Case Law Updates – Insurance Litigation Law
Insurance Litigation Law – Case law updates from across the region (PDF Version).
Freedom of Expression in Labour Dispute Trumps Privacy Laws
The Supreme Court of Canada’s recent decision in Alberta (Information and Privacy Commissioner) v. United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 401, 2013 SCC 62, reaffirms the fundamental right to freedom of expression during labour disputes, even at the expense of personal privacy.
Re-Opening of Sponsorship of Parents and Grandparents
On January 2, 2014, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) will re-open the Parents and Grandparents (“PGP”) sponsorship program, which allows eligible Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their parents and grandparents in immigrating to Canada as permanent residents. This comes after CIC put a pause on accepting new applications to the PGP sponsorship program to address a massive backlog that had been causing wait times of eight years or more.
The Impact of Bullying and Harassment in a Safety-Sensitive Work...
Bullying and harassment in the school system, in the workplace and online has been receiving significant attention in the media over the past few years, but unfortunately, what constitutes bullying or harassment is generally not well understood.
The Ever-Increasing Expense of Human Rights Remedies
In the recent decision of Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, 2013 HRTO 440, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (the “Tribunal”) awarded an extensive remedy to an employee (the “Employee”), including 9 years of lost wages, after finding that her employer (the “Employer”) had discriminated against her by failing to accommodate the Employee’s disability-related needs and subsequently terminating her employment.
Is Declining to Return to Work after Constructive Dismissal a...
In Chevalier v. Active Tire & Auto Centre Inc., 2012 ONSC 4309, aff’d 2013 ONCA 548, the parties agreed that Mr. Chevalier was constructively dismissed. The issue at dispute was whether the Plaintiff failed to mitigate his damages.
Monitoring Employer-Issued Communication Devices: Know the Implications of Privacy Laws
Managing personal vs. business usage of employer-issued communication devices is a common issue facing employers in today’s workplace. An extensive amount of information is exchanged every day, some of which constitutes an employee’s “personal information.” An employer attempting to oversee or monitor the employee’s personal usage of these devices, must ensure they do so in accordance with privacy legislation.
Action for Constructive Dismissal Unsuccessful Where the Employee Helped Create...
The British Columbia Supreme Court expressed disapproval of a claim for constructive dismissal on the basis of negative treatment where the plaintiff was an active participant in the creation of the toxic work environment. In Danielisz v. Hercules Forwarding Inc., 2012 BCSC 155, a former employee claimed that she was unfairly picked on and ostracized by other staff. She alleged that this caused her to require a medical leave due to stress, and led to her constructive dismissal.
Failure to Allege Cause ≠ Unjust Dismissal
In the recent decision of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited v Wilson, 2013 FC 733 [AECL], the Federal Court held that Canada Labour Code does not prohibit employer from terminating employees without cause.
Constructive Dismissal May Be Found Where Annual Bonuses are Withheld
In Piron v Dominion Masonry Ltd., 2013 BCCA 184, the plaintiff, Mr. Piron, had worked for the defendant, Dominion Masonry Ltd. (Dominion), for 19 years before his employment ended in August 2011. Piron started with Dominion as a mason, but quickly became a foreman who supervised the masons working on particular projects.