Employment Litigation Law

A recent court decision at the Ontario Superior Court, Dufault v The Corporation of the Township of Ignace, 2024 ONSC 1029 (Dufault), may change the way that employers draft termination clauses in their employment agreements. The Facts of the Case Dufault was a motion for summary judgment for wrongful dismissal and damages for the duration...Read More

A recent civil litigation case[1] out of the Superior Court of Ontario has provided a salient example of the type of conduct that warrants dismissal for cause. It also provides insight into the steps the prudent employer must take to justify, in employment litigation, its decision to dismiss an employee for cause. Background The plaintiff...Read More

Introduction The Working for Workers Act[1] is legislation by the Ontario government that amends various Ontario legislation in an attempt to providegreater protections and benefits to employees, particularly those in low-wage employment. On November 14, 2023, the Ontario government introduced Bill 149, Working for Workers Four Act, 2023.[2] This Bill, if passed, would drastically expand...Read More

Employment law has been criticized in Ontario for producing inconsistent case law in situations of termination without cause where the employee has worked for one year or less. In such situations, despite the brief employment period, terminated employees have found themselves getting a notice period that at times approaches or, on rare occasions, even surpasses...Read More

As we approach the end of 2023, we wish to bring to your attention five laws that will be or continue to be effective in 2024. Notice of Termination The Federal Government announced that effective on February 1, 2024, sections of the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2 come into force.  Included are changes to...Read More

The duty to mitigate requires parties who suffer harm to take reasonable steps to limit the extent of their damages caused by defendants. A recent Court of Appeal case clarified that independent contractors are required to mitigate their damages when facing breaches in fixed-term contracts. Previously, leading case law on this topic focused on the...Read More

Last October, 2022, we published an article on quiet quitting and the options employers have in light of it. In this article we will discuss the next level of employees expressing dissatisfaction with work: loud quitting. Loud quitting is a term for acting in a way that directly harms the organization and its goals, defying...Read More

In contract, cases often seem to come down to basic, fundamental principles. Where those principles are not all carefully considered, an employment lawyer who thinks they just drafted the perfect contract for their client might wind up having given them a contract that is entirely unenforceable, which means that it has no legal effect. Giving...Read More

When an employee’s employment contract is terminated without notice or without cause for the termination (that is, no wrong doing on the part of the employee) they are entitled to compensation in lieu of notice. Generally, an employee who is dismissed without reasonable notice of their termination is entitled to damages from their employer for...Read More

It is an established principle in employment law that an employer is allowed to terminate or fire an employee without cause, which means without a reason, but that they must give their employee “reasonable notice” or “pay in lieu of reasonable notice.” This means that they must give their employee notice in advance that the...Read More

“Quiet Quitting” is a term that recently went viral on social media. It describes the trend that many employers may be experiencing in which employees do not go above and beyond at their job and just meet the requirements in their job description. There are many factors that could be the cause of the quiet...Read More

Last year the Ontario government proposed Bill 27: Working for Workers Act, 2021 (the “Act”). The bill introduced a number of changes to the Employment Standards Act, including the right for employees to disconnect after work hours and the prohibition of non-compete clauses in employment contracts. On December 2, 2021, the Act became law in...Read More

On February 24, 2022, the Government of Ontario issued a press release, announcing that it would propose legislation that would require large employers to tell their workers if, how and why they are being monitored, electronically. Initially, there was speculation that these proposed changes would be included in new privacy legislation, or as amendments to...Read More

As the Ontario government implements vaccination mandates, particularly in the health sector, employers continue to question the legality of requiring their employees who remain hesitant to get the vaccine and whether and how to terminate employees who refuse. In December, Tanya Walker was interviewed to speak about the validity of mandatory vaccination policies and their...Read More

Although more than 80% of eligible Canadian citizens are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, there is still a significant portion of the population who remain hesitant to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Many individuals who are opposed or hesitant to become vaccinated have raised concerns about the legality of both policies enacted by businesses requiring employees...Read More

One thing that all business owners should do is ensure that they have well-drafted employment contracts that clearly set out the terms of employment that exist between them and each of their employees. As employment litigation lawyers, we recommend that our clients who are employers include provisions in their employment contracts that explain what their...Read More

As many of you are aware, on April 28, 2021, the Government of Ontario responded to calls from members of the public and public health experts by introducing temporary paid sick leave to Ontarians in an attempt to curb the transmission of COVID-19. The Minister of Labour and Minister of Finance introduced the Bill called Bill...Read More

There are a number of reasons why an employer may have to terminate one of their employees, especially during the ongoing uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The employee-employer relationship is based on an agreement between the two parties. It is important for employers to understand that this relationship is, in essence, a subset of...Read More

All employees have an implied duty of good faith not to disclose confidential information or trade secrets; this duty is owed regardless of whether there is a non-disclosure clause in the employment contract. The law does not usually prohibit employees from using the skills and knowledge that they acquire from a past job to a...Read More

