The Labor Law Insider: Joint Employer Standards Changes, Part II
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
In its recent decision, Thompson v Revolution Resource Recovery Inc.2025 BCSC 8 (“Thompson”), the Supreme Court of British Columbia (the “Court”) made a $25,000 punitive damages award against an employer for attempting to...more
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
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
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
In Dufault v. The Corporation of the Township of Ignace ("Dufault"), the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, on a summary judgment motion, found the termination without cause provision of a fixed-term employment contract...more
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
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
In Rahman v Cannon Design Architecture Inc., the Ontario Superior Court of Justice upheld termination provisions that appeared to be in violation of the minimum standards prescribed by the Employment Standards Act, 2000...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
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
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
In a recent appeal to the Divisional Court of Ontario’s Superior Court in Shete, Lada, and Chung v. Bombardier Inc., 2019 ONSC 4083, the court applied the most basic principle that serves as the foundation of common law...more
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
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
Highlighting the importance of using precise language in termination provisions of employment contracts, the Ontario Court of Appeal in Wood v Fred Deeley Imports Ltd., 2017 ONCA 158 [Wood] recently held that a termination...more