In Croke v. VuPoint System Ltd., 2024 ONCA 354, the Court of Appeal for Ontario (OCA) upheld the Superior Court of Justice – Ontario (SCJ)’s summary judgment decision that an employee’s refusal to comply with their employer’s...more
8/20/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Frustration of a Common Purpose ,
Health and Safety ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety ,
Wrongful Termination
A new General Labor Law (NGLL) was enacted by Law No. 12/23, of 27 December 2023, which came into force on March 26, 2024.The NGLL repealed the former General Labor Law (approved by Law No. 7/15, of June 15, 2015),...more
In London District Catholic School Board v. Weilgosh, 2024 CanLII 20606 (ON SCDC), the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Divisional Court (Divisional Court) rejected an employer’s argument that the Human Rights Tribunal of...more
In Nelson v. Goodberry Restaurant Group Ltd. dba Buono Osteria and others, 2021 BCHRT 137, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal found that a restaurant and its managers that refused to use a server’s pronouns, among...more
3/21/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Canada ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Expression ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
LGBTQ ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Transgender
In Dufault v. The Corporation of the Township of Ignace, 2024 ONSC 1029, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice held that the termination provisions of a fixed-term employment contract were illegal and unenforceable because...more
3/12/2024
/ Canada ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Fixed-Term Labor Contracts ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
The Ontario Human Rights Commission recently published a policy statement (Policy) pertaining to “caste-based discrimination” under Ontario’s Human Rights Code (Code). The Policy advises organizations that they have a legal...more
1/30/2024
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Canada ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Rights ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Ontario ,
Policy Statement ,
Race Discrimination
Under the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (known as the Closing Loopholes Act), as of January 1, 2025, intentional underpayment of employees’ wages and certain benefits will be a criminal offense, with a maximum of 10 years’...more
In 2023, Canada saw significant statutory and case law developments in labour and employment law. This Insight provides an overview of notable 2023 developments, with links to more detailed articles and commentary....more
In Shalagin v. Mercer Celgar Limited Partnership, 2023 BCCA 373, the British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) upheld the lower court’s dismissal of an employee’s wrongful dismissal claim and its finding that his surreptitious...more
In Van Hee v Glenmore Inn Holdings Ltd., 2023 ABCJ 244 (Glenmore), the Alberta Court of Justice found that an employer’s mandatory vaccination policy was a reasonable, justified and lawful response to the extraordinary...more
12/18/2023
/ Canada ,
Constructive Discharge ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
The Supreme Court of Canada’s (SCC) decision in R. v. Greater Sudbury (City), 2023 SCC 28 was equally divided (4-4). In the absence of a majority SCC decision, the City's appeal was dismissed, and the decision of the Court...more
On November 7, 2023, Prince Edward Island (PEI) introduced Bill 106, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act (Bill 106) for First Reading. Bill 106 proposes to increase dramatically the paid sick leave to which employees...more
11/17/2023
/ Canada ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Standards Act ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
On November 14, 2023, Ontario introduced Bill 149, Working for Workers Four Act, 2023 (Bill 149), for First Reading. If passed, Bill 149 would, among other things, amend the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), the Workplace...more
On October 26, 2023, Ontario’s Bill 79, Working for Workers Act, 2023 (Bill 79) received Royal Assent and came into force. The statutes amended by Bill 79 include the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), the Occupational...more
In Guidance on wage or salary information on job postings (Guidance), the Government of British Columbia provides additional guidance on s. 2 of the province’s Pay Transparency Act (Act), which requires employers to...more
In Café La Foret Ltd. v. Cho, 2023 BCCA 354, the British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) upheld a lower court’s determination that an employee’s sexual harassment of his subordinate was not sufficiently serious to justify his...more
In Khangura v Lumberwest Building Supplies Inc., 2023 BCSC 1053, the Supreme Court of British Columbia dismissed an employee’s claim that he was entitled to damages because he had been wrongfully dismissed without cause. The...more
On May 11, 2023, British Columbia, Canada’s Bill 13, Pay Transparency Act (Act), received Royal Assent. Section 2 of the Act, which addresses the employer’s obligations regarding publicly advertised job opportunities, comes...more
5/24/2023
/ Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pay Transparency ,
Pending Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Wage and Hour
In Pham v. Qualified Metal Fabricators Ltd., 2023 ONCA 255, the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) found that unless an employee’s employment contract provides otherwise via an express or implied term, an employer’s unilateral lay...more
In Chu v China Southern Airlines Company Limited, 2023 BCSC 21, the court held that an employer that attempted to manufacture just cause for the termination of a vulnerable employee breached its duty of good faith and fair...more
Section 32.07(1)(a) of Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) provides that one of an employer’s duties relating to a workplace harassment complaint is to ensure an investigation occurs that is “appropriate in...more
The Global Guide Quarterly (GGQ) is a newsletter Littler publishes on a quarterly basis to provide a general update on global labor and employment (L&E) law developments in key countries in the American, EMEA, and APAC...more
In 2022, Canada saw significant statutory and case law developments in labour and employment law, some of which related to COVID-19. This Insight provides an overview of key 2022 developments, with links to more detailed...more
1/5/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements
In Tar Heel Investments Inc. v. H.L. Staebler Co. Ltd., 2022 ONCA 842, a business alleged that its former employee sold two books of business to a subsequent employer. The Superior Court of Justice (SCJ) found that the...more
In Yates v. Langley Motor Sport Centre Ltd., 2022 BCCA 398, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (BCCA) decided that Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) payments should not be deducted from damage awards for wrongful...more