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The recent decision of Keenan v. Canac Kitchens (Keenan), confirms that dependant contractors are entitled to reasonable notice of employment termination. The required notice period can extend to years, and such as in this case, amount to 26 months. In Keenan, two long-term contractors of a kitchen cabinet manufacturing firm, with a total of over 50 years of experience with the company, were dismissed without notice. The pair were first hired as employees, but were later told that they would be classified as contractors, and signed new agreements for this purpose. They were required to use their own cars as…

According to a recent decision by an Ontario labour arbitrator, employers may now be liable for not protecting their employees from harassment on the employer’s social media accounts. In this decision, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) workers’ union filed a grievance regarding the TTC’s social media account created to communicate with the general public, alleging that the account served as a platform to harass TTC employees. The arbitrator granted the union’s grievance, despite the employer’s argument that, in this time of readily-available internet access, it is impossible for an employer to effectively filter all harassing social media posts. The arbitrator…

In the recent Alberta case of Turner v Atco Frontec Corp the court held that an employee’s hot temper culminating in inappropriate and aggressive behavior towards another employee might provide adequate just cause for dismissal. The deterioration of the relationship between the employee and the rest of the team was found to be, in and of itself, an adequate ground of dismissal, independent of any finding of harassment towards other employees. In this case, Mr. Turner alleged wrongful dismissal after he was terminated due to coming into conflict with another member of the employer’s team. The employee had a history…

The Ontario Human Rights Code protects one from discrimination due to both religious and creed-based beliefs. Unfortunately, the Code does not define “creed” and, while courts have interpreted “creed” in a rather broad manner (link to blog about veganism as creed) to also include sincerely-held non-religious beliefs, this remains an uncertain area of law. The recent case of Barker v. St. Elizabeth Health Care provides much needed guidance on the question of what is legitimate creed-based belief as opposed to mere personal preference. In this case, a Rastafarian man claimed that his home healthcare provider discriminated against him by continuing to send…

In the most recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, the Court established that the common law rule that a non-unionized employee can be dismissed without cause is not applicable to federally-regulated employers. In other words, federally regulated employers are always required to provide just cause or reasons for the dismissal of non-unionized employees, or may face the broad remedies provided under the Canada Labour Code, including reinstatement. In this significant case, an employee of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited was dismissed without cause or reasons after almost 5 years with the employer. The employee filed a suit alleging…

As an employee, you have a right to a workplace free from harassment and unwanted sexual advances. Unfortunately, as this case illustrates, women still face a disproportionally high risk of sexual harassment and assault, especially in the restaurant, bar and entertainment industries. The case below illustrates the seriousness of such conduct, especially when abuse by somebody in a position of authority is involved. In this case the applicant, De Anna Granes, worked at the respondent’s restaurant as a server prior to the incident. [1] One night, one of the co-owners became inebriated after consuming a number of drinks at the bar and…

In a recent striking case, the Ontario Court of Appeal more than doubled the award granted to a deaf worker who was forced to resign from her job due to her employer’s “campaign of abuse”. In this shocking case Vicky Strudwick worked for a polling firm for a salary close to the federal minimum wage for over a decade. The Court found that, shortly after becoming deaf due to a viral infection, the plaintiff’s supervisors decided to make her quit by making her job environment intolerable and started a campaign designed to make her feel humiliated and unwanted due to…

Recently the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by the employer in Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board v. Fair therefore reaffirming the significant 2013 decision to reinstate an employee after an 11-year absence with full back pay and damages. The case should serve as a warning to employers regarding the scope of accommodation required from them in cases of employee disability. Employers have a duty to accommodate sick or injured workers to the point of undue hardship. In this case, an employee of the School Board took time off work and was subsequently diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder and depression, which resulted…

In the recent decision of Gagnon & Associates Inc. the Court reminds us that both employers and employees have the obligation to provide reasonable notice of intention to terminate the employment relationship. In this case, two long-term, key, but unhappy, employees tendered their resignations to their employer with immediate effect after being offered a job at a competing company. The employees together were responsible for over 60% of the employer’s sales and so their immediate departure had a greatly negative impact on the performance of the company, which was not able to find replacements for some time. The employer filed suit…

Harassment in the workplace can take on various characteristics. It could in the form of a derogatory comment made in your presence, but not directly to you. It might be an off-colour joke, or a change in workplace policies, you feel are directed specifically towards you and violates one or more of your legally protected characteristics, including, but not limited to race, disability, sexual orientation, age, or sex. The first thing you need to remember is you have rights and freedoms, whether you are a Canadian citizen or are employed through a work-visa programme. Unfortunately, the balance of power between…