A recent decision from western Canada gives employers confidence that circumstantial evidence can be relied on to justify the termination of an employee for time theft. The decision also provides support for categorizing time theft as theft in the ordinary sense of the word, for disciplinary purposes. Time theft is generally understood as the falsification […]
Another year, and more important legal developments in the employment and labour fields. Below we have summarized what we believe are the top 10 Canadian employment and labour decisions of 2023 (with an 11th thrown in for good measure) that employers should be aware of: R v Greater Sudbury (City), 2023 SCC 28 Split decision […]
GM v JG, 2023 NBKB 57 Justice Danys R.X. Delaquis Subject Matter: Parenting Orders | Jurisdiction The parties have a 5-year-old child, who was born in New York. The Applicant is a Canadian citizen living in Saint John and the Respondent is an American citizen living in New York. The child has dual citizenship. The […]
Nearly five years following the start of the #MeToo movement, courts, administrative tribunals, and arbitrators are cracking down on sexual harassment in the workplace. See also: Employers May Terminate for a Single Incident of Harassment and Employment & Labour – Top 10 Cases of 2021. In Yaschuk v Emerson Electric Canada Limited, 2022 AHRC 62, […]
Sexual harassment is one of the most serious forms of workplace misconduct. While acts of sexual harassment can occur on a spectrum of severity, a single incident of sexual harassment can warrant termination. This is especially the case if the employee lacks remorse and responsibility. In Render v ThyssenKrupp Elevator (Canada) Limited, 2022 ONCA 310, […]
In recent years, there has been an increase in the prevalence of employees secretly recording conversations in the workplace. While it is not unlawful for a conversation to be recorded when only one person is aware that the recording is being taken, the undisclosed recording of conversations can raise privacy concerns. The recent decision of […]
In every non-unionized employment relationship, the employer has an implied common law obligation to give the employee reasonable notice of its intention to terminate the employment relationship, unless there is just cause for termination. If the employer fails to give the employee reasonable notice of termination, the employer risks a wrongful dismissal action for breach […]
In a year like no other, there have been steady developments in the landscape of employment & labour and human rights law. Some of these developments were long anticipated, including the effect of termination on bonus compensation and the legality of mandatory arbitration clauses in the gig economy. Perhaps the most interesting cases, however, are […]
What do employment contracts and termination letters have in common? They both have the potential to end, or at least limit, an employer’s liability in the event of a termination. However, to be effective, they must be properly drafted. A termination letter that fails to assert just cause for termination, and specify the reasons for […]
In times of financial uncertainty, employers seeking to cut costs may quickly turn to temporary layoffs. From the employer’s point of view, layoffs offer an opportunity to press “pause” on its obligations to employees in the short-term while still maintaining the employment relationship in the long-term. Failing to handle layoffs properly, however, may leave the […]