Supreme Court of Canada Rules that Anti-Drug Policy is Not Discriminatory The Supreme Court of Canada, in Stewart v Elk Valley Coal Corp., 2017 SCC 30, recently upheld an Alberta Human Rights Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) decision which found that an employee who tested positive for drugs following a workplace accident was terminated because he breached […]
Supreme Court of Canada Rules that Anti-Drug Policy is Not Discriminatory
To Pay or Not to Pay: The Developing Law on Termination Provisions
As employers in Canada know, and unlike many states in the United States of America, Canadian employment is not “at will”. When an employer terminates the employee here, the employee is entitled to a certain amount of notice, either as working notice or as pay in lieu of notice. In the world of Canadian employment […]
Employers Beware – Theft Not Always Cause for Termination
In early 2017, a British Columbia Supreme Court judge awarded damages of $46,000.000 to a Burger King franchise employee with twenty-four years of service whose employment was terminated for cause for stealing an order of medium fries and a drink (Ram v. The Michael Lacombe Group Inc., 2017 BCSC 212). The employee Ms. Ram was […]
Freeze on Processing Labour Market Impact Assessment (“LMIA”) Applications for High-wage Positions in Alberta
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”), which reserves the right to refuse processing of LMIA applications on both regulatory and public policy grounds, has recently added a new policy-based LMIA processing refusal category to its list. Foreign workers seeking to fill high-wage, Alberta-based positions included on a list recently published by IRCC will no longer […]
Have I resigned in law? The answer is not so clear
The issue of when an employee is deemed to have resigned is not always as clear as it seems. A recent case from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice – Johal v Simmons da Silva LLP – is a helpful reminder of the principle that notices of resignation must be clear and unequivocal. The case […]
Looking into the Future; Termination Provisions Violating the ESA in the future are unenforceable
The Ontario Court of Appeal in Covenoho v. Pendylum Ltd. has confirmed that a termination provision in an employment contract that could breach Ontario’s Employment Standards Act (“ESA”) in the future – even if compliant at the time of the employee’s termination from employment – is void and unenforceable. The Court also confirmed that fixed-term employees who […]
Sexual Harassment Leads to Multiple Heads of Damages
Employers can be held liable for significant damages relating to sexual harassment. A recent case from the Ontario Court of Appeal – Doyle v Zochem Inc (2017 ONCA 130) – is an important reminder of the potential liability relating to this issue in the employment relationship. In this case the employee was sexually harassed on several […]
Budget 2017: Decoding Proposed Changes to Leave Entitlements and EI Benefits
The Federal Government’s newly released Budget 2017: Building a Strong Middle Class proposes changes to leave entitlements and Employment Insurance (“EI”) benefits that are relevant to employers and employees alike. While the new Budget will not alter existing leave provisions under provincial employment and labour legislation, it is likely that provinces will bring their legislation […]
Ontario Court of Appeal – The latest on the enforceability of termination clauses
The compensation which employees are entitled to upon the termination of their employment is a regular and major source of conflict. Generally, employers in Ontario are required to provide employees with “reasonable” notice of the termination of their employment. Employers can choose to forego the notice (meaning the employer does not have to continue to […]
Tightening of workplace safety legislation in British Columbia
Occupational health and safety laws in British Columbia are about to become more onerous for employers. Specifically, the following requirements on employers will become enforceable law on April 3, 2017: Workplaces with between 10 to 19 workers will need to appoint a worker health and safety representative Workplaces with over 20 workers will need have […]