If you’re working in Ontario—whether in an office, on a job site, or through a gig app—big changes are coming that could affect your rights on the job. New employment rules are rolling out in 2025 and 2026, aimed at closing gaps that have left many workers in the dark or under-protected. From extended sick leave to more honest job ads, here’s what’s new—and how it stacks up against what we had before. 1. More Time to Heal: Sick Leave Extended to 27 Weeks Before: Most workers were only entitled to 3 unpaid sick days under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act…

At De Bousquet PC, we’re in the business of standing up for what’s right. And recently, we did just that in a big way. Meet Cinderella Tenthorey—a hardworking, experienced executive assistant who turned to us when she faced a toxic and discriminatory workplace. What happened next was a victory not just for her, but for anyone who has ever been treated unfairly at work. The Problem: A Workplace Poisoned by Discrimination Imagine this: you start a new job and, within weeks, it becomes clear that the workplace isn’t what it seemed. That’s exactly what happened to Ms. Tenthorey when she…

Is doing a media interview about poor working conditions a health and safety issue? Is your position being eliminated due to restructuring while you are on leave a violation of the law? Most people would confidently say no. They would also be completely wrong. You are on your last month of maternity leave, and your employer contacted you to let you know that due to restructuring, unfortunately, your position has been eliminated. Congratulations, you have suffered a reprisal contrary to the Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, c. 41 (the “ESA”). and should contact a lawyer immediately. You are working…

Harassment or discrimination can feel isolating and overwhelming. It’s not just about tolerating unfair treatment; it’s also about confronting the fear of retaliation and uncertainty about your rights. But let’s be clear: discrimination should have no place in your workplace. Yet, too often than not, we spend most of our lives in spaces that can undermine our rights—be it work, school, or housing. Confronting such issues is daunting, and deciding where to seek justice is critical. Unfortunately, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO), despite being designed to address discrimination, is increasingly viewed as a failing institution due to its…

Imagine facing discrimination—at work, in housing, or in accessing services—and deciding to stand up for your rights. You file a claim with Ontario’s Human Rights Tribunal (HRTO), expecting justice. But instead of finding a fair and accessible system, you’re thrown into a bureaucratic nightmare where most claims are dismissed before anyone even hears your story. This isn’t just a story of red tape. It’s a story of justice denied. For regular people like you and me, navigating the HRTO is no longer about fairness—it’s about survival in a system that feels designed to push you out. The Numbers Don’t Lie:…

If you have been terminated, often, the first thing you need to decide is whether to accept the termination package presented by your former employer. Some employees are not even aware that they are making this decision by signing their termination letter. Employers will take advantage of this by insisting an employee needs to sign to get anything or claiming that this is the maximum owed under the employment contract.[1] As with everything to do with your employment, the best thing you can do to protect yourself is speak to an employment lawyer before doing anything. The case of Wilds…

Introduction The Working for Workers Act Four, 2024, has been pitched as bringing significant changes to Ontario’s employment laws, aiming to curb employer abuses and bolster protections for workers. Schedule 2 allegedly introduces crucial updates to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) that target what the government has identified as loopholes used by employers to circumvent its protections, such as trial period work, deceptive job posting and interview practices, and wage theft via ‘tipping policies.’ These changes have been touted as helping all employees in Ontario, with the specific goal of protecting those in precarious or service industry jobs, where…

You’ve just been fired and handed an offer that is an insult. The employer then rubs the salt into the wound by refusing to pay your minimum entitlements at law. You can sue them for common law notice, but that is for the loss of your employment. What about the harm done to you? Many employees feel they will never see their employer held to account and accept the meagre settlement amount. This is a mistake. The Courts look extremely poorly on bad faith conduct by the employer before, during, and after termination, including during a lawsuit. Employers tend to…

As an increasing number of Canadian employees are ordered back to the office from a remote or hybrid model, it is essential for them to know their rights and protections. In recent months, many Canadian employers in both the public and private sectors have implemented return-to-office mandates, requiring workers who transitioned to remote or hybrid work during the COVID-19 pandemic to work in person again. Can the Employer Force Me to Return to the Office? The answer is, it depends, and it would be best to discuss your situation with a lawyer. In example, a company can’t require a 65-year-old worker from…

So, you’ve been terminated from your job. You might be focusing on challenging your employer for more money, and rightly so. They caused this by firing you! Your job search is probably the last thing you would think about. However, after you have been terminated, one of the first things a lawyer will tell you is that you are under an obligation to mitigate the losses from the termination. What does mitigating your losses mean? In short, you cannot get money from your former employer if you made the problem worse. For example, if your apartment catches fire, you are…

Simple answer: Yes. “My work used to be fine, but then I got a new manager…” is a situation that we as employment lawyers encounter so often that it is practically a trope. An employee may have worked for years or even decades in the same role without issue, only to have the company assign a new manager who quickly destroys the existing relationship. It may be because the manager is seeking to ‘prove themselves’ by having some metric increase, is attempting to assert petty dominance, or simply because the new manager should not be managing people at all. Whatever…