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

A Single Incident of Sexual Harassment can be Cause for Termination Render v. Thyssenkrupp Elevator (Canada) Limited, 2022 ONCA 310 Ontario’s Court of Appeal recently confirmed that a long tenured employee can be terminated for cause following a single incident of sexual harassment. The decision also provides insight into the different standards required to establish...Continue Reading

In recent months, the provincial government introduced several legislative changes with Bill 88, Working for Workers Act, 2022, which creates new rules that govern the workplace, including increased transparency about employers’ electronic monitoring of its employees. Once in effect, Bill 88 will require large employers with 25 or more employees to tell their workers if,...Continue Reading

In the Fall of 2021, Bill 27 Ontario Working for Workers Act prohibited the use of non-compete provisions as of October 25, 2021, except in narrow circumstances involving executives or in a sale of business context. However, the Act does not address the effect the prohibition would have on existing non-compete provisions (i.e., those signed...Continue Reading

Now that the Working for Workers Act, 2021 (described in our December 3, 2021 blog post here) has received Royal Assent, the clock is ticking for employers to prepare and implement a policy on Disconnecting from Work.  In this article, we describe the essential elements of a Disconnecting from Work policy.  We also discuss the...Continue Reading

This is Part 2 of our two-part discussion of notable employment law decisions of 2021. 3. The Post-Waksdale Cases Last year, the Ontario Court of Appeal released the landmark decision of Waksdale v. Swegon North America, 2020 ONCA 391 (“Waksdale”), which held that a “just cause” termination provision in an employment contract that violated the...Continue Reading

As 2021 draws to a close, we reflect on the employment law decisions that were released over the past year. Below is a high-level overview of the key aspects of five notable case law developments in 2021 that all employers and employees should know about. 1. The IDEL Cases In May 2021, the Ontario government...Continue Reading

On November 30, 2021, the Ontario legislature passed the Working for Workers Act, 2021 (the “Act”) which, once Royal Assent is received, will amend the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”) and create new statutory rights for provincially-regulated employees in Ontario. In this blog post, we address the following two changes in detail: (i) the...Continue Reading

Since the COVID-19 vaccine became widely available and employers and employees began contemplating returning to a semblance of normalcy (including returning to the physical workplace), the most common inquiries we received surrounded vaccination policies. Throughout the summer, we have fielded numerous questions about the requirement to have a vaccination policy, whether employers can make mandatory...Continue Reading

As Labour Day approaches, unofficially signalling an end to the summer and, perhaps (subject to the Delta variant) a post-COVID-19 world, employers and employees are also considering how their future working arrangements will look. Many employers planning for a return to the office environment after eighteen months of remote work are seeking clarity on their...Continue Reading

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees have been working from remote locations in an effort to socially distance and stay safe. For some, this means working from home, and for others, this might mean working from the family cottage or other destinations across the country. In this article of our Post-Covid Workplace...Continue Reading

THE POST-COVID WORKPLACE: WHAT EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES NEED TO KNOW As case counts dwindle and vaccination rates skyrocket, we can finally look forward to hugging our friends and relatives, indoor dinner parties, haircuts, resuming gym routines and, for some of us, getting back to our workplaces. Over the next month, we will be answering some...Continue Reading

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented layoffs across the country. In certain circumstances, layoffs have been considered constructive dismissals under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA” or “the Act”) and the common law. However, in May 2020, the Ontario government introduced Ontario Regulation 228/20 Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (“IDEL Regulation”), which clarified that a...Continue Reading

On April 29, 2021, the Ontario Government passed Bill 284, COVID-19 Putting Workers First Act, 2021 amending the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”) to require employers who do not already have a paid leave program to provide employees with up to three (3) days of paid leave for reasons related to COVID-19. Paid Leave...Continue Reading

How Is the COVID-19 Pandemic Affecting a Court’s Assessment of Severance? At law, terminated employees are entitled to notice or compensation in lieu of notice, commonly referred to as “severance”.  Unless the employee has signed an enforceable contract dictating the amount of notice or severance the employee will receive upon termination, employees are entitled to...Continue Reading

Modern, digital practices are becoming a part of the Ontario Court system that are being hailed as time and cost efficient, environmentally responsible, and encourage access to justice. These practices were originally enacted in response to the Covid-19 pandemic as pilot projects to allow the machinery of the judiciary to function. Because of their effectiveness...Continue Reading

On April 11, 2020, the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (“CEWS”) received Royal Assent and came into force.  Here are the highlights.  Feel free to reach out to any of the lawyers at Turnpenney Milne to review its impact on your organization. What Is CEWS The CEWS is a 75% wage subsidy to eligible employers for...Continue Reading

Employment Insurance (EI) Records of Employment (ROE) and the new Emergency Benefit (CERB) This is the sixth part of the six-part series relating to employer obligations and employee rights during the COVID-19 pandemic. It discusses Employment Insurance (“EI”) Records of Employment (“ROE”) and the new CERB benefit. If you have questions about an issue relating...Continue Reading

March 25, 2020 1:30 pm Bill C-13 has now how passed in the Senate and is expected to receive royal assent this afternoon. The federal government has announced that it will merge two previously announced employment insurance benefits for Canadians who are out of or off work because of Covid-19. The new benefit will merge...Continue Reading

During the COVID-19 pandemic many employers are having to make changes to their workplaces, including their levels and type of staffing. This can mean that some employees are being asked to work from home, work less hours, or not work at all. Employees may view these changes as a constructive dismissal. What is a constructive...Continue Reading

Courtney Laidlaw wrote an article published in Canadian Employment Law Today outlining the regulations coming into force under the federal Bill C-65 relating to harassment and violence in the workplace. Feds aim to stamp out workplace violence and harassment.pdf  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 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 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

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