The majority of employees in this province are subject to employment laws such as the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”), the Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”), and the…
Constructive Dismissal Requires Employees to be Reasonable
By David Master
Constructive Dismissal is one of the most difficult concepts in employment law. As opposed to receiving a termination letter or being told “you’re fired”, determining whether a constructive dismissal occurred…
Termination Clause Saga Continues
Employers seeking to avoid common law obligations often use termination clauses, but in many cases, they are not worth the paper they are printed on. In recent years, our courts…
Refusing to Relocate: Just Cause for Dismissal?
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…
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…
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…
Reinstatement – The OHSA Reprisal Exception
By Cody Yorke
When people lose their jobs, one of the first questions they ask is “can I get my job back?” Generally, the answer is no. There are some exceptions, however. One…
When It Rains It Pours: 2 Major Employment Law Decisions in One Day
Two major decisions were released today by both the Supreme Court of Canada addressing the issue of mandatory retirement, as well as the Ontario Court of Appeal addressing the issue…