In Karim v. Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, 2024 HRTO 1231, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) dismissed a probationary employee’s claim that they were discriminated against with respect to employment because...more
2/26/2025
/ Canada ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Human Rights ,
Ontario ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Termination
The 2025 Ontario provincial election will take place on February 27, 2025. Voters will elect their Member of Provincial Parliament to represent them at Queen’s Park.
In most of the province, polls are open on election day...more
In 2024, Canada saw significant legislative and case law developments in labour and employment law. This Insight provides an overview of notable developments and links to our more detailed articles and commentary....more
1/10/2025
/ Arbitration ,
Canada ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Job Ads ,
Labor Reform ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Strike ,
Unions ,
Workplace Safety
On December 4, 2024, the following bills amending Newfoundland and Labrador’s Labour Standards Act (LSA) received Royal Assent and became effective...more
On November 27, 2024, Ontario introduced Bill 229 - Working for Workers Six Act, 2024 (Bill 229) for First Reading. If enacted, the statutes amended would include the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), the Occupational...more
Ontario’s Bill 79, Working for Workers Act, 2023 (“Bill 79”), amended several statutes, including the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). One of the amendments Bill 79 made to the ESA authorized the government to make...more
Wilds v. 1959612 Ontario Inc., 2024 ONSC 3452, involves a wrongful dismissal action in which the employee brought a motion for summary judgment. The court found the termination provisions in her employment agreement were...more
12/4/2024
/ Canada ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Punitive Damages ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms ,
Wrongful Termination
On November 8, 2024, Manitoba’s Bill 37, The Budget Implementation and Tax Statutes Amendment Act, 2024 and Bill 9, The Employment Standards Code Amendment Act, received Royal Assent and came into force. Bills 37 and 9 amend...more
On October 28, 2024, Ontario’s Bill 190, Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 (Bill 190), received Royal Assent. Among other things, Bill 190 amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), Occupational Health and Safety...more
10/31/2024
/ Canada ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Harassment ,
OHSA ,
Ontario ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Sick Leave ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance ,
Workplace Safety
Marshall v. Mercantile Exchange Corporation, 2024 CanLII 71128  (ONSC), is an action for wrongful dismissal where the employee claimed he could not mitigate his damages by seeking alternative employment indefinitely because...more
In De Castro v. Arista Homes Limited, 2024 ONSC 1035, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice (Court) held the termination provision in an employment contract was unenforceable because it defined “cause” more broadly than does...more
10/16/2024
/ Canada ,
Contract Terms ,
Damages ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Termination Clauses ,
Wrongful Termination
In Zanette v. Ottawa Chamber Music Society, 2024 HRTO 998, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) dismissed a volunteer’s application alleging discrimination with respect to employment because of sexual orientation,...more
10/10/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Canada ,
Dress Codes ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Human Rights Code ,
International Labor Laws ,
LGBTQ ,
Ontario ,
Volunteers
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
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 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
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
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
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
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