Resources
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Possible Changes to Tax Treatment of Stock Options
March 2016
A stock option plan provides an employee of a corporation with the right to purchase shares of the corporation at a pre-determined exercise price. To the extent the stock option is exercised and the exercise price is less than the fair market value of the share at the time of exercise, the employee realizes an employment benefit.
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Doctor Who? Complainant Cannot Generally Rely on Self-Diagnosis When Trying to Establish an Invisible Disability
March 2016
A recent decision of the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal, Cummings v. Nenan Dane Zaa Deh Zona Family Services Society, demonstrates that a complainant cannot rely as a general matter on a self-diagnosis when trying to establish a mental disability or a disability that is not self-evident. Objective, credible medical evidence is generally required.
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Aggravated Damages in Wrongful Dismissal Claims
March 2016
Two recent B.C. court cases illustrate the type of evidence employees will need to produce to establish a claim for aggravated damages related to the termination of their employment.
In Honda Canada Inc. v. Keays, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed the ability of employees to seek aggravated damages in addition to pay in lieu of termination notice (common law or contractual).
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Employers Not Obligated to Accommodate Personal Choices – Including Breastfeeding
February 2016
The right to breastfeed in public has made headlines of late, but the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision in Flatt v. Attorney General of Canada, 2015 FCA 250 makes it clear that choosing to breastfeed in most instances is just that – a choice, and not one that will necessarily be protected by human rights legislation in the context of work obligations.
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Ex-CEO Ordered to Repay $1.2 million in Severance and Disgorge Profits: Imperial Parking Canada Corporation v. Anderson, 2015 BCSC 2221
February 2016
The British Columbia Supreme Court recently ordered a former Imperial Parking Canada Corporation (“Impark”) CEO to repay over $1.2 million in severance and to disgorge fees earned from and profits earned by his new company as a result of a breach of his fiduciary duties. The judgment provides a cautionary tale to those who would ignore their fiduciary obligations.
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Dress Your Workplace Attire Policy Appropriately
February 2016
A management restriction on employees wearing blue jeans and shorts at the office was found by an arbitrator to be a contravention of the employer’s established workplace attire policy in Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 1767 v. BC Assessment Authority (Workplace Attire Grievance), [2015] B.C.C.A.A.A. No. 67 (Dorsey) and the restriction was ordered to be rescinded.
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Fixed-Term Contract Signed After Several Years of Regular Employment is Enforceable
February 2016
In a recent case, Riskie v. Sony of Canada Ltd., 2015 ONSC 5859, an Ontario court considered whether an employee was owed reasonable notice for the entire length of his 26 years of employment when the employer did not renew a fixed-term contract signed in his last year of employment.
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Cancer Patient’s Employment Goes Up In Smoke After Tribunal Dismisses complaint Alleging Discrimination for Marijuana Use on the Job: French v. Selkin Logging Ltd., 2015 BCHRT 101 (Blasina)
February 2016
John French claimed his employer, Selkin Logging Ltd., discriminated against him in employment on the ground of physical disability when he was discharged for refusing to give up smoking marijuana at the workplace.
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The Value of Well-Drafted Employment Contracts: Oudin v. Le Centre Francophone de Toronto, 2015 ONSC 6494 (S.C.J.)
February 2016
Employers often enter into written employment contracts with employees in an effort to define and minimize liability for notice and severance obligations on termination without cause. Parties are precluded, however, from “contracting out” of employment standards minimum protections. Employment contracts that purport to provide employees with less than minimum standard notice or severance are not enforceable.
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Family Feud Leads to Damages for Wrongful Dismissal
February 2016
In TeBaerts v. Penta Builders Group Inc., 2015 BCSC 2008, the B.C. Supreme Court awarded nearly $94,000 in damages to a 32-year old project consultant and account manager after finding she was wrongfully dismissed by her employer, a family-run business.
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