Are non-competes, non-solicitations and confidentiality agreements enforceable in Canada? Aside from termination provisions, restrictive covenants are probably the clauses that give us employment lawyers the most to think about. A restrictive covenant is a contractual clause, typically in an employment agreement, that seeks to limit a former employee’s ability to solicit the employer’s clients and/or … Continue Reading
Wal-Mart Canada has been hit with the largest award for moral damages in a Canadian employment case ever. In December, the Ontario Superior Court awarded punitive and moral damages of $750,000 to former Wal-Mart Canada employee Gail Galea. Read the full decision here (nearly 100 pages). Ms. Galea was a senior management employee, hired by Wal-Mart … Continue Reading
Bonus entitlement is always a juicy topic. In September the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released a decision that shed some light on the issue of how entitlement to a bonus will be treated where an employer has no formal bonus policy, but a consistent past practice. In Fulmer v. Nordstrong Equipment Limited, a wrongful … Continue Reading
I regularly speak on the issues of employment and human rights law, but it turns out that lawyers really do end up with a warped view of the world. Yesterday I spoke on a panel of HR and people-management thought leaders: David D’Souza, Anna Petosa and Shaun Scott, moderated by Chris Taylor of Actionable. I … Continue Reading
What is an employer to do when served with a Statement of Claim? Here are the most common questions we get: Is a response mandatory or can we ignore the claim? How do we get rid of this ridiculous claim? How much is this going to cost? Is a Response Mandatory? Yes, an employer must … Continue Reading
Today is the day. The decision to terminate an employee has been made and now you have to deliver the news. Before you step into that meeting, give some consideration to the impact this will have on your soon to be former employee. Once the correct legal process has taken place, help guide the individual … Continue Reading
January is a month of resolutions, fresh starts, and goals. It’s also a good time to run away from 2016 and the upsets and surprises the year rolled out. Here are 3 lessons that 2016 taught us as we all dig in to a new year in the workplace: #1 – Surprise High Profile Departures … Continue Reading
I had a client recently ask why he would bother going through the cost and efforts of doing up an employment contract, if he was going to have to fight with ex-employees’ lawyers and pay out a package in a without cause situation anyway. Good question. Without Cause Termination Entitlements It remains very difficult to … Continue Reading
Toronto is a great place to be a tech employer. It’s a cool city with exciting innovation and talent. If you’re a US company considering getting in on the action in Toronto, there are few things you should know about the True North. Canada strives to have workplaces that are tolerant and inclusive and employees … Continue Reading
Because of the recent controversy surrounding unpaid interns, we have been getting many calls from concerned employers about their obligation when working with interns and employers’ rights when interns do not work out. Pay As a general rule, unpaid internships are not permitted in Ontario. There are a few exceptions, the most common of which … Continue Reading
Microsoft Corp. and LinkedIn recently announced that Microsoft will soon acquire LinkedIn in a transaction valued at $26.2 billion – click here for the company’s announcement. Under the deal, Microsoft will purchase LinkedIn’s shares at $196 each. If a share sale like this happened in Ontario, the identity of LinkedIn would not change – Microsoft … Continue Reading
A blog post just in time for some downtime over the holiday – when can personal tweets become grounds for termination? Some of you may remember when in August of 2013 Canadian news outlets were a-buzz with the termination of two Toronto Firefighters for sexist comments made on Twitter. For a media report on the details of the … Continue Reading
In the wake of Target closing its Canadian doors this month, we have had some of our employer clients asking about the pros and cons of working notice. The 17,600 employees of Target have received at least 16 weeks of notice each, but many will be expected to work all or part of those 16 weeks … Continue Reading
Following up on my recent post on firings, I had the opportunity to discuss the subject with Colin O’Keefe of LXBN. In the video interview, I share what employers should and shouldn’t do in letting an employee go.… Continue Reading
Yes, this is a crummy subject, for both sides of the issue. I have yet to meet an employer or HR person who looks forward to that awkward meeting, where they need to pull the plug. Even amicable separations are full of potential anxiety about how to treat each other fairly, while advocating for oneself. … Continue Reading
At the end of August, our new law firm will be half a year old. After a decade of practicing law in other peoples’ firms, I have to say, being the owner of the business is even better than I had expected. It’s not fewer hours, has just as many (but different) headaches, and the … Continue Reading
Does racism necessarily lead to a poisoned workplace? At the end of last month, the Ontario Court of Appeal concluded in General Motors of Canada Limited v Yohann Johnson that while the former employee, Johnson, “genuinely believed that he had been the victim of racism in his workplace” and that his “perception of events unfortunately … Continue Reading
Terminating an employee’s employment without cause in Canada comes at a price. The various employment acts and codes set out the requirements for termination notice or pay in lieu of notice (and in Ontario and federal workplaces, severance pay in addition to termination pay). The required termination period will range from 1 to 8 weeks, … Continue Reading
Recently, a reader asked me whether cutting back the hours of a department of hourly paid employees by about 5 hours a week for a few months would create any problems. She correctly identified constructive dismissal as the issue to consider. What is Constructive Dismissal? “Constructive dismissal” is when an employer unilaterally makes such substantial changes … Continue Reading
Recent caselaw suggests that huge damage awards for employees claiming wrongful dismissal is on the decline. Upper courts continue to cut down lower court awards and eliminate “bad faith”-types of compensation. Last month, in Soost v Merill Lynch, the Alberta Court of Appeal reduced the lower court award to dismissed stock broker, Kurt Soost, from $2.2-million to $600,000. The … Continue Reading
Working notice is like eating at a cheap buffet restaurant – it’s inexpensive, and it seems like a good idea at the time, but the meal doesn’t taste so great within a short period of time. This usually applies to both employers and employees. I often have employer clients looking for a way to lower the … Continue Reading
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Toronto city councillor Adam Giambrone made a statement to the media last night that he has had "intimate relations" with women other than his spouse throughout most of 2009. While at 32 years old, the politician may be excused for the lapse in judgment, given his former bid to run for … Continue Reading
One of the more stark contrasts between Canadian and American law is the law around terminations of employment. This may be rooted in the fundamental difference between the American "at will" concept versus the Canadian contract-based employment relationship. In other words, unless a contract says otherwise, in the US, an employee is hired "at will" and … Continue Reading
Should an employer friend his or her employees on Facebook? Connect on LinkedIn, follow on Twitter or read an employee’s blog? There is no consensus and employers continue to grapple with the role of social media in the workplace – and the role employers should take within these vehicles of communication. The more difficult question is not … Continue Reading
