Thoughts from an Employment Lawyer

Bonus Eligibility Tied to Active Employment

2017-02-21T07:33:00-05:00

The Ontario Court of Appeal released a decision in Paquette v. TeraGo Networks Inc., 2016 ONCA 618 (CanLII) that should have employers pulling out and reviewing their incentive plans, including bonus, STIP, LTIP, stock options and whatever else is contingent upon “active employment”. The Ontario Court of Appeal reviewed a...

Enforceability of Employment Contracts a Comprehensive Case

2017-02-17T07:20:00-05:00

Please take some time to make your way through Cook v. Hatch Ltd., 2017 ONSC 47. It’s a well reasoned and thoughtful decision that injects some common sense into the enforceability of contractual termination clause discussion. The employment relationship is contractual and the task of the court is to determine...

Sale of a Business and Intermingling under the Labour Relations Act, 1995

2017-02-16T08:21:00-05:00

The Ontario Labour Relations Board (“OLRB”) considered the sale of a business provisions in the Labour Relations Act, 1995 in ADT Security Services Canada, Inc. v Unifor Local 554, 2017 CanLII 4481 (ON LRB). ADT (a unionized company) purchased a Protectron (a non-unionized company) and, although initially operating as distinct...

Punitive Damages in Wrongful Dismissal Cases

2017-02-14T07:41:00-05:00

A recent case from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice highlights that terminating employees requires careful planning, particularly where just cause is alleged. The case is Morison v Ergo-Industrial Seating Systems Inc., 2016 ONSC 6725 (CanLII). The plaintiff was the company's regional manager, responsible for Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec,...

Roy Heenan O.C. Passes Away - A Brief Reflection

2017-02-13T09:04:18-05:00

When I recently heard the news of the passing of Roy Heenan I took a walk down memory lane (Roy Heenan remembered as ‘brilliant jurist’ and ‘big personality’). Mr. Heenan was of course a leader in Canadian labour and employment law, a founding partner with Peter Blaikie of Heenan Blaikie...

Who Bears the Cost of an Adjournment of an Arbitration Hearing?

2017-02-13T07:32:00-05:00

The recent drama at the The Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 113 has generated an interesting arbitration award in Toronto Transit Commission v Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 113 2017 CanLII 5852 (ON LA). By way of background, the Globe and Mail reported (Ousted TTC union head predicts 'labour strife') that: Local...

Post-Discharge Evidence and Alcoholism

2017-02-10T07:45:00-05:00

Here’s a tough decision in the sense that the employer was in a “no win” situation and did the best it could. The case is Safeway Operations (Provincial) v United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Union, Local 401, 2016 CanLII 97607 (AB GAA). An employee goes AWOL for a period...

When is a Resignation a Resignation Take 2 and Mitigation

2017-02-01T07:47:00-05:00

I've recently written about this here. The Supreme Court of British Columbia considered the circumstances under which a resignation will be effective in Bishop v. Rexel Canada Electrical Inc., 2016 BCSC 2351 (CanLII). Mr. Bishop was 61 years old and had worked for Rexel for 27 years, most recently as...

Reinstatement with Backpay of an Employee in Jail and No Contact

2017-01-30T07:33:00-05:00

Another day, another case where I find myself scratching my head. Here, a New Brunswick arbitrator Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 1252 v Horizon Health Network (Zone 3), 2016 CanLII 96055 (NB LA) considered whether an employee who was sentenced to jail and who did not report for work...

Ontario Human Rights Commission Releases its Strategic Plan

2017-01-27T06:30:00-05:00

The Ontario Human Rights Commission has recently released their Strategic Plan, 2017-2022 entitled Putting People and their Rights at the Centre: Building Human Rights Accountability. The Strategic Plan notes the changing role of the Commission: It is almost a decade since Ontario shifted to a direct-access system for human rights...

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