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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bill 149: Working for Workers Four Act On November 15, 2023, the Ontario Government tabled Bill 149, which if passed, would make changes to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) to provide further protections to employees. The following are some of the key proposed changes for employers to note. Job Posting Requirements If passed, Bill...Continue Reading

Attention all Federal Employers! Changes to Canada Labour Code Are In Effect There are important amendments that have been made to the Canada Labour Code (“Code”) that all federally regulated employers need to take note of.  As of July 9, 2023, federally regulated employers must now: Provide written statements to employees; Reimburse reasonable work-related expenses;...Continue Reading

The fix is in? Court rules unenforceable termination clause does not invalidate term in fixed term contract In the 2023 decision of Kopyl v. Losani Homes (1998), a former employee of Losani Homes (“LH”) brought an application to the Ontario Superior Court requesting an interpretation of a one-year fixed term employment agreement between themselves and...Continue Reading

Human Rights and Vicarious Liability for Harassment While in many cases, an employer can be vicariously liable for the actions of its employees, a number of nuances come into play when it comes to human rights matters. Incognito v. Skyservice Business Aviation (2022 ONSC 1795) provides a helpful overview of these considerations, at least relating...Continue Reading

New Tort of Harassment Created in Alberta The Court of King’s Bench of Alberta has established the tort of harassment in the decision Alberta Health Services v Johnston. The judge found that the defendant’s public targeting of one of the plaintiffs (a public health inspector), triggered by his reaction to her enforcement of COVID-19 public...Continue Reading

The Sound of Silence: Pham v. Qualified Metal Fabricators Ltd. The recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision, Pham v. Qualified Metal Fabricators Ltd., 2023 ONCA 255, serves as a cautionary tale for employers who attempt to equate employee silence to condonation, and highlights the difficulties in relying on implied terms in the context of temporary...Continue Reading

The recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision, Celestini v. Shoplogix, 2023 ONCA 131 provides a salient commentary on the doctrine of changed substratum and serves as an important reminder for both employers and employees about the enforceability of employment agreements as an employee’s role evolves. The case also imparts helpful guidance on an employee’s bonus...Continue Reading

The recent case of Teljeur v. Aurora Hotel Group, 2023 ONSC 1324 (“Teljeur”) is an important one for employers and employees to take note of.  It highlights a growing tendency by courts to award elongated notice periods to short-tenured employees, as well as significant moral damages for an employer’s bad faith conduct. Facts By way...Continue Reading

Wan v. Intek Communications Inc., 2022 CanLII 97950 The Facts The Complainant, Mr. Wan, started working for Intek Communications Inc., (“Intek”) as a Cable Technician in May 2007. In 2013 he suffered a workplace injury to his ankle. Unfortunately, in April 2014, the Complainant was involved in another workplace accident and later underwent a Functional...Continue Reading

Authors: William Hockin and Cereise Ross Effective January 1, 2023, the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) no longer applies to individuals who are business consultants or information technology consultants when: they provide services through (i) a corporation of which they are a director or shareholder party to a unanimous shareholder agreement; or (ii) a sole...Continue Reading

Author:  Lindy Herrington In a recent Court of Appeal decision the Court provides guidance on what is considered reasonable steps at mitigation. Lake v. La Presse, 2022 ONCA 742 Facts Ms. Lake worked at La Presse as a General Manager for 5.5 years when she was terminated without cause. She was 52 years old and...Continue Reading

Author: Nofil Nadeem Facts The Plaintiffs were Portfolio Managers of a hedge fund (the “Fund”) under the supervision of Martin Braun, a senior investment professional. The Fund was acquired by the Defendant, JC Clark Ltd. (“JC”). As part of the acquisition, the Plaintiffs were hired by JC as Portfolio Managers. The Portfolio Managers were subject...Continue Reading

Author: Shannon Sproule Wrongful dismissal takeaways from Gracias v. Dr. David Walt Dentistry, 2022 ONSC 2967: How to factor the pandemic’s impact into the assessment of mitigation and damages and insight into the significance of a reference letter. Facts The Plaintiff worked for the Defendant, Walt Dentistry on an occasional basis in 2017, and transitioned...Continue Reading

The Facts In Public Health Sudbury & Districts v Ontario Nurses’ Association, Arbitrator Herman upheld an employee’s entitlement to a creed-based exemption under the employer’s mandatory vaccination policy. Sudbury & District Health Unit, operating as Public Health Sudbury & Districts (“PHSD” or the “Employer”) is a public health agency located in Sudbury, Ontario. In response...Continue Reading

McGraw v. Southgate, 2021 ONSC 7000 The question that this case raises and answers is how can rumours, hearsay, gossip and innuendo be utilized in a workplace investigation. The Facts Melanie McGraw (“McGraw”) was a volunteer Fire Captain firefighter with the Dundalk Fire Department (“DND”), a part-time administrative assistant with the DFD as well as...Continue Reading