A recent Ontario Superior Court decision provides an important reminder for employers about proper conduct when terminating employees. In Teljeur v. Aurora Hotel Group, 2023 ONSC 1324, the employer (a golf course) terminated one of its managers without cause. The manager was 56 years old and had worked at the golf course for 3 years. ...
A recent decision from the BC Supreme Court highlights how a hiatus from working with an employer may impact an employee’s entitlement to notice or pay in lieu thereof upon termination. Facts In Shultz v. Prococious Technology Inc., 2022 BCSC 1420, the plaintiff employee had a long-term association with the defendant employer in various capacities, ...
A recent BC Supreme Court case highlights how employees have an obligation to mitigate their damages by searching for comparable employment after termination. The case also confirms that 24-months is the upper limit of common law reasonable notice in BC. Facts In Okano v. Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, 2022 BCSC 881, the plaintiff, Ms. Okano, was ...
A recent BC Supreme Court decision demonstrates that an employment contract does not necessarily need to be signed by the employee in order to be enforceable as long as there is clear evidence that the employee agreed to the terms in the contract. Facts In Asgari Sereshk v. Peter Kiewit Sons ULC, 2021 BCSC 2570, ...
A recent decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal provides clarification on when the common employer doctrine will make a corporation liable for amounts owing to an individual employed by a related corporation. The plaintiff, Mr. Reilly served as CEO for both ClearMRI Solutions Ltd. (“ClearMRI Canada”) and ClearMRI Solutions, Inc. (“ClearMRI US”). Mr. Reilly’s ...
A recent decision from the Manitoba Court of Appeal confirms that a just cause dismissal may be defensible in certain cases even if the employer has not completed a thorough investigation or given the employee an opportunity to respond to allegations of misconduct. In McCallum v. Saputo, 2021 MBCA 62, Mr. McCallum was an employee of ...
Two recent preliminary screening decisions from the BC Human Rights Tribunal, dismissing complaints brought in relation to BC’s vaccination card program, provide some insight into how tribunals may deal with complaints regarding vaccine mandates during the pandemic. Complaint against Dr. Bonnie Henry One complaint was brought against provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry. The complainant ...
A recent BC Supreme Court decision in Moore v. Instow Enterprises Ltd. provides helpful guidance regarding the extent to which a dismissed employee must go to mitigate their losses by searching for comparable employment. Facts The plaintiff in this case was a 53 year old employee who had worked at Kal Tire as a commercial ...
A recent Supreme Court of Canada decision, C.M. Callow Inc. v. Zollinger 2020 SCC 45, found that it was a breach of the contractual duty of honest performance to deliberately remain silent and not correct another party’s misapprehension regarding a state of affairs it knew was caused by its own misleading conduct. Facts In 2012, ...
