On October 25, 2021, Ontario announced the introduction of Bill 27, Working for Workers Act, 2021 (Act) for First Reading. If passed, the Act would amend Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and other statutes in...more
With the Delta variant putting residents and staff in long-term care homes at risk of contracting COVID-19, on October 1, 2021, Ontario announced certain mandatory vaccination and randomized testing requirements....more
10/6/2021
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Ontario ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
In Scott v. Community Living Temiskaming South, 2021 ONSC 5402 (Community Living), the court dismissed an employee’s claim for wrongful dismissal from his unionized position on the ground that it lacked jurisdiction to hear...more
9/30/2021
/ Arbitration ,
Canada ,
Collective Agreements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Jurisdiction ,
Ontario ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Unions ,
Wrongful Termination
Ontario’s proof of vaccine requirement for patrons of certain indoor public settings commenced on September 22, 2021. In response to this new regime, as well as to the recent trend among employers to implement vaccination...more
9/27/2021
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Mandates ,
Human Rights Code ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Ontario ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On June 24, 2021, Ontario announced that with improvements in key indicators relating to public health and health care, and the provincewide vaccination rate surpassing targets, it will be moving to Step Two of its Roadmap to...more
6/29/2021
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Ontario ,
Public Gatherings ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Seating ,
Workplace Safety
On May 13, 2021, Ontario announced the extension of its Stay-at-Home Order, which was set to expire on May 19, 2021, until at least June 2, 2021. All public health and workplace safety measures under the provincewide...more
Last May, the government of Ontario filed Ontario Regulation 228/20 (IDEL Regulation) under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). The Regulation provides that an employee in a non-unionized workplace who, any time during...more
5/4/2021
/ Canada ,
Common Law Claims ,
Constructive Discharge ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Layoffs ,
Ontario
On April 28, 2021, Ontario announced in a News Release that it will soon introduce legislation that, if passed, would require employers to pay employees up to $200 per day for up to three days if they miss work for reasons...more
On April 20, 2021, Peel Public Health (Peel) and the City of Toronto Public Health (Toronto) announced they would be issuing Orders directing business closures in certain circumstances. These Orders, which have now been...more
In Labrador Recycling Inc. v. Folino, 2021 ONSC 2195 (Labrador Recycling), Ontario’s Superior Court denied an employer’s motion for an urgent injunction to restrain its former employee from competing with it contrary to the...more
4/22/2021
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Breach of Contract ,
Breach of Duty ,
Canada ,
Competition ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Injunctions ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
The purpose of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) is to develop, implement and enforce accessibility standards to achieve accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities, with respect to goods,...more
On November 3, 2020, Ontario announced a new COVID-19 Response Framework, Keeping Ontario Safe and Open (New Framework) that will be approved by Cabinet on November 6, 2020. Public health units will be transitioned to the...more
11/9/2020
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Government Lockdown ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Non-Essential Businesses ,
Ontario ,
Public Health ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retailers ,
Workplace Safety
On October 20, 2020, Ontario introduced Bill 218, Supporting Ontario’s Recovery and Municipal Elections Act, 2020 (Bill 218) for First Reading. Bill 218, which would provide employers with a degree of liability protection...more
The Ontario Superior Court recently issued a decision in Sewell v. Provincial Fruit Co. Limited, 2020 ONSC 4406 (Sewell), applying the reasoning set forth in the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) decision, Waksdale v. Swegon...more
10/7/2020
/ Canada ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Just Cause ,
Ontario ,
Termination Clauses
On July 24, 2020, Ontario’s new Bill 195, Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020, became law. In accordance with Bill 195, Ontario’s Emergency Declaration has ended (subject to the provincial...more
8/18/2020
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Orders ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Layoffs ,
Leave of Absence ,
Ontario ,
Subsidies ,
Wage and Hour
On May 29, 2020, the government of Ontario filed Ontario Regulation 228/20 (Regulation) under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). The Regulation amends layoff and constructive dismissal rules exclusively under the ESA,...more
Whether a wrongfully dismissed employee is entitled to damages as compensation for the value of incentives that would have vested during the reasonable notice period is frequently litigated in Canada....more
2/27/2020
/ Ambiguous ,
Bonuses ,
Canada ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Contract Drafting ,
Contract Terms ,
Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Incentive Stock Options ,
Ontario ,
Summary Judgment ,
Wrongful Termination
Ontario: Bill 124, for a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations, Enacted -
New Legislation Enacted -
On November 7, 2019, the Ontario government passed Bill 124, the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for...more
1/31/2020
/ Canada ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Deadlines ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
Ontario ,
Public Sector ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
In Teamsters Local Union 847 v Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, 2019 CanLII 95328 (ON LA), a part-time restaurant employee in Ontario, Canada with two years’ seniority was discharged from her employment because her...more
1/28/2020
/ Absenteeism ,
Arbitration ,
Attendance ,
Canada ,
Collective Agreements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Filing Grievances ,
Food Service Workers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Ontario ,
Part-Time Employees ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Teamsters ,
Termination ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
In Manastersky v. Royal Bank of Canada, 2019 ONCA 609, the Ontario Court of Appeal (“OCA”) considered the important question of whether a terminated employee is entitled to be awarded damages in lieu of a lost opportunity to...more
As employment lawyers that represent management, we invariably counsel our clients that they must treat complaints of harassment in the workplace seriously, and take immediate steps to investigate them. A recent case,...more
5/28/2019
/ Canada ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Default Judgment ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hostile Environment ,
Internal Reporting ,
Ontario ,
Retaliation ,
Workplace Violence
In early 2017, in a case about strained relations between a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (the “RCMP”) member and several of his supervisors, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the “ONSC”) created a new “tort of...more
Bill C-74 Receives Royal Assent-
New Legislation Enacted-
Bill C-74, the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1, received Royal Assent on June 21, 2018. Initiatives of interest to employers include allowing part-time...more
10/19/2018
/ Appeals ,
Canada ,
Contract Terms ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employment Contract ,
Equal Access ,
Impairment Rating Evaluations (IREs) ,
Independent Contractors ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labour Code ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Ontario ,
Part-Time Employees ,
Pending Legislation ,
Public Access Laws ,
Termination Clauses ,
Wage and Hour
British Columbia Extends Family Leave Policies -
New Legislation Enacted -
On May 17, 2018, British Columbia amended legislation to give employees in the province pregnancy, parental, and compassionate care leaves. ...more
8/2/2018
/ Appeals ,
Canada ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Rights ,
International Labor Laws ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Ontario ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Pay Transparency ,
Wage and Hour
The interview process is a time-consuming, planned procedure in which the parties seek to learn as much as possible about each other before determining whether it is a match. In addition to probing the candidate’s...more
3/12/2018
/ Ban the Box ,
Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
Ontario ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Wage and Hour