What is Just Cause for Dismissal? Ask any experienced severance package lawyer and most will tell you that under Ontario employment, it is very difficult for employers to successfully defend a wrongful dismissal claim - especially when they have alleged just cause for dismissal. In fact, the
Employer’s Conduct in Termination Meeting Results in Bad Faith Dismissal Damages
In a previous Ontario employment law blog, the courts have generally sided on an employer's side to conclude that surreptitiously recording a work-place meeting could be grounds to terminate an employee for just cause, resulting in an employee not receiving any wrongful dismissal damages. However,
New Employment Law Rules for Federally-Regulated Employers and Employees – Canada Labour Code
Recently, the federal government significantly updated the Canada Labour Code, which brings it more in line with (and even exceeds) some of the employment law requirements set out in the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000. Most importantly, the new employment standards involves an increase in
Are You an Employer Alleging Just Cause for Dismissal? What to Know
Wrongful dismissal cases are often confusing, highly stressful, confusing and financially troubling for employees who find themselves suddenly without a job. To add insult to injuries, some employers act without much regard for an employee's well-being. As a result, the courts often take the role of
Duty to Mitigate in Wrongful Dismissal Cases
Under Ontario employment law, an employee who is wrongfully dismissed by their employer is entitled to be put in the same position he or she would have been if had the employer fulfilled their obligations under employment contract. In other words, an employee in a wrongful dismissal claim is
When Discrimination is a Factor in a Wrongful Dismissal Claim
In Luckman v. Bell Canada, 2022 CHRT 18, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (“CHRT“) ordered the employer, Bell Canada (“Bell“) to pay more than $120,000 in monetary compensation to a former employee in connection with his discriminatory termination of employment. Among other things, CHRT held that
Is a Pay Cut a Constructive Dismissal?
What is a Constructive Dismissal in Ontario Employment Law? A constructive dismissal claim occurs when an employee complains about a significant unilateral change made by an employer to the terms and conditions of their employment contract. Specifically, it involves an employee arguing that an
Employer’s Bad Faith Conduct Results in Higher Court Award
In a wrongful dismissal claim called Teljeur v Aurora Hotel Group, 2023 ONSC 1324, an Ontario court awarded the terminated employee seven (7) months’ damages for reasonable notice (financial severance package), in addition to $15,000 in moral damages as a result of the employer’s bad faith conduct