Canadian HR Reporter features Shannon Sproule from our firm in regard to the article “Ontario worker deemed employee or dependent contractor, gets 18 months’ reasonable notice”, dated December 2, 2024.  This article is based on a ruling by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in which a worker with 12 years of service was deemed...Continue Reading

Join Turnpenney Milne lawyers on January 29th, 2025 at 12:00 pm ET for a discussion of emerging trends and challenges in workplace investigations. Click here to register.  Continue Reading

In a recent decision of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (the “HRTO” or the “Tribunal”), Buckel v. St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, the Vice-Chair awarded the Applicant $15,000.00 after she was terminated for time theft – even though the Vice-Chair was satisfied that she did indeed commit time theft. The Applicant was employed by St. Joseph’s...Continue Reading

When an investigation into workplace harassment reveals a broader pattern of hostile, negative or toxic behaviour that impacts the work environment, a decision maker may find that an employee’s harassing conduct has created a poisoned work environment, and the employer can be held liable for the employee’s conduct. This is because a poisoned work environment...Continue Reading

Esi Codjoe of our firm presented at Law Society of Ontario last Friday in regard to Bullying in the Workplace and Beyond.  This presentation spoke about how bullying can involve unwanted or unwelcome comments or behaviours, whether part of a continuing pattern or isolated incidents. For anyone experiencing this behaviour in the legal workplace—whether verbal...Continue Reading

Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (the “Act”) generally defines “workplace harassment” as “engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome, or workplace sexual harassment.” Of course, employees may subjectively perceive routine management, including performance management,...Continue Reading

Join Turnpenney Milne lawyers on November 27th at 12:00 p.m. ET for a discussion on accommodation considerations in the context of workplace investigations involving parties and/or witnesses who are neurodivergent or experiencing mental health issues. Please click here, to register.Continue Reading

Turnpenney Milne TMLLP is thrilled to be recognized on the Globe and Mail’s Canada’s Best Law Firms 2025 list! This prestigious award is presented by The Globe and Mail and Statista, the leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. Canada’s Best Law Firms were selected based on recommendations made by almost 25,000 lawyers and clients...Continue Reading

Lindy Herrington and Krista Siedlak of our firm will be speaking at the 2024 35th Annual Schedule 2 Employers’ Group Conference on Wednesday, October 9 and Thursday October 10, 2024. This highly anticipated two-day educational event will attract over 400 employer professionals from across Ontario who will gather to learn about and discuss important issues and...Continue Reading

Section 5(1) of the Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”) provides that “every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to employment without discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, record of offences, marital status, family status or disability.”...Continue Reading

In Ontario, employers have a statutory duty under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (the “OHSA”) to conduct an investigation into complaints and incidents of workplace harassment that is “appropriate in the circumstances”. If a complaint is related to any human rights ground(s) which are covered by the Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”), employers...Continue Reading

One of the most time consuming and costly areas of employment law concerns the obligations departing employees owe their employers, and how employers can protect themselves from a departing employee’s breach.  In Titus v Hack, the Ontario Superior Court clarified the various duties employees owe their former employers, and the consequences for breaching them.  The...Continue Reading

In Knight v. Surrey Place Centre (2019) HRTO 482 [“Knight”], the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) examined an employer’s human rights obligations and the complexities of delegating the duty to accommodate to third party insurers. The Tribunal’s ruling clarified that while employers can outsource disability management to third parties, this does not absolve them...Continue Reading

As the trend towards increased workplace investigations and retaining third party investigators continues, so does the need to consider issues of privilege and what is protected in the investigative process. The recent Alberta decision of Prosser v. Industrial Alliance Insurance, 2024 ABKB 87 shed light on this topic, examining how the purpose and use of...Continue Reading

Esi Codjoe of our firm is the Co-chair of the Annual Update on Human Rights – Administrative Law/Constitutional, Civil Liberties & Human Rights/Labour & Employment Law.  She will be speaking about Notable Human Rights Decisions and Developments at 9:35 am.  This conference will be taking place Wednesday, May 29, 2024 from 9:00 am to 4:30...Continue Reading

