Recent decisions and developing issues across Canadian employment law.
The traditional view of the common law has been that the employer has no obligation to provide to the employee the reason for termination. The questions to be considered are: Does the duty of good faith imposed by Wallace and
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently upheld a jury award of $1.5 million in punitive damages against Sun Life in a claim for unfair treatment of an applicant seeking disability benefits. At trial before a jury, the plaintiff was awarded
The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal considered an application made by the employer for the refund of all settlement funds paid to the prior applicant due to the violation of the minutes of settlement. The relevant clause of the minutes set
The first review of the proposed new tort of harassment was the Ontario Court of Appeal decision in 2019. Notwithstanding the Court of Appeal decision in Merrifield, there have been inroads shown. The tort of internet harassment was recognized in
Inference from the Evidence A recent decision of the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal has once again considered the question of “reasonable inference” from the evidence before it to determine whether the employer had acted adversely to the complainant in
The Federal Court of Canada recently, as in December of 2023, reviewed a decision of Adjudicator Kaufmann in an unjust dismissal complaint which awarded substantial indemnity costs. On the facts before the adjudicator there was no evidence of the usual
A recent decision of the Alberta Court of Justice has considered the question of whether (1) the employer’s covid mandatory vaccination policy was reasonable and further (2) whether the company’s decision to place a recalcitrant employee on an unpaid leave
A recent decision of the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal offers a clear analysis of the duty of the employer to maintain a workplace free of discrimination. In this instance, the actions of the employer were immediate and effective and avoided
As of December 15, 2023, all federally regulated employers must provide, free of charge, menstrual products to their employees. This will include clean and hygienic menstrual pads and tampons to be placed in any room containing a toilet or urinal.
New Ontario Rules The Ontario Government has announced its intention to introduce legislation which will prohibit the need for Canadian employment history in job postings. The purpose of such law is to allow foreign workers to begin work in their
