Two recent Superior Court of Justice decisions provide welcome clarity on the responsibilities employers have for those they lay off during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bottom-line, when an employer lays off an employee – even for what might be regarded as the understandable reason that COVID-19 makes continued employment difficult – the layoff is a termination […]
Pandemic-inspired layoffs are terminations, judges affirm Read More »
A recent Queen’s Bench of Alberta judgment shows that economic conditions have to be considered when deciding on damages after a wrongful dismissal, especially during a pandemic. The case involved Olga Kosteckyj, the senior integrity engineer for Paramount Resources Ltd.. She had been hired in 2013. On April 1, 2020, Paramount instituted a company-wide cost-reduction
The pandemic is now reflected in severances, notice periods Read More »
A recent Superior Court of Justice decision clearly illustrates that an employee’s pregnancy at the time of her termination is a real factor when it comes to deciding on the length of a notice period upon termination. In Nahum v. Honeycomb Hospitality Inc., the plaintiff was about five months pregnant when she was dismissed without
Reasonable to believe that pregnancy a barrier to finding work Read More »
Employees terminated from their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic should expect an extended notice period. That could be the result following a recent Superior Court of Justice decision in Yee v Hudson’s Bay Company, where the judge ruled that the scarcity of employment opportunities brought on by the lockdown merited a longer notice period. When
Longer notice periods should be the norm for pandemic terminations Read More »
Despite judicial slowdowns brought on by the COVID-19 epidemic, there were some major decisions delivered by courts in the area of employment law in 2020. Here’s a look back at some well-known cases, plus one that is a bit off the beaten path that deserves a lot more attention. Upholding reasonable notice A June decision
Six 2020 employment law cases that will resonate this year Read More »
Companies that sign a fixed-term contract covering a long period of time could be liable for significant damages if the employment relationship does not work out. A recent Ontario Court of Appeal ruling bears that out, with an employer ordered to pay damages totalling more than $1.2 million. The respondent in McGuinty v. 1845035 Ontario
A $1.2-million lesson about the dangers of fixed-term contracts Read More »
The impact of a ground-breaking Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) decision concerning an employee’s right to damages after termination was recently shown when that court remanded two appeals to provincial courts for reconsideration. In Matthews v. Ocean Nutrition Canada Ltd., the nation’s highest court clearly articulated that language in employment contracts limiting severance payments cannot
Seminal SCC decision on damages after termination already being felt Read More »
A recent Supreme Court decision provides important clarity on how language in employment contracts limiting severance payments cannot easily be used by employers to limit their liability to employees when they terminate their employment. The main message is that an employee’s right to damages cannot be easily displaced. A quick review of the facts. The
SCC ruling: Terminated workers deserve proper payments Read More »
A June decision in Waksdale v. Swegon North America Inc. by the Ontario Court of Appeal on the enforceability of termination clauses sent a seismic ripple across the employment law world, effectively rendering many of these clauses in employment contracts null and void. A month later, I was happy to represent a client in Sewell
More clarity on unfair termination clauses is welcome Read More »
A recent Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision shows that employers, if they want to enforce harmful termination or forfeiture provisions in equity-based incentive plans documents, have to properly notify the employee that they are entering into such a contract. To read more, click here.
Burying termination provisions in employment documents can backfire Read More »
