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“Cowboy” employer ordered to pay aggravated damages for bad faith termination
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De Bousquet PC of De Bousquet PC

“Cowboy” employer ordered to pay aggravated damages for bad faith termination

By Employment Law

In a recent case titled Lalonde v. Sena Solid Waste Holdings Inc. 2017 ABQB 374, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench considered whether failing to hear an employee’s side of the story before dismissing him for cause could increase an employer’s liability. The Plaintiff was a Journeyman Millwright. While employed he was called into a meeting by his manager where he was accused of serious safety violations, insubordination, and lying. The Plaintiff was given little opportunity to present his side of the story to the employer. The Plaintiff had been accused of stealing company property and was escorted off company…

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A rollback on calculation of holiday pay for Ontario employees

By Employment Law

As Ontario employers and employees know, the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”) was recently amended by Bill 148 introducing a number of sweeping changes. Most of those changes have already come into effect, such as the increase of the minimum wage to $14 per hour effective January 1, 2018. Other changes are being introduced at a later date such as an employee having the right, without fear of reprisal, to request changes to their work schedule or location if they’ve been employed for 3 months. One change has already been reversed and this will affect employees’ take-home pay.

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How should HR deal with accommodation requests?

By Employment Law

In order for the duty to accommodate to be triggered, an employee must have a legitimate reason for making such an accommodation request. For instance, if a worker claims to have a disability, he/she must present medical evidence of this disability. Similarly, if the accommodation request is based on a religious requirement, the employee must truly be a practitioner of that faith – and the religious requirement must be real, not fabricated. The need must be compelling. So, what are the steps for approving the duty to accommodate in regards to religion?

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HRTO: Terminating Benefit Plans for Employees 65 and Over is Unconstitutional

By Employment Law

In a very recent decision, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal ("HRTO") ruled that it was unconstitutional for an employer to terminate the benefit plans of an employee who turned 65. Talos v Grand Erie District School Board involved an employee whose extended health, dental and life insurance benefits were terminated by his employer, Grand Erie District School Board, when he turned age 65, although he continued to work on a full-time basis. After the termination of his benefit plans, Mr. Talos brought an application alleging discrimination on the basis of age. The issue was whether the exception contained in s….

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What’s new with the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017?

By Employment Law

The year 2018 will see new protections for employees under the recently passed Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017. The act was passed by the Ontario legislature on November 22, 2017 to create more opportunity and job security for workers in Ontario in a changing global economy. On January 1, 2018 we saw the general minimum wage rise to $14 per hour, putting Ontario on par with the national minimum wage of Britain after adjusting for the exchange rate. The minimum wage in Ontario will go up by a further dollar on January 1, 2019 to $15 per hour and…

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Record Human Rights Damage Award for Injury to Dignity, Feelings and Self-respect: AB v Joe Singer Shoes Limited

By Employment Law

In AB v Joe Singer Shoes Limited, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario ("HRTO") awarded $200,000 to an employee for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect resulting from repeated sexual assault and harassment. This is one of the HRTO’s highest damage awards. The employee immigrated to Canada from Thailand in 1979 and obtained her first job in Canada working for Joe Singer, since deceased, at Joe Singer Shoes Limited. Joe Singer was the father of Paul Singer, the alleged perpetrator of the sexual assault and harassment. Paul Singer became the employee’s boss after the death of his father. Sometime after…

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Employee awarded 12 month’s pay and $24k in legal fees from employer who undermined her efforts to find new employmentEmployee awarded 12 month’s pay and $24k in legal fees from employer who undermined her efforts to find new employment

By Employment Law

In a recent case titled Ste-Croix v. Al-Hashi mi and Jawad Dentistry, following a termination without cause the Ontario Superior Court of Justice canvassed what constitutes "reasonable notice" and the factors the court will consider, what comprises reasonable efforts to mitigate damages, and when a motion for summary judgment is preferable to an unnecessary trial.

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Divisional Court finds that employer demonstrated bad faith and acted as “puppeteer” in treatment and termination of fixed-term independent contractor

By Employment Law

The recent case of Radikov v. Premier Project Consultants Ltd et al. is a cautionary tale of the importance of good faith in contractual relations after the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed Premier’s appeal, finding Premier had acted as a "puppeteer" by keeping Mr. Radikov at its "beck and call" for roughly three months before attempting to terminate his fixed-term contract just two days before completion and refusing to pay Mr. Radikov’s outstanding invoices.

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‘Before the duty to accommodate, the duty to inquire’

By Employment Law No Comments

If the duty to accommodate is a well-known concept, the duty to inquire is a fuzzy notion. The principle is that an employee seeking accommodation for a disability is under a duty to disclose sufficient information to her employer to enable it fulfill its duty to accommodate. However, current decisions from various tribunals have shown, in accordance to the previous rules, that an applicant will not be held to a high standard of clarity in communication.

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