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
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
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
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
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
When Catherine and Rachel founded Turnpenney Milne LLP 13 years ago, they sought to make the legal profession more inclusive for women and build a workplace where all team members thrive. Today, we are proud to say that we now have 15 female professionals at the firm, many of whom are reflected in our leadership....Continue Reading
Esi Codjoe will be speaking Wednesday, May 25, 2022 as part of a panel on “Recent Notable Human Rights Decisions and Developments,” at the Annual Update on Human Rights Law by the Ontario Bar Association. The Annual Update on Human Rights Law returns again this year to get you up-to-speed on substantive and procedural trends...Continue Reading
Esi Codjoe speaks about her biggest career barrier and urges employers to aim for clearer equity policies in this article posted in Canadian Lawyer Magazine. “The practical reality is that legal considerations of a policy are always going to be defined by compliance with human rights legislation.” To read the full article please follow the...Continue Reading
Coming Soon: Updated federal anti-harassment legislation and regulations come into force January 1, 2021 Bill C-65, is an Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (“CLC”) and strengthen the existing framework for the prevention of harassment and violence, including sexual harassment and sexual violence, in the workplace. Both Bill C-65 and the corresponding regulations come...Continue Reading
Catherine’s article on workplace harassment was published in the May/June 2013 HR Professional magazine. To read about some recent decisions in which courts and tribunals have considered what is (and is not) harassing workplace behaviour, click here: http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/HRPH/HRPH0413/index.php#/14Continue Reading
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has ordered an employer to reinstate a 16-year employee who was terminated over 9 years ago from her role as Supervisor. In it’s decision on liability, the HRTO found that the employer had discriminated against the employee because of disability by failing to accomodate her disability related needs when...Continue Reading
The Federal Court of Appeal recently confirmed a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal decision of 2010 regarding an employer’s obligation to accommodate based on family status in Attorney General of Canada v. Fiona Ann Johnstone and Canadian Human Rights Commission, 2013 FC 113. Fiona Johnstone, a Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) Officer and mother of two,...Continue Reading
In most settlements arising out of a claim for wrongful dismissal or an application at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“HRTO”), there will typically be an expectation that both sides will keep a settlement confidential. This expectation should be clearly outlined in language that is included in settlement documentation (i.e. Minutes of Settlement). There...Continue Reading
In 2008, the government introduced sweeping changes to the manner in which human rights issues are handled in Ontario. Four years later, it called for an independent review of the system to gauge how effective those changes have been. Andrew Pinto’s much anticipated report on the Ontario human rights system was released today – November...Continue Reading
A decision of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (the “HRTO”) has clarified the law on discrimination on the basis of family status and added to the sparse jurisprudence addressing elder-care responsibilities in the human rights context. The decision, Devaney v. ZRV Holdings Ltd., 2012 HRTO 1590 (CanLII), involved an Applicant who worked as an architect...Continue Reading
A recent decision from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario serves as a warning to employers who use third party adjudicators to review their employee’s sick leave entitlements. Moneris Solutions Corporation was ordered to pay a former employee close to $50,000, including an award of $15,000 in damages for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect...Continue Reading
