HRPA 2016 Ottawa Law Conference Thursday, October 27, 2016 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Ottawa Conference and Event Centre, 200 Coventry Road, Ottawa Caroline Richard will be participating as a panelist at the Conference and discussing what is legally required in relation to return to work protocols for an injured or disabled employee. […]
In Stephanie Ozorio v. Canadian Hearing Society, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice concluded that Ms. Ozorio was wrongfully dismissed and was entitled to receive 24 months’ payment of salary and benefits. The employer, the Canadian Hearing Society, terminated Ms. Ozorio without notice. Ms. Ozorio had worked for the Society for 30 years, was 60 […]
In two decisions issued on the same day, Lin v. Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Paquette v. TeraGo Networks Inc., the Ontario Court of Appeal held that terminated employees could claim unpaid bonuses as part of the damages in their wrongful dismissal claims. The employment agreements included terms which required the employee to be actively […]
In Joss Covenoho v. Pendylum, the Ontario Court of Justice determined that the termination provision in the fixed-term contract properly limited the employer’s liability upon termination. The employee was hired by Pendylum Inc. through a one year fixed-term agreement. Pendylum informed its employees that it was introducing mandatory education and criminal background checks and that […]
In Suncor Energy Inc. v Unifor Local 707A, the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta overturned an arbitration panel’s decision to strike down the employer’s random drug and alcohol testing policy on the basis that it failed to consider evidence of security problems in the workplace. The employer, Suncor Energy Inc., operates in the Athabasca […]
On June 10, 2016 amendments the Employment Standards Act, 2000 came into force and clarified procedures for managing tips and gratuities in the workplace. Notably, the amendment defines “tip or gratuity” and bars employers from withholding, deducting from, or causing the return of tips, or other gratuities, except as authorized. The amendments include some exceptions […]
On December 1, 2015, the Government of Ontario passed Bill 113, the Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015. The Act, which is not yet in force, states what information can be released through police record checks and creates uniformity in disclosure procedures. Consequently, individuals and organizations seeking to obtain police record checks will only be […]
Bill 186, Ontario Retirement Pension Plan Act (Strengthening Retirement Security for Ontarians), 2016 received Royal Assent on June 9, 2016. The purpose of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan was to be a provincially-managed pension plan aimed at providing retirement income to employees without pension plan options at work. On June 20, 2016, Ontario Finance Minister […]
The Ontario government announced that the general minimum wage will be raised from $11.25 to $11.40 on October 1, 2016. The minimum wage rates for liquor servers will increase from $9.80 to $9.90 per hour. This raise, the tenth since 2003, maintains Ontario’s minimum wage as the highest of any province in Canada. Minimum wage […]
In Howard v Benson Group Inc., the Ontario Court of Appeal concluded that employees employed under a fixed term contract that does not provide for early termination without cause, are entitled to payment of the unexpired portion of the contract upon early termination of the contract. The Court of Appeal also stated that the duty […]