A decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“Tribunal”) explores the boundaries of the duty to accommodate in the workplace, raising important questions about how far employers must go to meet accommodation requests, and whether emotional discomfort during the process can establish a
Ontario’s introduction of long-term illness leave (“LTI Leave”) significantly expands statutory leave entitlements. While the statutory framework appears straightforward, the real legal risk lies in how it intersects with human rights accommodation obligations.
The Statutory Framework
Effective June 19, 2025, the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) provides eligible employees with up to 27 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave
When an employee asks for time off for medical reasons, employers often aren’t sure how much medical detail they’re allowed to ask for, or what their obligations are to accommodate the employee.
A recent decision from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) helps clarify this. It shows that vague medical notes aren’t enough on their own, and that employees need
When we meet with employers regarding a needed change or a tough new situation at work, we often find that mention of constructive dismissal can really catch employers off guard. When it comes to constructive dismissal, there’s no termination meeting or official decision by the employer, but the law can still treat the situation as if the employee was fired.
Substantial changes to a job, or a work environment that becomes so bad, the employee feels they have no reasonable choice but to leave, can trigger a constructive dismissal. Ultimately, constructive dismissal creates the same obligations for the employer as a termination, including paying termination pay, severance, and possibly damages to the employee.
Continue Reading Oops, You Might’ve Fired Them: A Constructive Dismissal Reality Check
When it comes to taking time off work in Ontario, many employees (and employers) are confused about the difference between vacation time and vacation pay. Both are mandated by the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), but they are distinct entitlements with different purposes and rules.
Continue Reading Vacation Math: Why Time ≠ Pay Under Ontario’s ESAHappy Canada Day! As we celebrate everything that makes Canada both great and unique (personally as food lovers we’d like to mention poutine and butter tarts) we can’t help (because we’re lawyers) but reflect on what makes Canadian employment law so uniquely…Canadian.
Whether you’re running a business in Canada, or supporting HR for one, it helps to understand how our workplace laws differ from other countries, especially our neighbors to the south, and how new rules like updates to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act (“ESA”) effective July 1, 2025) continue to shape our employer obligations.
Let’s break it down.
Continue Reading Oh Canada, Oh Compliance: What Employers Need to Know About Our Unique Canadian Workplace LawsTermination clauses are a cornerstone of any employment agreement. A well-drafted termination clause can limit an employee’s entitlements on dismissal to the minimum standards under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), helping avoid the higher costs of common law reasonable notice.
But here is the catch: even the most carefully written clause can fail. Ontario courts are strict about wording and employer conduct. Clauses that are short, clear, and directly reference the ESA tend to stand up over time. However, one misstep in how a termination clause, or the termination itself, is handled can unravel the entire clause.
Continue Reading Ontario Termination Clauses: What Really MattersThe Ontario Superior Court recently reminded employers that employment agreements aren’t optional – they’re enforceable.
In Timmins v. Artisan Cells, 2025 CanLII 2387, the employer ignored its own termination provisions and tried to use severance as leverage for a release. It backfired big time.
Continue Reading Don’t Use Severance as Leverage: Courts are Not ImpressedIf you’re reviewing a termination package that includes a ‘retiring allowance,’ it might sound like a perk tied to retirement. That makes sense, right? Not really.
Despite the name, a retirement allowance in Canada has nothing to do with retirement. In most employment law cases, it simply means money paid to an employee upon or after termination of employment in recognition of long service. It’s a tax term, not a legal entitlement, and it often leads to confusion when planning severance packages or reporting to the CRA. Let’s break down what it is – and what it isn’t.
Continue Reading Retiring Allowances – Don’t Be Fooled by the Name