff has an obligation to minimize their damages. In bringing an action against a defendant for breach of contract, a plaintiff would not be allowed to "rack up"...
When will Ontario's courts impute income to a parent for the purpose of calculating his or her child support obligations?...
In Whitten v. Pilot Insurance, the Supreme Court of Canada articulated the purpose, appropriateness and range of punitive damage awards in Canada. An award for punitive damages is only appropriate if conduct is “high-handed, malicious, arbitrary or highly reprehensible ...
The Supreme Court of Canada's recent ruling in IBM Canada Ltd. v. Waterman provides a great deal of clarity on the issue of collateral benefits such as pensions in a wrongful dismissal action and whether such a benefit ought to be deducted from the amount...
The end of an employment relationship is rarely a pleasant experience for anyone involved. Particularly for a dismissed employee, heightened emotions and confusion can lead to genuine anxiety and stress. In the midst of all of this turmoil, an employer issues a Record of Employment (ROE)...
With the advent of social networking, traditional means of recruiting and hiring have vastly changed. Today, websites such as LinkedIn provide employers and employees an opportunity to publish their professional profiles online (a curriculum vitae or a company profile) and connect with like-minded individuals...