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Employment Contract Hiring & Firing Employment Standards Act

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Five Employer Wins and Counting: Is the Tide Turning?

In a shift from the prevailing trend of employee-friendly case law regarding the interpretation of employment and compensation agreements, Canadian courts have recently issued a series of rulings in favour of employers. ...more

Littler

Ontario, Canada Court of Appeal Agrees “For Cause” Termination Provision Was Unenforceable Because it Did not Comply with ESA’s...

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Applying prior precedent, the Court of Appeal for Ontario (OCA) in Dufault v. Ignace (Township), 2024 ONCA 915, upheld the Ontario Superior Court of Justice’s (OSCJ) finding that the “for cause” termination provision in an...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Ontario Court Reaffirms Importance of Clear and Compliant Language in Employment Agreements

In December 2024, the Court of Appeal for Ontario released its highly anticipated decision in Dufault v. Ignace (Township). The three-judge panel determined that the “for cause” termination clause contained in the employee’s...more

Bennett Jones LLP

New Regulations Regarding the Hiring Process: Key Dates and Information for Ontario Employers

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Ontario has recently published regulations offering employers further details on the new amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) related to the hiring process....more

Littler

Ontario, Canada Court Finds Termination Provisions Unenforceable and Awards Employee Punitive Damages

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Wilds v. 1959612 Ontario Inc., 2024 ONSC 3452, involves a wrongful dismissal action in which the employee brought a motion for summary judgment. The court found the termination provisions in her employment agreement were...more

Littler

Ontario, Canada Court Upholds Provision Limiting Employee’s Termination Rights to Minimums Under Employment Standards Legislation

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In Bertsch v. Datastealth Inc., 2024 ONSC 5593, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed an employee’s claim for common law reasonable notice of termination on a Rule 21 motion....more

Littler

Ontario, Canada Court Reinforces Waksdale’s Impact on Enforceability of Termination Provisions and Provides Guidance on Proving...

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In De Castro v. Arista Homes Limited, 2024 ONSC 1035, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice (Court) held the termination provision in an employment contract was unenforceable because it defined “cause” more broadly than does...more

Stikeman Elliott LLP

Tailwinds of “Common Sense” Buoy Employers: British Columbia Court of Appeal Upholds Simple Termination Clause

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In the decision of Egan v. Harbour Air Seaplanes LLP, 2024 BCCA 222 (“Egan”), the British Columbia Court of Appeal upheld a termination clause in an employment agreement, rejecting various arguments to undermine the clause’s...more

Littler

Ontario, Canada Court Finds Termination Clauses in Fixed-Term Employment Agreement Unenforceable

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In Dufault v. The Corporation of the Township of Ignace, 2024 ONSC 1029, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice held that the termination provisions of a fixed-term employment contract were illegal and unenforceable because...more

Bennett Jones LLP

Changes to Ontario's Employment-Related Legislation Have Arrived

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As you may have heard or read in our earlier blog, More Changes to Ontario's Employment-Related Legislation Are on the Horizon, the Ontario government introduced Bill 79, Working for Workers Act, 2023 in late March 2023. On...more

Bennett Jones LLP

Employment Standards Act to Require Licensing of Temporary Help Agencies: The New Regime at a Glance

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As of January 1, 2024, the Employment Standards Act will require temporary help agencies to be licensed by the Ministry of Labour in order to operate. The Ontario government previously amended the Employment Standards Act in...more

Stikeman Elliott LLP

Fixed in Stone - Fixed Term Remains Secure Despite Invalid Termination Clause

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The Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently released its decision in Kopyl v Losani Homes (not yet cited) (the “Decision”), providing insight into the enforceability of fixed terms in employment agreements in circumstances...more

Littler

Ontario, Canada Court Decides Employment Contract’s Unenforceable Confidentiality and Conflict-of-Interest Clauses Invalidated All...

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Two years ago in Waksdale v. Swegon North America Inc., 2020 ONCA 391,  the Ontario Court of Appeal established the proper method for determining whether a termination clause in an employment agreement is enforceable. ...more

Littler

Ontario, Canada: Court Reminds Employers Termination Provisions that Could Possibly Violate ESA in the Future are Unenforceable

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In Rutledge v. Canaan Construction Inc., 2020 ONSC 4246, Ontario’s Superior Court held, rather surprisingly, that a termination provision in an employment contract that has even a remote possibility of violating the...more

Littler

Ontario, Canada: Superior Court Determines Enforceability of Termination Clause

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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

Miller Canfield

Significant Decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal Impacts Enforceability of Termination Clauses

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As the old adage goes, "less is more." This might now be true for termination clauses in employment contracts after a recent decision from Ontario's top court. In Waksdale v Swegon North America Inc., 2020 ONCA 391...more

Epstein Becker & Green

Ontario Court of Appeal Limits Severability of Termination Clauses in Employment Contracts

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On June 16, 2020, the Court of Appeal for Ontario handed down a decision that will have a profound impact on the enforceability of termination provisions in Ontario employment agreements. In Waksdale v. Swegon North America,...more

Dickinson Wright

Ontario Court of Appeal Sends Employers Back to the Drafting Table … AGAIN!

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On June 17, 2020, the Court of Appeal for Ontario released its decision in Waksdale v. Swegon North America Inc., (“Waksdale”) 2020 ONCA 391, delivering a seismic victory for employees, upending decades of practice in...more

Littler

Ontario, Canada: Calculation of Reasonable Notice Period When a Contractor Becomes an Employee

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Cormier v. 1772887 Ontario Limited (St. Joseph Communications) (“St. Joseph”), 2019 ONCA 965, is an appeal from a summary judgment motion arising from the wrongful dismissal claim of a contractor who worked for St. Joseph for...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Termination Clauses in Ontario - Precise Language Can Help Limit Employers’ Liability

In Canada, if an employer wishes to terminate an employee without cause, it must provide notice or pay in lieu thereof. In other words, unlike in the United States, Canada does not have employment at-will....more

Littler

Ontario, Canada: Limiting Bonus Entitlements When Employment Ends

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The Ontario Court of Appeal recently upheld a lower court’s dismissal of an employee’s claim for payment of a bonus after resignation because the employer’s non-discretionary bonus policy included an “active employment”...more

Littler

Ontario Court of Appeal Confirms Law on Contract Provisions Which Will Breach the Employment Standards Act in the Future

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Ontario’s highest court has confirmed that employment contract provisions that will breach the Employment Standards Act (‘ESA’) in the future are void and unenforceable. The Court has also confirmed that fixed-term employees...more

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