Labour & Employment Law

All aspects of the employer-employee relationship (other than pensions and employee benefits) including questions relating to terminations, wrongful dismissal, employment standards, arbitration, collective bargaining, and human rights issues such as discrimination and the duty to accommodate

How U.S. compensation clawback legislation could impact Canadian employers

By Julius Melnitzer | July 20, 2023 New U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission listing requirements that impact compensation clawbacks could create conflicts with domestic employment laws for Canadian companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges. The rules are expected to take effect on Oct. 2, 2023, with compliance mandated by Dec. 1, 2023. They require all […]

In-house views of remote work diverge significantly

By Julius Melnitzer | July 18, 2023 The “working from home” controversy, it appears, is no less intense among legal departments than it is elsewhere. The degree of the divide is evident from the breadth of the opinion spectrum: at one extreme are traditionalists on this issue like Fernando Garcia, who has over 15 years […]

Ontario court overturns $249K judgment against employer that denied worker LTD benefits

By Julius Melnitzer | May 31, 2023 The Ontario Court of Appeal has overturned a $248,931 judgment against an employer that denied long-term disability benefits to an employee, citing the trial judge’s misinterpretation of eligibility requirements. “The employee’s position was that he was on temporary medical leave, but he had been working until the day […]

The case for employee ownership trusts

By Julius Melnitzer | March 29, 2023 Tuesday’s federal budget finally provided Canadian businesses with the promise of a vehicle — the employee ownership trust (EOT) — that incentivizes business owners to sell their businesses to their employees. The budget contemplates that rules governing the EOTs will come into effect on January 1, 2024. “EOTs […]

Employers can’t rely on original termination clauses when employee responsibilities increase: court

By: Julius Melnitzer | March 27, 2023 The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that employers can’t rely on termination clauses when employees’ duties have escalated significantly after they signed their original employment contracts, including situations where the employee didn’t receive a promotion. In its ruling, the court relied on the changed substratum doctrine, which states […]

BARE BONES BRIEFS: LSO panel splits on whether Black Lives Matter criticism is professional misconduct | Firm sues ‘underbilling’ associates | Remote lawyering: longer hours: CLIO survey | LSO suspends paralegal who cost clients $500,000 | CTA: compensation for passenger applies to all others on same flight

By Julius Melnitzer | March 8, 2023 IS AGGRESSIVE CRITICISM OF BLACK LIVES MATTER PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT? A Law Society Tribunal has split on whether social media posts criticizing Black Lives Matter, Pride Day and public health mask mandates amounted to professional misconduct. Lisa Simone, who was applying for a paralegal license, admitted the posts were […]

Virtual investigations in the workplace

By Julius Melnitzer | March 7, 2023  As it turns out, it’s not just employees who are working at home these days; so are the people investigating their workplace activities. “Since the pandemic, the vast majority of workplace investigations have been conducted virtually,” said Vanessa Lapointe, who conducts them regularly in the course of her […]

Termination of LTD benefits for Air Canada workers eligible to receive unreduced pension benefits doesn’t amount to age discrimination: court

By Julius Melnitzer | March 6, 2023 The Federal Court has ruled that the termination of long-term disability benefits for employees who become eligible to receive unreduced pension benefits doesn’t amount to age discrimination. The case arose from the terms of a collective bargaining agreement between Air Canada and the Air Canada Pilots Association. The […]

Top 10 business decisions of 2022, Part I – – – and the law firm players

By Julius Melnitzer | January 18, 2023 What follows is the first part of our third annual list of the Top 10 business decisions in Canada for the just-ended year. This is a two-part series, which begins below with numbers 6-10, in ascending order. Read Part I here. 10. Nova Chemicals Corp. v. Dow Chemical […]

Court awards 24 months’ notice to Air Canada employee terminated as part of COVID layoff

George Avraam says the high-end award is consistent with COVID-related wrongful dismissal jurisprudence. By Julius Melnitzer | December 29, 2022 In a judgment that amounts to a handbook for employers and employers involved in COVID-based terminations, the Ontario Superior Court has awarded 24 months’ notice to an Air Canada employee with 23.5 years’ service laid […]

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