Scheming to get rid of a worker costs employer nearly $1 million
Author: Stuart Rudner A recent decision arising out of a case in Prince George, B.C. has made headlines as the case, decided by a jury, resulted in a damages award of about $809,000. Notably, $573,000 of that award were punitive...
B.C. Court of Appeal Rules Human Rights Tribunal has no Jurisdiction to Hear Law Firm Partner’s Age Discrimination Complaint
John Michael McCormick (“McCormick”) was a lawyer and an equity partner at the Vancouver office of Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP (“Firm”). McCormick worked at the Firm for his entire legal career since 1970 and became an equity partner in 1979....
Owner’s Occupational Health and Safety Obligations
Owners of commercial or residential property that are engaged in a significant construction project may unwittingly assume health and safety obligations. A recent example of this occurred in British Columbia, where former Premier Gordon Campbell was found by the BC...
A Mathematical Formula for Calculating a Fair and Reasonable Severance Payment
Author: David Rice Thousands of non-union employees are “laid off”, “downsized”, “let go”, “packaged out” or “early retired” each year. While all of them have contracts of employment – written or partly written and partly oral – very few of...
Union Found to Have Committed Unfair Labour Practice in Organizing Drive
In a decision released June 25, 2012, the Ontario Labour Relations Board (the “Board”) has found that an organizer from the Labourers’ International Union of North America, Ontario Provincial District Council (“LIUNA”) improperly influenced employees of Graham Bros. Construction Limited...
Gender Identity and Access to Women’s Washroom Facilities
Author: Erik Marshall In response to a communiqué we recently published, in which we reported that a proposed amendment to the Ontario Human Rights Code (“Ontario Code”) that would see “gender identity” and “gender expression” added to the list of...
Ontario Court of Appeal Ruling – Mitigation Limitations
The Court of Appeal’s recent ruling in Bowes v. Goss Power Products Ltd., 2012 ONCA 425, will have significant impact on employers who utilize employment agreements. A five judge panel heard the severance case which addressed an important issue in...
Class Certification Denied: Brown v. C.I.B.C.
Author: Robert Bell In Brown v. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Justice Strathy of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice denied a motion for certification in the most recent proposed overtime class action. Readers will recall that there have been...
Human Rights Code Amendments – What steps should an employer take?
What action should an employer take to address the pending amendments to the Ontario Human Rights Code to protect their organization? These amendments will add to the protected grounds of discrimination the grounds of “gender identity” and “gender expression” with...
“Gender Identity” and “Gender Expression” to be Added to List of Prohibited Grounds of Discrimination in Ontario Human Rights Code
On June 13, 2012, Bill 33, Toby’s Act (Right to be Free from Discrimination and Harassment Because of Gender Identity or Gender Expression), 2012 (“Proposed Amendment”) passed Third Reading as amended by the Standing Committee on Social Policy. The purpose...
