On November 9, 2021, in United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Canada Local 333 v. Paragon Protection Ltd. (Paragon), Arbitrator Von Veh in Ontario dismissed a union’s policy grievance and upheld a mandatory COVID-19...more
11/15/2021
/ Canada ,
Collective Agreements ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dismissals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
OHSA ,
Ontario ,
Statutory Violations ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On October 29, 2021, in Blake v. University Health Network, 2021 ONSC 7139 (Blake), the Ontario Superior Court of Justice discontinued an interim injunction that it had issued on October 22, 2021, staying the terminations of...more
11/10/2021
/ Canada ,
Collective Agreements ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Injunctions ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Stays ,
Unions ,
Wrongful Termination
In Goruk v. Greater Barrie Chamber of Commerce, 2021 ONSC 5005, the Ontario Superior Court found that the Chamber of Commerce (COC) was justified in dismissing with cause a 75-year-old, long-term employee with no prior...more
10/7/2021
/ Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Canada ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fiduciary ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Termination for Cause ,
Wrongful Termination
In 2020, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT) confirmed that when a claim for constructive dismissal is based on harm sustained due to harassment and bullying in the workplace, the claim falls within...more
9/22/2021
/ Canada ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dismissals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Ontario Human Rights Tribunal ,
Right to Sue Letter ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Workplace Bullying ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance ,
Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA)
On August 13, 2021, Canada announced that, as early as the end of September, it will require COVID-19 vaccination across the federal public service. Accommodations or alternative measures (e.g., testing or screening) for the...more
8/24/2021
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Employees ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Public Employees ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Canada’s federal Pay Equity Act (Act) received Royal Assent on December 13, 2018. The purpose of the Act is to create a proactive pay equity regime within the federal public and private sectors to ensure that federally...more
In O’Reilly v. ClearMRI Solutions Ltd., 2021 ONCA 385 (ClearMRI Solutions), the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) decided that the motion judge erred in concluding that a majority shareholder of an employee’s contractual employer...more
7/8/2021
/ Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Responsible Party ,
Shareholders ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
In a wrongful dismissal claim in Ontario, it is up to the employer to prove that employees failed to mitigate their damages and that had they taken reasonable steps to do so, they would have likely obtained equivalent or...more
6/29/2021
/ Bonuses ,
Canada ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Mitigation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Termination
The recent Ontario decision, Hawkes v. Max Aicher (North America) Limited, 2021 ONSC 4290 (Max Aicher), establishes that global employment is factored into the calculation of an employer’s payroll under s. 64 of the...more
6/28/2021
/ Canada ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Ontario Labour Relations Board ,
Payroll Expenses ,
Severance Pay ,
Wage and Hour
As we have written previously, the test to determine whether an employer has a duty to accommodate family status is not consistent in all Canadian jurisdictions....more
In Phillips v. Westcan, 2020 ABQB 764, the Court of Queen’s Bench for Alberta denied an employee’s application for a permanent injunction against his non-unionized employer to prohibit the employer from randomly testing its...more
On April 23, 2021, Ontario filed Regulations 313/21, 314/21 and 315/21 under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020. The Regulations create new requirements relating to the temporary removal of...more
In Currie v. Nylene Canada Inc., 2021 ONSC 1922, Ontario’s Superior Court held that “exceptional circumstances” existed to justify making an award that exceeded the 24-month “high end” amount of reasonable notice for...more
In Sharma v. Toronto (City), 2020 HRTO 949, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) provides a roadmap for how employers should determine whether they are required to accommodate employees and customers who seek...more
4/8/2021
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Exemptions ,
Health and Safety ,
Human Rights Code ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Masks ,
Ontario ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Workplace Safety
In Nahum v. Honeycomb Hospitality Inc., 2021 ONSC 1455, the Ontario Superior Court determined that an employee’s pregnancy should impact the calculation of her reasonable notice period for dismissal. The court awarded the...more
In McGuinty v. 1845035 Ontario Inc. (McGuinty Funeral Home), 2020 ONCA 816 (McGuinty), the Court of Appeal for Ontario upheld the Ontario Superior Court’s decision to award an employee one of the highest damage awards ever...more
As we entered a new decade in 2020, Canada saw significant developments in labour and employment law, some of which related to COVID-19. This Insight provides an overview of 14 key 2020 developments, with links to more...more
1/8/2021
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Standards Act ,
False Light ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Invasion of Privacy ,
Layoffs ,
Leave of Absence ,
Relief Measures ,
Tort ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Subsidies Schemes ,
Wrongful Death
In Garda Security Screening Inc. v. IAM, District 140 (Shoker Grievance) [2020] O.L.A.A. No. 162 (Garda Grievance), a labour arbitrator dismissed a grievance pertaining to the for-cause dismissal of a unionized employee who...more
On November 19, 2020, Bill C-9, An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act (Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy and Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy) (Bill C-9) received Royal Assent. Bill C-9’s purpose is to implement targeted support to...more
On October 18, 2019, we wrote about the tests currently used to establish family status discrimination in Canada, and recommended policies and programs employers can put in place for employees that need accommodations due to...more
On October 2, 2020, the government of Ontario filed Ontario Regulation 546/20 (Regulation) made under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020. The Regulation came into force on October 3, 2020....more
10/9/2020
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Human Rights Code ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Masks ,
Ontario ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Health ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Workplace Safety
In response to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in Ontario, the province has imposed health screening obligations on employers. On September 25, 2020, the province’s government filed Regulation 530/20, which was made...more
10/1/2020
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Regulations ,
Ministry of Health ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Risk Management ,
Screening Procedures
In Porcupine Opportunities Program Inc. v Cooper, 2020 SKCA 33 (Porcupine), the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal affirmed, among other things, that a trial court appropriately decided to award $20,000 in moral damages to an...more
Because the COVID-19 pandemic has made travel impossible or risky to one’s health, employers may face employee requests to delay vacation time. In this Insight, we help employers in Ontario understand their rights and...more
A recent Ontario Superior Court decision, Kerner v. Information Builders (Canada) Inc., 2020 ONSC 2975, clarified whether an employee was entitled to commissions that were “booked and billed” after his job termination, but...more
9/22/2020
/ Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Notice Requirements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sales Commissions ,
Wrongful Termination