You Can’t Un-Ring the Bell: Employers duty to investigate workplace harassment in the absence of a complaint  An employee has told you that their coworker is being harassed. However, when you follow up with the employee who was allegedly harassed, they tell you that they do not want to file a complaint or participate in...Continue Reading

Online, Off Duty, Off the Hook? With the recent emergence of remote work and the explosion of social media applications such as TikTok, the line between an employee’s work life and personal life has blurred. The workplace is no longer the four corners of an office building, and an employee’s behaviour that occurs both online...Continue Reading

Procedural Fairness in Investigations: Marentette v Canada (AG) Workplace investigations, while necessary, can profoundly impact the work environment, work culture, and psychological well-being of those involved. When investigating workplace complaints, it is essential to follow a fair procedure. In legalese, this is referred to as “procedural fairness”. A recent Federal Court case, Marentette v Canada...Continue Reading

Krista Siedlak, Lindsay Gluck and Ozlem Yucel will be presenting at York University – Osgoode Hall Law School Hall Law School’s Human Resources Law for HR Professionals Certificate program on March 28, 2024 and April 4, 2024. This program is geared towards business owners, HR professionals, lawyers and management team members. It will cover topics...Continue Reading

A 5-Step Guide on How to Legally Terminate an Employee With employers across the country terminating employees en masse, it is important to understand how to approach terminations in a lawful way. This article sets out a five-step guide that any employer or human resource professional can follow when broaching the topic of termination. Identify...Continue Reading

Esi Codjoe will be speaking today at the Labour Relations Certificate Program, presented by Toronto Metropolitan University and Lancaster House, is designed to provide individuals engaged in labour relations with the core skills and knowledge required to create and maintain productive union-management relationships that foster fair and efficient workplaces. Taught by Canada’s leading labour relations...Continue Reading

Asha Rampersad of our firm will be one of the speakers on the Canadian Bar Association online on February 22, 2024 from 12:00pm to 1:30pm. Join this panel of seasoned practitioners, including worker and employer perspectives, as they unpack a recent decision from the Workplace Safety and Appeals Tribunal (“WSIAT”) (Decision No. 1741/21, 2023 CanLII...Continue Reading

Turnpenney Milne LLP is a boutique law firm comprising of 15 lawyers practicing in various aspects of employment law. We offer a supportive and unique work environment to all our team members. We are currently looking to hire two practicing lawyers (one junior and one junior to mid-level) to join our busy workplace investigations and...Continue Reading

We sponsor the Julius Alexander Isaac Moot. Since its inception, the unilingual moot has focused on an area of law in which issues of equity and diversity arise, often incorporating elements of critical race theory into the problem. The Black Law Student Association of Canada administers the Julius Alexander Isaac Moot in collaboration with law...Continue Reading

We are pleased to announce that Rachel Turnpenny of our firm has been recognized in the 2024 Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada. Rachel was included for her contributions in the area of Employment Law. Congratulations Rachel! For Rachel A. Turnpenney’s Bio click here. Learn more at: https://www.lexpert.ca/rankings  Continue Reading

Rachel Turnpenney of our firm will be speaking at Employment Law Masterclass 2024 on February 15, 2024.  Her session will be on “The Tort of Harassment: Mitigating Employers’ Civil Litigation Risk” at 1:25pm. The Employment Law Masterclass brings together labour and employment lawyers, and inhouse counsel for an update on all things employment law. This...Continue Reading

Attention Employers: AODA Compliance Reports Due December 31st All private and non-profit employers with 20 or more employees are required to file reports with the Ontario government, confirming their compliance with the requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (“AODA”). Those reports are due December 31, 2023. Below is an overview of...Continue Reading

Severance for Short Tenured Employee: The Case of Grimaldi v. CF+D Custom Fireplace Design Inc. The length of an employee’s service is a factor that goes into the assessment of how much notice of termination or pay in lieu of notice (ie. ‘severance’) an employee is entitled to under the common law. Generally, the longer...Continue Reading