The Ontario Superior Court of Justice’s recent decision in Wigdor v Facebook Canada Ltd, 2025 ONSC 4051 provides helpful clarity for employers on two key issues: the enforceability of restricted stock unit (RSU) forfeiture...more
In Taylor v. Salytics Inc., 2025 ONSC 3461, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice considered whether a temporary layoff provision in an employment contract constituted a termination provision, and was therefore subject to the...more
In Taylor v Salytics Inc., 2025 ONSC 3461 (Taylor), the Ontario Superior Court of Justice emphasized the importance of a substance-over-form analysis in the interpretation of employment agreements, concluding that a temporary...more
In a rare but significant “win” for employers, the Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed that an employer can enforce a termination provision limiting an employee’s entitlements strictly to the minimum standards under the...more
Baker v Van Dolder’s Home Team Inc. (Baker) is the latest decision in Ontario to conclude that a termination provision permitting an employer to terminate, without cause, “at any time” is contrary to the Employment Standards...more
Overview - Employers increasingly face challenges regarding whether termination provisions in their employment agreements will be determined to be enforceable if challenged in court. As we continue to see increasing court...more
In Timmins v. Artisan Cells, 2025 CanLII 2387, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice found, in an undefended claim, that the employers “by their correspondence and actions” repudiated the employee’s employment agreement when...more
On January 28, 2025, Ontario Premier Doug Ford requested that Lieutenant Governor Edith Dumont dissolve Ontario’s Legislative Assembly, triggering an election for Ontarians to elect Members of Provincial Parliament. That...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
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
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
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
The Court of Appeal for Ontario found that settlement documents signed after an employee separated from employment prevented him from suing for the value of vested stock options....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 Croke v. VuPoint System Ltd., 2024 ONCA 354, the Court of Appeal for Ontario (OCA) upheld the Superior Court of Justice – Ontario (SCJ)’s summary judgment decision that an employee’s refusal to comply with their employer’s...more
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently held that an employee’s failure to meet COVID-19 vaccination requirements imposed by a third party amounted to frustration of the employment contract. As a result, there was no obligation...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
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
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
The Court of Appeal for Ontario recently released a decision that affirmed the key legal principles and considerations courts will rely on when determining the enforceability of a historically written contract that no longer...more
In Croke v. VuPoint Systems Ltd., 2023 ONSC 1234, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice decided that an employee’s refusal to comply with mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements resulted in the frustration of the parties’...more
In the recent Steele v. The Corporation of the City of Barrie, 2022 ONSC 7245 decision (“Steele”), the Ontario Superior Court of Justice provided some insight into when longer term fixed-term contracts can be enforceable....more
In Bowen v. JC Clark Ltd., 2022 ONCA 614, the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) put employers on notice that their discretion in awarding discretionary bonuses is not unconstrained and must be exercised fairly and reasonably. ...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 M & P Drug Mart Inc. v. Norton, 2022 ONCA 398, the Court of Appeal for Ontario (OCA) dismissed an employer’s appeal of an application judge’s decision that a non-competition clause in an employment agreement governed by...more