With travel to the U.S. becoming anxious, if not risky, for many Canadians, employers are facing the prospect of employees refusing to travel south of the border. But can employers require employees to do so, and do employees have a basis on which to refuse? “My advice to employers is not to assume that employees […]
Nova Scotia’s government is formally recognizing workplace harassment as a health and safety issue with the introduction of new regulations to its Occupational Health and Safety Act. “All employers in Nova Scotia have an obligation to ensure workers’ health and safety — and that obligation now specifically includes a duty to address workplace harassment and […]
An Ontario arbitrator has confirmed the validity of the long-term disability exception to the mandatory retirement rule. When Ontario eliminated mandatory retirement in 2006, the legislation provided an exception for insured employment benefit plans to maintain a cutoff based on age. “This was intended to avoid destabilizing existing insurance plans while still permitting parties to […]
The Human Rights Tribunal of Alberta has ruled that termination of employment on the day an employee returns from a year-long mental-health leave doesn’t, in and of itself, support a discrimination complaint. “In this case, the employer had valid grounds for termination before the medical leave started, and the fact that the complainant’s case had […]
In a recent case, the Supreme Court of Canada is being asked to consider a question that has long divided courts and vexed employers: are agreements that forfeit employees’ unvested equity-based compensation on termination enforceable, even if the vesting is scheduled to occur during the reasonable notice period? “The issue is an important one because […]
In order to avoid exposure to unnecessary and expensive litigation and unforeseen liabilities, it’s important for employers to determine which jurisdiction’s rules apply when terminating an employee in a remote-working arrangement, according to several employment lawyers. “Most employment relationships in Canada are governed by local provincial or territorial law, with the remaining governed by federal […]
A recent US$3.1 million award by a Florida jury in favour of a Canadian engineering services and manufacturing enterprise against a high-ranking Dubai-based employee who stole trade secrets demonstrates the significance of a strong employment agreement with well-drafted confidentiality provisions. “Having a well-drafted confidentiality clause in an employment contract is vitally important for employers whose […]
In the unionized workplace, the implementation of artificial intelligence isn’t just a management decision — it’s also a bargaining issue. “Just don’t assume you can quietly roll AI out, because it’s something to which the unions are paying attention,” says Lisa Stam, managing partner at Springlaw Professional Corp. “And that’s important, because unionized workplaces often […]
A recent Ontario Superior Court decision demonstrates that it remains possible for employers to insert enforceable termination clauses in employment contracts. For some five years now, a host of decisions have struck down as unenforceable termination clauses that purport to displace employees’ right to reasonable notice or pay in lieu thereof. Almost always, the basis […]
Ontario’s small claims court has ruled that recalling an employee from a remote working arrangement to in-person work can amount to a constructive dismissal giving rise to liability for damages. The employee in question, Lesley Byrd, had worked for Welcome Home Children’s Residence Inc. in Ottawa since 2018, but without a written contract of employment. […]