Ontario Arbitrators Assess Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policies: Initial Decisions
Many workplaces have introduced mandatory vaccination policies in order to minimize the risk of COVID-19 in the workplace. Such policies often have significant consequences for those employees who prefer to remain unvaccinated or to withhold their vaccination status, including unpaid leaves of absences or terminations on a for cause basis. However, the enforceability of such […]
Bill 27: Significant Changes to the ESA Proposed
Bill 27: Significant Changes to the ESA Proposed On October 25, 2021, the Government of Ontario introduced Bill 27, the Working for Workers Act, 2021, which introduces a number of significant amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”), if passed into law. The proposed amendments would apply to most employees in Ontario who are […]
Employer Faces Harsh Consequences for Falsely Alleging Cause
Employer Faces Harsh Consequences for Falsely Alleging Cause Courts have increasingly demonstrated a willingness to penalize employers for asserting just cause without basis. In Humphrey v. Mene, 2021 ONSC 2539, the Ontario Superior Court went a step further, and found that even though an employer had abandoned its just cause allegations, it could no longer […]
Just Cause Provision Upheld by Ontario Superior Court
Just Cause Provision Upheld by Ontario Superior Court Post Wakdsale Following the Court of Appeal’s decision in Waksdale released in June 2020 (which we have previously written about), many termination clauses became vulnerable to findings that they were unenforceable based on ambiguously phrased just cause clauses, in turn allowing many dismissed employees to pursue common […]
Employees Can Claim Constructive Dismissal for Workplace Harassment and Bullying
Employees Can Claim Constructive Dismissal for Workplace Harassment and Bullying As many of our readers know, The Workplace Safety Insurance Act, 1997 (“WSIA” or “the Act”) provides employers with insurance against certain workplace injuries. Employees injured in a workplace governed by the WSIA receive benefits under the Act. In lieu, the injured employer is generally statute barred from commencing a claim against the employer […]
Manitoba Court of Appeal Confirms No Common Law Duty to Investigate
Manitoba Court of Appeal Confirms No Common Law Duty to Investigate In McCallum v Saputo (2021 MBCA 62), the Manitoba Court of Appeal confirmed that an employer does not have an obligation to investigate wrongdoing prior to terminating an employee, even if the termination is for cause. Terminating an employee for cause has been […]
Citizenship Does Not Include Permanent Residency Under Human Rights Code
Citizenship Does Not Include Permanent Residency Under Human Rights Code In Imperial Oil Limited and Haseeb, 2021 ONSC 3868, the Ontario Divisional Court has clarified that citizenship, a protected ground under the Ontario Human Rights Code, does not encompass permanent residency. In doing so, it overturned a controversial 2018 decision by the Human Rights Tribunal […]
Considerations for Returning to the Workplace
Considerations for Returning to the Workplace As Ontario eases several restrictions and as more employees continue to receive full vaccinations, employers are increasingly turning their mind to recalling their staff back to work in the office. While each workplace will have its own unique considerations, a flexible plan which guides such a return can ease […]
Severance Pay Must Consider Global Payroll
Severance Pay Must Consider Global Payroll Under section 64 of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), employees in Ontario with more than five years of service are entitled to severance pay in addition to termination pay if their employer has a payroll of at least $2.5 million at the time of termination. How that payroll […]
Court Rules COVID-19 Layoffs Not Grounds for Constructive Dismissal
Court Rules COVID-19 Layoffs Not Grounds for Constructive Dismissal Since the introduction of the Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (IDEL) on May 29, 2020, there has been significant uncertainty surrounding its interaction with the common law. Unilateral impositions of layoffs are traditionally grounds for claims for constructive dismissal, entitling the laid off employee to pay-in-lieu of […]