Resources: Litigation
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What Could Go Wrong When an Employer Rehires a Former Employee It Previously Terminated, Without Cause, But Under the Cloud of a Sexual Harassment Complaint?
June 2019
It’s surprising that the question in the title of this article even needs to be asked. However, in the case of Colistro v. Tbaytel, 2019 ONCA 197 the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a lower court decision that considered just that scenario. The Court of Appeal’s distaste for the Employer’s conduct is apparent from the opening words of the decision:
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Advancing Unfounded Just Cause Defence Leads To Large Damages Award
May 2019
The B.C. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Bailey v. Service Corporation (Canada) ULC, 2018 BCSC 235 highlights the perils of advancing unfounded just cause allegations and a court’s willingness to sanction such conduct with substantial aggravated and punitive damages awards.
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BC Court of Appeal Confirms High Standard for Mental Distress Damages
January 2019
An employee who believes they have been wrongfully dismissed from their employment can seek damages in court for both the fact of their dismissal and the manner in which they were dismissed. In Cottrill v. Utopia Day Spas and Salons Ltd., 2018 BCCA 383, the Court of Appeal affirmed that there remains a high threshold in British Columbia for plaintiffs seeking mental distress damages.
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“It Don’t Matter If You’re Black Or White”*… It’s Illegal to Discriminate
December 2018
In 1991, Michael Jackson’s hit single, “Black or White”, topped the Billboard Hot 100 just three weeks after its release. Perhaps it was the universally positive anti-racism message, as much as the music itself that propelled its popularity. Regardless, one would have thought that by 2018 it would have been well understood that the fact that an employee was white/Caucasian does not create a defence for an employer’s racist conduct. Sadly, Spruce Hill Resort and Kin Wa Chan must not have been Michael Jackson fans.
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Breach of Telecommute Agreement Resulted in Constructive Dismissal: Hagholm v. Coreio Inc., 2017 ONSC 7713, varied 2018 ONCA 633
November 2018
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently affirmed a decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice which found that an employee had been constructively dismissed when the employer revoked her telecommute agreement and arbitrarily reduced her annual bonus.
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Tailored Pre-Employment Testing Given the Green Light
October 2018
In BC Hydro and Power Authority -and- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 258 (Arbitrator John Hall) (May 23, 2018), the employer implemented a pre-employment drug and alcohol testing requirement for new applicants applying for safety-sensitive positions under the hiring hall provision of the collective agreement.
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Have I Constructively Dismissed an Employee by Putting Them on Unpaid Administrative Suspension?
October 2018
A recent decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed that suspending an employee without pay (i.e. an “administrative suspension”), including while the employer conducts an investigation, can constitute constructive dismissal. The Court provided guidance on when and how employees can be placed on suspension during an employer’s investigation.
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Post-Incident Drug Testing Policies in the Age of Cannabis
September 2018
What do low speed collisions, marijuana, and post-incident drug testing have in common? Those are the facts that were before the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench in Canadian Energy Workers’ Association v ATCO Electric Ltd, 2018 ABQB 258.
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