Bird Richard is centrally located in Ottawa and serves clients nationally. Our clients range from large Crown Corporations with national operations to small local construction firms. We also provide services to corporations in Alberta, in the Northwest Territories and in Nunavut.
On September 16, 2021, the Ontario government announced that it would extend the temporary measures found in O. Reg 228/20 Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (IDEL). The extension is to end on January 1, 2022. The government has also extended Ontario’s Worker Income Protection Benefit (“WIPB”) which provides employees with up to 3 days of paid […]
As many of our readers are aware, since the decision in Waksdale v. Swegon North America, where the Ontario Court of Appeal determined that because a just cause termination provision provided a lower threshold than the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000, that the entire termination clauses were void including without cause provisions, employers have been […]
In a recent decision, Leon v. Dealnet Capital Corp., 2021 ONSC 3636, the Ontario Superior Court determined whether or not an arbitration clause contained in an employment agreement was enforceable. For employers, inserting an arbitration clause into an employment agreement is a good tool to provide some certainty and, in most cases, an arbitration can […]
Previously, we provided an e-blast on the decision Coutinho v. Ocular Health Centre Ltd. 2021, ONSC 3076. In that case, the Superior Court determined that an employer placing an employee on the Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (“IDEL”), found in O. Reg. 228/20 made under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”) amounted to a […]
In the decision United Nurses of Alberta v. Alberta Health Services, 2021 ABCA 194, the Alberta Court of Appeal reviewed the decision of Canada (Attorney General) v. Johnstone 2014 FCA 110, a Federal Court of Appeal decision which is the leading authority setting out the test for family status discrimination. The central issue in the […]
Under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, S.O. 2000, c.41. (“ESA”), an employee with more than five (5) years of service and where the employer has a payroll in excess of 2.5 million dollars, that employee is entitled to severance pay upon termination from employment without cause. An issue that often arises is how to calculate […]
In a decision called Manthadi v ASCO Manufacturing, the Court of Appeal allowed an appeal by ASCO from a summary judgment award from the Superior Court. The facts of the case are as follows: the employee had been employed by a company (637) which was sold to ASCO. At the time that 637 had been […]
Recent cases from the Ontario Superior Court, and Tribunal’s have determined that the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) is not deductible against damage awards, but is that the end of the matter? Recall that the entire purpose of damages for reasonable notice is supposed to put the employee in the same position had an employer […]
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 […]
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