In November 2012, labour arbitrator William Kaplan decided the grievance case of Agropur Division Natrel v. Teamsters Local 647 (Grievance of JF), 2012 CanLII 69477, regarding the termination of a disabled employee requesting reinstatement. The grievor, JF, was a 10-year…
The Supreme Court of Canada recently released its decision in R. v. Cole, 2012 SCC 53, in which the Court decided that employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the information contained on work computers where personal use is…
In a recent decision, Garrie v. Janus Joan Inc., the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“HRTO”) has clarified the principles related to determining the limitation period for discrimination claims involving a series of discriminatory incidents that are more than one…
In a recent British Columbia decision, the question before the court was whether an employee who stormed out of a meeting saying “I’m out of here!” was expressing an intention to quit, or an intention to go on vacation. What…
Machado v. Terrace Ford Lincoln Sales is a case from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (the “Tribunal”) confirming that employers must take steps to accommodate employees who disclose their disability, even where no prior request for accommodation is made.…
In the 2012 case of Brito v. Canac Kitchens, 2012 ONCA 61, the Court of Appeal considered what would be a nightmare scenario for many employers. In this case, the employee was covered under an employer-sponsored benefit plan, which included…
A recent endorsement from Justice Whitaker of the Superior Court of Justice underscores the importance of clarifying the terms of an employment contract and its termination provisions before accepting employment. Peter Bowes was laid off from Goss Power Products Ltd.…
Pay equity is about “equal pay for work of equal value,” according to the Pay Equity Commission of Ontario. However, the Commission also recognizes that a persistent inequity continues to exist between men and women, which the Commission refers to…
On December 1, 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to appeal of a decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal regarding the right of pension-plan members to claim priority over the assets of their bankrupt company to cover…
Lisa McIntosh was awarded $12,500 in general damages, as well as lost wages, after being forced to leave her job due to sexual harassment by her boss, Zbigniew Augustynowicz. Ms. McIntosh worked at Metro Aluminum as a delivery driver. She…
The B.C. Supreme Court awarded a former loan manager at a Vancouver credit union $220,000 in wrongful dismissal damages. The manager, Mr. Szczypiorkowski, was initially terminated for cause and without notice or pay in lieu of notice after sending an…
In a recent decision, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice awarded 26 months of notice to a long-service employee of Suzuki Canada named Syed Hussain. Mr. Hussain had worked for Suzuki Canada in various positions for approximately 36 years. At…
The Emerging “Egalitarian” Approach In some recent decisions from outside Ontario, trial judges have again been questioning the emphasis that has often been placed on character of employment as a factor in fixing notice periods. Interestingly, the approach taken in…
Some recent cases and articles have proposed that an employee’s “character of employment,” which is usually understood to mean an employee’s rank within an employer’s organization, could become a less relevant factor in assessing notice periods. The traditional approach has…
Can you be fired for wearing an orange t-shirt? Turns out you can in Florida. In a recent and ongoing case in the United States, 14 employees at a Florida law firm were fired en masse for wearing orange t-shirts.…
The Court of Queen’s Bench for Saskatchewan has ruled that the right to strike is protected by the freedom of association provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In a decision released in February 2012, the Saskatchewan court held…
On a daily basis, we receive calls from unionized workers who are shocked to discover that their human-rights-related grievance is subject to the nearly-unfettered discretion of their union representatives. When we tell unionized workers that they are not a party…
A recent endorsement by Justice Echlin of the Superior Court of Justice has affirmed that disabled employees who fail to receive appropriate workplace accommodations should be permitted to pursue wrongful dismissal and human rights damages in the Superior Court of…
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently decided an interesting case in which counsel for the employer/appellant raised a novel argument regarding the intersection of the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and the common law as they relate to layoffs…
It has been reported (see the Canadian HR Reporter story here) that Starbucks recently dismissed one of its employees on the basis that her step stool accommodation posed a danger to others. The human rights issue in this case arises from…