An employer cannot make unilateral and substantial changes to fundamental aspects of an employee’s contract or terms of employment without providing consideration or, in some cases, proper notice. Such changes…
You Don’t Need to Have a Good Reason to Dismiss an Employee… Well, Usually Not
Generally speaking, the law in Canada is that employers can let an employee go at any time, for any reason, or no reason at all, as long as they provide…
Bill 132 & AODA
Bill 132 (Sexual Violence And Harassment Action Plan Act): New Employer Obligations Regarding Policies and Investigation of Harassment Bill 132, which we have been discussing for some time now, comes…
Termination Clauses: Anything But Certain
Have you presented a contract of employment, or even signed one yourself, that contained a termination clause to the effect of In case your employment is terminated, we will provide…
Ending Discriminatory Dress Codes
My favourite part about the intersection between Employment and Human Rights Law is its dynamism. It is constantly evolving to respond to new challenges – or perhaps more accurately, respond…
Understanding Adverse Effect Discrimination
By Cody Yorke
Indirect discrimination, also called adverse effect discrimination, is less obvious than direct discrimination but is equally a breach of human rights legislation. In George v. Accertaclaim, a recent decision from…
Twenty-six months of severance for a Dependent Contractor???
By Cody Yorke
Since the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in McKee v. Reid Heritage Homes in 2009, the category of workers deemed “dependent contractors”, as opposed to either employees or independent contractors,…
Reinstatement: Now the default for OHSA Reprisal
By Cody Yorke
In November, I posted about the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) exception to the general rule that reinstatement is not a remedy available to non-unionized employees. Around the same…
The Do’s and Don’ts of a Workplace Romance
Let’s face it: it was adorable when Doctors Meredith Grey and Derek Sheppard went from being colleagues to being a really good looking couple on Grey’s Anatomy, or when Jim…
The Changing Face of Workplace Safety
Work is one of the most fundamental aspects of an individual’s life – and why wouldn’t it be? As one of my favourite employment law quotes from the Supreme Court…