Krista Siedlak will be presenting at the Weed in the Workplace: The HR Professional’s Guide To Managing Risks Under the New Cannabis Regime program taking place April 4, 2019 at Osgoode Hall, York University. 2019 OPD Weed in the WorkplaceContinue Reading

Catherine Milne and Krista Siedlak will be presenting at the Osgoode Certificate in Human Resources Law for HR Professionals; five one-day modules taking place from March 26 – April 30, 2019 at Osgoode Hall, York University. OPD Certificate in HR Law 2019Continue Reading

Ozlem Yucel recently wrote an article for HR Professional entitled Bad Boss or Bully? How to Know the Difference.Continue Reading

Krista Siedlak and Lindsay Gluck are presenting two topics at the Annual Human Resources Professionals Association Conference on February 1, 2019: Boss or Bull? How to Know the Difference and What to Do about It, and #AfterMeToo: What Does This Mean for your CompanyContinue Reading

On November 20, 2018, Ozlem Yucel spoke at the Human Resource Professionals Association on the topic of “The Employment Standards Act and Bill 47”.Continue Reading

On October 29, 2018, days after releasing the Pay Equity Consultations What We Heard Report, the Federal Government proposed pay equity legislation for federally regulated workplaces. Bill C-86, the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2 (“Bill C-86”) will enact the Pay Equity Act, if passed (the “PEA” or the “Act”), which will apply to all...Continue Reading

On October 18, 2018, Krista Siedlak spoke at the 2018 HR Law Conference on the topic of “Workplace Investigations 101: How to Protect Your Workplace in the World of Complaints”.Continue Reading

In July 2018, Krista Siedlak was interviewed for an article in Maclean’s Magazine titled “Why a federal #MeToo law won’t be enforced any time soon.” Click here to view her comments.Continue Reading

The Ontario Court of Appeal recently released a decision on how damages ought to be assessed with respect to an employee’s bonus and benefits over the reasonable notice period. The Decision In Singer v. Nordstrong Equipment Limited, 2018 ONCA 364, an employee commenced a wrongful dismissal action against his former employer seeking his lost salary,...Continue Reading

Catherine Milne was interviewed about the process of investigations for an article on the CBC News website entitled “How investigators try to determine truth of harassment claims”. Click here to read her comments.Continue Reading

By Catherine Milne Ontario’s Human Rights Tribunal awarded $200,000 on account of an Applicant’s injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect on account of repeated sexual assault and harassment at the hands of her manager, who was also her landlord.  This award represents a high-water mark from the Tribunal for awards of sexual harassment.   In...Continue Reading

On April 8, 2018, Ozlem Yucel spoke at the Job Search and Employment Law workshop organized by the Turkish Community Heritage Centre of Canada. The workshop took place at Toronto Northern District Library at 40 Orchard View Blvd. and also featured Deniz Küçükceylan, CHRP and Seyfi Atasoy as speakers.Continue Reading

By Deborah Hudson A friendly reminder that all businesses and non-profits with 20 or more employees (as well as designated public sector organizations) are required to file an accessibility compliance report no later than December 31, 2017. The compliance report confirms that you have met your current accessibility requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with...Continue Reading

By Ozlem Yucel Holiday parties can be a great way to boost employee morale – but, if not handled properly, they can also be a source of liability for employers. Below is an overview of the law surrounding employer liability in such scenarios and a checklist of measures that can be put in place to...Continue Reading

By Krista Siedlak The recently announced changes by the federal government will allow new parents planning to take parental leave on or after December 3, 2017 (outside of Quebec) to extend and spread their benefits over an 18-month period. This currently applies to federal employees, with expected changes coming at the provincial level (http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/parental-leave-announcement-1.4394512). Options...Continue Reading

Krista Siedlak will be presenting a lunchtime webinar entitled “Managing and Accommodating Mental Health Issues in the Workplace,” for the Canadian HR Reporter on November 29, 2017. Click here for more information or to sign up.Continue Reading

By Ozlem Yucel This question is often a source of disagreement between employers and employees. Consequently, many employers have attempted to preempt this issue by drafting bonus plans that specifically restrict payment upon termination. The enforceability of these plans has been the topic of several Court of Appeal cases recently. Interestingly, the Court has come...Continue Reading

by Ozlem Yucel Employees who have been wrongfully dismissed have a duty to mitigate their losses.  This duty requires an employee to make reasonable efforts to look for another job after their termination.  If the employee fails to do so, a court could reduce the compensation they may have otherwise received from their former employer....Continue Reading

By Deborah Hudson The Ontario Court of Appeal recently confirmed that employers can terminate employees during the contractually prescribed probationary period without the provision of common law notice. Mr. Nagribianko, the Plaintiff, commenced an action in Small Claims Court after he was terminated during the six month probationary period as set out in his employment...Continue Reading

By Lindsay Gluck Important amendments relating to chronic stress are made to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA) in Bill 127, which comes into force January 1, 2018 for workplace incidents occurring on or after that date. As of January 1, 2018, s. 13 of the WSIA is amended as follows: 4. Subject to...Continue Reading

By Lindsay Gluck Termination provisions can be a useful tool to limit an employee’s presumptive right to common law severance provided that the termination provision maintains the employee’s rights under the Employment Standards Act (ESA).  If a termination provision has the effect of reducing the employee’s termination entitlements to less than the minimum ESA standards...Continue Reading

Ozlem Yucel has been elected to be Secretary of the Executive of the Ontario Bar Association’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Section.  Congratulations, Ozlem!Continue Reading

Ozlem Yucel has been elected to be a Member-at-Large on the Executive of the Ontario Bar Association’s Labour and Employment Section.  Congratulations Ozlem!Continue Reading

For the third year in a row, Catherine Milne co-chaired the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Annual Six-Minute Employment Lawyer.  This was the 20th anniversary of this very successful program and included 18 lawyers from across the province presenting to over 400 participants.  In addition to co-chairing the program, Catherine presented the paper on Just...Continue Reading

By Krista Siedlak The use of independent contractors has historically been a very attractive option for companies, and in turn, workers, with an estimated 1.8 million Canadians currently operating as independent contractors. For the individual, it generally means more flexibility, the ability to write off business expenses, and more control over work (and life!). For...Continue Reading

The Ontario Superior Court recently released a decision sending a clear message of disapproval to employers alleging just cause without any reasonable basis to do so. In Morrison v. Ergo-Industrial Seating Systems Inc., 2016 ONSC 6725, an employer was ordered to pay $50,000 in punitive damages for advancing a groundless allegation of cause, withholding payment...Continue Reading

Ozlem Yucel published an article for the Ontario Bar Association. The article, entitled “Exploring Mediation Prior to Litigation in Wrongful Dismissal Cases,” discusses the benefits of exploring mediation prior to litigation, and was published online on March 27, 2017.Continue Reading