Temporary Layoff During COVID-19 Results in Constructive Dismissal

The recently released decision of Coutinho v. Ocular Health Centre Ltd. 2021 ONSC 3076, may cause headaches for many employers within Ontario who have been required to layoff their employees due to COVID-19 restrictions. As a starting point, a constructive dismissal for common law purposes occurs in the circumstance where an employer unilaterally imposes a […]

Update: Stay-at-Home Order, Emergency Declaration and School Closures in Ontario

The government of Ontario has declared a third state of emergency as of April 8, 2021 in response to the rapid increase of COVID-19 in our community. Effective 12:01 a.m. on April 9, 2021, the government issued a province-wide Stay-at-Home Order which requires everyone to stay home except for essential purposes. This is in addition […]

Does Pregnancy impact Reasonable Notice of termination?  The answer is YES!

In a recent 2021 decision, Nahum v. Honeycomb Hospitality Inc., the Court considered the impact of a pregnancy upon reasonable notice. At the time of the termination without cause, the employee had been employed for just 4 months in a mid-level managerial position. She earned $80,000 per year. She was 28 years old and 5-months […]

Supreme Court refuses leave to Appeal from Swegon Decision

In our summer 2020 Newsletter, we reviewed a case from the Ontario Court of Appeal called Waksdale v. Swegon North America Inc.  As you may recall, the Court of Appeal determined that notwithstanding the validity of the “without cause” provision in an employment agreement, that because the “with cause” provision was contrary to the Employment […]

Court Strikes down Canada Labour Code Termination Clause

We previously wrote a blog article with respect to the decision of the Ontario Superior Court striking down a termination clause under the Canada Labour Code R.S.C., 1985, c. L-2. (the “Code”).  The Code applies to federal works and undertakings, such as banks and shipping companies. In Sanghvi v. Norvic Shipping North America Inc., the […]

What impact does the Pandemic have on Reasonable Notice? Should CERB Payments be Deducted from a Damage Award?

In a February 9, 2021 decision, Iriotakis v. Peninsula Employment Services Limited, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice considered the impact of the pandemic on a reasonable notice period. The employee was terminated without cause on March 25, 2020 from his position as the Business Development Manager. The position was a sales position. He earned […]