How do OECD remote-working guidelines impact Canadian employers?
By: Julius Melnitzer | April 2, 2026 The Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development has introduced new guidelines for determining whether a remote employee’s home office amounts to a permanent establishment that attracts tax for a foreign employer. The guidelines formulate a two-part test for use in determining whether a permanent establishment exists. The tests consist […]
B.C. court rules employer not entitled to dictate terms of share repurchases under stock option plan
By Julius Melnitzer | March 3, 2026 The British Columbia Supreme Court has ruled employers don’t necessarily have an unfettered right to dictate the terms of a repurchase of shares held by former employees under a stock option plan. “The message is that even when discretion is granted under the terms of a plan, that […]
Top 10 business decisions of 2025, part two
Bedrin-Alexander: ISTOCKPHOTO.COM By Julius Melnitzer | February 4, 2026 Here is part two of my annual list of the top 10 business decisions in Canada for the year just ended. This two-part series began with the cases ranked sixth through tenth. Part two herein covers the top five cases, in ascending order. 5. Heritage Property Corporation v. […]
Tribunal rules employer’s conduct creating emotional discomfort isn’t discrimination
By: Julius Melnitzer | January 28, 2026 The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has ruled an employers’ conduct that creates mere emotional discomfort for employees during the accommodation process may not amount to discrimination. “What emerges from the Cillis v. Hamilton decision is an objective standard requiring employers to act reasonably, not perfectly,” says Jeff Goodman, a commercial […]
Be it resolved: Finders keepers
By Marcel Strigberger | January 14, 2026 Ever hear of a place in Russia called Khanty-Mansiysk? Didn’t think so. Vladimir Rychagov was a factory worker there, until he hit the jackpot, or rather helped himself to it. Through a software glitch, his employer deposited the salaries of 34 of its employees into his bank account, being over […]
What are the legal considerations for Canadian employers requiring cross-border travel in the Trump era?
By: Julius Melnitzer | November 25, 2025 With travel to the U.S. becoming anxious, if not risky, for many Canadians, employers are facing the prospect of employees refusing to travel south of the border. But can employers require employees to do so, and do employees have a basis on which to refuse? “My advice to employers […]
What Nova Scotia employers need to know about province’s updated workplace harassment legislation
By Julius Melnitzer | October 19, 2025 Nova Scotia’s government is formally recognizing workplace harassment as a health and safety issue with the introduction of new regulations to its Occupational Health and Safety Act. “All employers in Nova Scotia have an obligation to ensure workers’ health and safety — and that obligation now specifically includes a duty […]
Ontario arbitrator confirms validity of LTD exception to mandatory retirement rule
By Julius Melnitzer | September 24.2025 An Ontario arbitrator has confirmed the validity of the long-term disability exception to the mandatory retirement rule. When Ontario eliminated mandatory retirement in 2006, the legislation provided an exception for insured employment benefit plans to maintain a cutoff based on age. “This was intended to avoid destabilizing existing insurance plans […]
Employee’s termination following mental-health leave not discriminatory: tribunal
By Julius Melnitzer | September 8, 2025 The Human Rights Tribunal of Alberta has ruled that termination of employment on the day an employee returns from a year-long mental-health leave doesn’t, in and of itself, support a discrimination complaint. “In this case, the employer had valid grounds for termination before the medical leave started, and […]
Supreme Court could determine how employee termination impacts profit-sharing agreements
By: Julius Melnitzer | July 31, 2025 In a recent case, the Supreme Court of Canada is being asked to consider a question that has long divided courts and vexed employers: are agreements that forfeit employees’ unvested equity-based compensation on termination enforceable, even if the vesting is scheduled to occur during the reasonable notice period? “The […]