The Impact of Pregnancy on Notice Periods
The Impact of Pregnancy on Notice Periods: Nahum v. Honeycomb Hospitality Inc The Ontario Superior Court’s recent decision in Nahum v. Honeycomb Hospitality Inc. demonstrates the impact that pregnancy can have on assessing reasonable notice owed to employees terminated on a without cause basis. While the often cited Bardal factors (i.e., an employee’s length of […]
The Court Clarifies that Exceptional Notice Awards will ONLY be Awarded in Cases with Exceptional Circumstances
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently provided some much-needed clarity into whether the Courts will impose a “cap” on the wrongful dismissal notice awards. In our view, the opposing views shared by the Trial Court and Court of Appeal throughout this recent case is a perfect example of why employers need to be especially careful […]
Ontario Court of Appeal: Exceptional Notice Awards will ONLY be Awarded in Cases with Exceptional Circumstances (Dawe Update)
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently provided some much-needed clarity into whether the Courts will impose a “cap” on the wrongful dismissal notice awards. As we wrote about in our April 2019 article, Exceptional Notice Awards Will Be Awarded In Cases With Exceptional Circumstances, in Dawe v The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada, the […]
The Court Provides Further Clarity on the Employee’s Duty to Mitigate Damages When Offered Re-Employment
In Gent v Strone, the Court found that the Defendant employer had constructively dismissed the Plaintiff employee upon the commencement of a temporary lay off – due to the absence of an enforceable Employment Agreement permitting them to do so. However, the Court indicated that the employee had, in turn, acted unreasonably and consequently, failed […]
Ontario Superior Court Indicates that Notice Awards are on the Rise
For years, the conventional belief was that 24 months was the upper limit for common law notice awards in Ontario. However, in a recent case, Dawe v Equitable Life Insurance Company, the Plaintiff, Mr. Dawe, was not only awarded with a massive 30-month notice period, but the Justice speaking for the court in this case […]
Ontario Superior Court Awards Over $600,000 for Wrongful Dismissal & Extraordinary Damages
In a recent decision, Ruston v. Keddco MFG, the Ontario Superior Court provided the Plaintiff, Mr. Ruston, with a massive award due to the Defendant Company, Keddco’s egregious mistreatment of their former employee. Mr. Ruston was the President of Keddco and was terminated due to fraud allegations. However, Keddco failed to provide Mr. Ruston with […]
Ontario Superior Court: Exceptional Notice Awards Will Be Awarded in Cases with Exceptional Circumstances
It is time to say goodbye to the 24-month upper limit on common law notice periods. The writing has been on the wall since 2015, as we have seen notice awards slowly creeping up from this high-water mark, with the courts providing notice awards of 26 and 27 months in a number of recent cases.[1][2][3] […]
Top 10 Employment Law Cases and Developments of 2018
1. Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act (“Bill 148”) Came into Effect 2018 started off with a bang as the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act (“Bill 148”) came into effect on January 1, 2018. Bill 148 resulted in the most significant amendments to Ontario’s employment legislation, the Employment Standards Act (the “ESA”), that the province had seen […]
Did the Employee Quit? When a Resignation is actually a Termination.
Consider you have a disgruntled employee working for you and you suspect he wants to quit. However, you are also prepared to terminate him. One day, the employee verbally mentions to you that they might just get up and leave, so you tell them to go ahead. Three weeks later, a lawyer’s letter lands on […]
Wood v. Deeley 2017 Court of Appeal Decision: A Must Read for Employers!
In the recent case Wood v. Fred Deeley Imports Ltd., 2017 ONCA 158 (CanLII) , the Ontario Court of Appeal determined that any breach of Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) in a termination clause of an employment contract, will render it unenforceable. The employer, Fred Deeley Imports Ltd. (“Deeley”) hired Ms. Julia Wood (“Wood”) in […]