On September 18, 2024, Canada announced that it would impose new language and field of study eligibility requirements on its Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) Program. The imposition of these new requirements aligns with...more
In Aguele v. Family Options Inc., 2024 HRTO 991, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) dismissed an employee’s application alleging discrimination with respect to employment because of family status and reprisal...more
In R. v. Greater Sudbury (City), 2024 ONSC 3959, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (OSCJ) dismissed an appeal of the trial judge’s decision in which she acquitted the City of Sudbury (City) of various charges under...more
9/18/2024
/ Canada ,
Construction Project ,
Due Diligence ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Health and Safety ,
International Labor Laws ,
OHSA ,
Ontario ,
Popular ,
Workplace Safety
On April 11, 2022, Bill 88, Working for Workers Act, 2022 (Bill 88), received Royal Assent and became law. Among other things, Bill 88 enacted the new Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022 (DPWRA).1 The DWPRA did not...more
9/11/2024
/ Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Digital Platforms ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Gig Economy ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Wage and Hour
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
The Court of Appeal for Ontario (OCA) recently held that an employee may be awarded aggravated damages for an employer’s bad-faith conduct during the employee’s dismissal even in the absence of medical evidence identifying a...more
8/13/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Aggravated Damages ,
Bad Faith ,
Canada ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Medical Evaluation Reports ,
Medical Leave ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Wrongful Termination
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
On June 20, 2024, Bill C-58, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code and the Canada Industrial Relations Board Regulations, 2012 (Bill C-58) received Royal Assent. Bill C-58, which will go into effect on June 20, 2025,...more
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 Egan v. Harbour Air Seaplanes LLP, 2024 BCCA 222, the British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) upheld a lower court’s decision that a termination clause in an employment agreement was enforceable because it was neither...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
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 Kopyl v. Losani Homes, 2024 ONCA 199, the Court of Appeal for Ontario (OCA) affirmed the lower court’s finding that an invalid without-cause termination clause in an employee’s employment agreement does not invalidate a...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 Boyer v. Callidus, 2024 ONSC 20, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found that an employee was entitled to $1.8 million in damages for unpaid vacation, bonuses, and stock options, because the terms of the relevant...more
In Aldergrove Duty Free Shop Ltd. v. MacCallum, 2024 BCCA 28, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (BCCA) dismissed an employer’s appeal when it agreed with the lower court that the employer could not use the frustration...more
3/20/2024
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Damages ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Frustration of a Common Purpose ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Layoffs ,
Wrongful Termination
Last month Canada’s federal government announced the launch of a new employment equity data visualization tool called Equi’Vision. Equi’Vision displays data on workforce representation rates and the pay gaps experienced by...more
On February 12, 2024, in Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association v. Ontario (Attorney General), 2024 ONCA 101, the majority of the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) upheld, in part, the decision of the Ontario Superior...more
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
In Gannon v. Kinsdale Carriers, 2024 ONSC 1060, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice denied common law reasonable notice to an employee who was wrongfully dismissed from her employment on the basis that she failed to...more
In United Steelworkers Local 14193 v. Cameco Fuel Manufacturing Inc., 2023 CanLII 115899 (ON LA), an arbitrator dismissed a union’s policy grievance on the grounds that, contrary to the union’s assertion, the employer could...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
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
All Canadian employers other than those in Quebec are required to:
Deduct Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions from their employees’ pensionable earnings if the employee meets certain conditions;
Contribute an...more