Taking Sexual Misconduct Seriously: Ontario Edition
July 15, 2022 By Brian Babcock In our article Taking Sexual Misconduct Seriously, we looked at an Alberta court decision where a single incident of sexual misconduct in the workplace was interpreted to constitute sexual assault and therefore was serious enough to justify dismissal for cause. In that article, we predicted that an Ontario court […]
What is Vicarious Liability?
June 27, 2022 By Jonathon Clark “Vicarious liability” is a form of liability which arises from responsibility for the acts of others. The most common form of vicarious liability is the liability of an employer for the acts of their employees. Other common examples include liability of a principal for the action of their agents, […]
Employers Beware When Terminating Long Service Employees
June 13, 2022 By Brian Babcock We have written several times before about how judges tend to favour employees in cases involving termination without notice, because they are viewed as vulnerable and lacking in bargaining power. Courts attempt to balance this by resolving doubt in their favour. This is especially true for older or longer […]
How Not to Do an Employment Investigation and Termination
May 30, 2022 By Brian Babcock A failure to do a proper investigation before terminating an employee, and then botching the termination, can lead to significantly increased damages payable by the employer to the employee. This is illustrated in the case of McGraw v Southgate (Township). The plaintiff was a volunteer fire fighter who held […]
The Working for Workers Act
April 24, 2022 By Brian Babcock Most of the Working for Workers Act, 2021 is now law in Ontario. How might it affect your business or organization, or your life as a worker? This Act amends several existing laws that affect the workplace, most particularly the Employment Standards Act. In a nutshell, the significant changes […]
Taking Sexual Misconduct Seriously
April 15, 2022 By Brian Babcock When is sexual misconduct by one employee against a fellow worker grounds for dismissal for cause? This requires an analysis of the seriousness of the misconduct. In most dismissal cases, a single, brief isolated incident of misconduct is not considered serious enough to warrant dismissal – it fails to […]
How to Develop a Disconnecting From Work Policy
March 21, 2022 By: Mark Lahn In December 2021, the Working for Workers Act, 2021 came into effect. One key change that this legislation made is the requirement for certain workplaces to implement a disconnecting from work policy. News and social media commentary about the legislation made sweeping headlines such as “It’s Now Illegal For […]
Another Sign of Hope for Employers?
March 18, 2022 By Brian Babcock If you are an employer, you might well be frustrated by the attitude of the courts towards the enforcement of termination clauses in contracts. Of course, even though we have commented previously on how the courts, often for good reason, favour employees in the interpretation of employment contracts, you […]
Employees: Read the Fine Print
January 30, 2022 By Brian Babcock Courts often favour employees in disputes over the terms of employment contracts, as we have written many times before. This is typically justified on the basis of the inequality of bargaining power between employers and employees. One way that courts do this is by requiring employers to bring onerous […]
Jurisdiction and Human Rights: Looking Beyond the Headlines
January 30, 2022 By Brian Babcock Note: An Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has since ruled on this matter in the Ontario context. Please see “Jurisdiction and Human Rights: An Ontario Perspective” for an updated discussion. “Arbitrators have exclusive jurisdiction over human rights cases if there is a collective agreement” is the sort of headline that […]