The Government of Canada has released several income-support benefits over the past year to assist Canadians most impacted by the pandemic. Last March, the Government of Canada introduced the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit, most commonly known as “CERB,” which provided qualifying individuals with a $2,000 benefit every four weeks, up to a maximum of sixteen...Read More

In the recent case, Attzs v Saputo Dairy Products Canada, 2020 ONSC 5512, the Court shed further light on the standard that an employer must meet in order to justify a termination for cause, which means a justifiable reason for terminating the employee. The consequences to an employer for terminating an employee for a justified...Read More

In the recent case, Kaminsky v Janston Financial Group, 2020 ONSC 5320, the plaintiff sued her former employer for wrongful dismissal after working for the defendant company for close to 18 years. Examinations were held out of court in order for each party to discover the other’s position on the lawsuit issues through questions. After...Read More

employers need to keep in mind employee’s rights under the Employment Standards Act (“ESA”) and the Human Rights Code (the “Code”) as both contain phrases that discipline employers who wrongfully terminate employees and/or discriminate against them based on a prohibited ground.Read More

In March 2020, the government established the Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (“IDEL”) in response to the pandemic. IDEL grants employees the right to take unpaid, job-protected leave if they are not performing their jobs due to a prescribed set of reasons related to COVID-19.Read More

Last Thursday, Tanya Walker and Jordan Koenig of Walker Law presented a webinar to provide updates on how the pandemic has impacted employment law. Just hours after the webinar, the Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, and the Minister of Employment, Carla Qualtrough, made an important announcement regarding changes to Employment Insurance (“EI”) and the introduction...Read More

In July 2020, the Ontario Court of Appeal released two decisions that commercial landlords should be aware of as they impact notice requirements for breach of a lease and the consequences of a landlord for improperly terminating a lease.Read More

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a great deal of uncertainty and concern regarding the matter of safety in the workplace. In mid-March, Ontario declared a State of Emergency and all non-essential businesses within the province were ordered to close on March 24, 2020.Read More

On Friday, May 29, 2020, Ontario’s government issued Regulation, O.Reg 228/20, under the Employment Standards Act (“ESA”). Its most significant effects have to do with the options that are available to employers with regard to terminating or laying off its employees due to COVID-19-related reductions in business and the rights of employees to sue for...Read More

Since the beginning of 2020, the world has been concerned about the Novel Coronavirus. Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that can cause influenza-like symptoms in humans. An interesting characteristic of Coronaviruses is that they are “zoonotic”, meaning they can be transferred between humans and animals. In December of 2019, a number of cases of...Read More

Legally speaking, workers are generally classified into different categories. These classifications have very significant implications on a number of rights that workers are entitled to.Read More

The federal government recently implemented a number of changes to the Canada Labour Code which largely favours federal employees in certain industries such as banks, fisheries, telecommunications, and interprovincial transportation companies.Read More

If you are undergoing home renovations with a contractor or you are a contractor, you should note that effective October 1, 2019, several provisions under the construction law which is called the Construction Act (the “Act”) will come into force and will fundamentally change how contractors request payment from property owners.Read More

In February 2019, the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion published a report addressing the important role senior management and leaders play in promoting diversity and inclusion.Read More

The new year brings with it exciting changes and new laws. Here are two changes to the law that you should be aware of as you ring in 2019.Read More

  On June 7, 2018, the Ontario Progressive Conservatives were elected. Since that day, the provincial government has been moving swiftly to pass and amend laws.Read More

On October 17, 2018, the Federal Cannabis Act, 2018, and the Ontario Cannabis Act, 2018 became law in Ontario (“the Acts”). The Acts legalize the consumption of recreational cannabis in Canada.Read More

  As an employer, it is critical that you are aware of your obligations to your employees to avoid potential human rights or wrongful termination lawsuits by current or former employees on the basis of discrimination.Read More

Managing employees is a common challenge for many business owners. Even a single employee can have a significant impact on your business’ success, particularly if you are running a small enterprise.Read More

While many employers emphasize a free and expressive workplace to get the best out of their employees, for many, the display of piercings, tattoos and non-business casual attire may be a step too far, particularly when employees are the “front line” between the company and its customers. The question is: when can an employer rightfully...Read More

Ever signed a contract and now you want to back out? You may need to consider that a Court may hold you responsible for failing to complete the contract.Read More

Privacy in the workplace can be a difficult issue to navigate. In particular, employers may request certain pieces of information for certain kinds of employee leaves. However, the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “Act”) allows for certain protections for employees.Read More

As a commercial litigation lawyer, most of the cases I deal with are based on breach of contract. The key issues for the judge to determine are: a) was there a contract; b) how should the contract be understood (what was each party required to do); c) was the contract breached or violated; and d)...Read More