In a significant decision focused on public employers, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) recently held that Ontario public school boards are “government” and, as such, they are subject to the provisions of the Canadian...more
In Teamsters Local Union 987 of Alberta v Purolator Inc., 2024 CanLII 21937 (CA LA), an arbitrator dealt with a clash between the amount of leave days under a unionized employer’s collective agreements (CA) and the leave...more
4/16/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Canada ,
Collective Agreements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employment Litigation ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labour Code ,
Leave of Absence ,
Teamsters ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
On November 29, 2023, Prince Edward Island’s Bill 106, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, received Royal Assent. Bill 106 will come into force on October 1, 2024....more
On November 24, 2022, Bill 41 – 2022: Workers Compensation Amendment Act (No. 2), 2022 (Bill 41), which introduced changes to British Columbia’s Workers Compensation Act, received Royal Assent. Effective January 1, 2024, Bill...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
What is It? The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) was established in 2008 to document the history and legacy of residential schools, which were operated between the late 1800s and the late 1990s by the...more
12/14/2023
/ Canada ,
Churches ,
First Nations ,
Holidays ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Reform ,
Minor Children ,
Reconciliation ,
Religious Institutions ,
State and Local Government ,
Tribal Ordinances ,
Wage and Hour
On November 25, 2023, O. Reg. 340/23: TERMINATION AND SEVERANCE OF EMPLOYMENT made under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) (Regulation), amending O. Reg. 288/01 (Termination and Severance of Employment), was published...more
By way of Order in Council approved and ordered on October 23, 2023, British Columbia’s Pay Transparency Regulation (Regulation) was made. The Regulation provides information about how pay transparency reports are to be...more
11/8/2023
/ Canada ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Pay Transparency ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
In Giacomodonato v. PearTree Securities Inc., 2023 ONSC 5628, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice ordered the employer to pay to the employee the costs of the proceeding in the amount of $830,761 to dissuade employers from...more
In Breen v Foremost Industries Ltd, 2023 ABKB 552, the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta dismissed the claim of a President and CEO that he had been wrongfully dismissed from his employment, finding that his employment had...more
10/24/2023
/ Breach of Duty ,
Canada ,
Duty of Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Employees ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Personal Liability ,
Punitive Damages ,
Wrongful Termination
In Dove v Destiny Media Technologies Inc., 2023 BCSC 1032 , the Supreme Court of British Columbia found that an employer had just cause for the dismissal of a full-time employee who worked on a side business during working...more
A recent Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) decision demonstrates the process an employer may be expected to undertake to recover employee-stolen funds when the proceeds of the fraud are traced to the assets of a “stranger to the...more
On August 16, 2023, Canada published Regulation SOR/2023-180 under the Canada Labour Code (CLC) (Amending Regulation). The Amending Regulation exempts certain classes of employees in the banking, telecommunications and...more
8/29/2023
/ Airlines ,
Banks ,
Broadcasting ,
Canada ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
International Labor Laws ,
Railways ,
Telecommunications ,
Wage and Hour
In Forbes v. Glenmore Printing Ltd., 2023 BCSC 25, the Supreme Court of British Columbia (BC) disagreed with the employee’s argument that the termination clause in his employment agreement was invalid because it required the...more
An arbitrator recently issued the first award in Ontario to address and uphold the reasonableness of a hospital vaccination policy that provides for the termination of employment for non-compliance. In Lakeridge Health and...more
6/8/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety ,
Wrongful Termination
In Teljeur v Aurora Hotel Group, 2023 ONSC 1324, a wrongful dismissal case, the court awarded the plaintiff-employee seven months’ damages for reasonable notice, and $15,000 in moral damages due to the employer’s bad-faith...more
The decision of the British Columbia, Canada Civil Resolution Tribunal (Tribunal) in Besse v. Reach CPA Inc., 2023 BCCRT 27 is especially relevant now that remote work has become common. The Tribunal found the employer had...more
5/31/2023
/ Canada ,
Electronic Monitoring ,
Employee Monitoring ,
Employee Tracking ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
International Labor Laws ,
Remote Working ,
Timekeeping ,
Wage and Hour
In Soave v. Stahle Construction Inc., 2023 ONCA 265, the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) allowed an employer’s appeal of the trial judge’s finding that an employee who was on a temporary leave at the time of an injury was...more
5/16/2023
/ Canada ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employment Litigation ,
Health Insurance ,
International Labor Laws ,
Leave of Absence ,
Long Term Disability Insurance ,
Ontario ,
Wage and Hour
In Safavi-Naini v. Rubin Thomlinson LLP, 2023 ONCA 86, the Court of Appeal for Ontario (OCA) upheld the dismissal of a defamation action under s. 137.1 of Ontario’s Courts of Justice Act (CJA). The decision provides guidance...more
4/10/2023
/ Anti-SLAPP ,
Canada ,
Defamation ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Press Releases ,
Public Interest ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Workplace Investigations
On March 23, 2023, Ontario released its 2023 Ontario Budget: Building a Strong Ontario (2023 Budget). The Budget provides that Paid Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (Paid IDEL) will expire on March 31, 2023....more
3/27/2023
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Employees ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
On March 13, 2023, Ontario announced that it is proposing two amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and related regulations.
Employees Who Work Solely from Home to Become Eligible to Receive Enhanced...more
3/16/2023
/ Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Notice Requirements ,
Ontario ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Remote Working ,
Telecommuting ,
Termination
The first deadline for compliance with the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) and its regulations is only two and a half months away. By June 1, 2023, federally regulated employers that had 100 or more employees in 2021 must comply....more
In Croke v. VuPoint Systems Ltd., 2023 ONSC 1234, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice decided that an employee’s refusal to comply with mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements resulted in the frustration of the parties’...more
3/14/2023
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Frustration of a Common Purpose ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Vaccinations
When Bill C-19, Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1 received Royal Assent in June 2022, it amended Canada’s Competition Act (Act) by including a new provision, s. 45(1.1), which comes into force on June 23, 2023. Section...more
1/24/2023
/ Canada ,
Canadian Competition Act ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
New Guidance ,
No-Poaching ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage-Fixing
In Osmani v. Universal Structural Restorations Ltd., 2022 ONSC 6979, an Ontario court was the first to consider a claim for damages for the statutory tort of human trafficking under the Prevention of and Remedies for Human...more
1/18/2023
/ Canada ,
Damages ,
Employees ,
Exploitation ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hostile Environment ,
Human Trafficking ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Ontario ,
Tort ,
Vulnerable Victims ,
Work Permits