Rationality, Reasons and Human Rights
December 5, 2021 By Brian Babcock If an administrative tribunal makes a decision against you that makes no sense to you, go not give up right away. It may be possible to go to court and have it overturned. An administrative tribunal, in order to make a decision which will withstand judicial review, must make […]
Human Rights Settlements: Contravention May Cost You
December 5, 2021 By Brian Babcock What happens if a party to a human rights settlement fails to perform the non-monetary terms of the settlement? The was the question recently considered by the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (HRTO). It is very common, if not universal, for human rights settlements to contain non-monetary terms – things […]
Constructive Dismissal or Workplace Injury?
November 21, 2021 By Brian Babcock It is well established law that a worker cannot sue their employer (or coworkers) for a workplace injury covered by worker’s compensation. But until this case, few if any cases involved a claim for mental stress. The employer brought an application to the Workplace Safety and Appeal Tribunal to […]
Sometimes Termination Clauses Are Effective
November 21, 2021 By Brian Babcock We have written extensively warning employers about relying upon the terms of a termination clause in an employment contract. Judges feel a need to protect employees who are vulnerable and have limited bargaining power when it comes to the terms of a contract. Often, an employee eager to take […]
Is working notice a good idea?
August 30, 2021 By Brian Babcock Sometimes, when a non-union employee is terminated without cause, the employer tries to gain value for the amounts payable to the departing employee by giving working notice. Whether or not this is a good idea depends upon all of the circumstances. If the departure is amicable, the employee is […]
Courts Continue to Favour Employees after Termination
August 30, 2021 By Brian Babcock We have written often about how Ontario courts tend to favour employees in wrongful dismissal law suits. Often, these cases involve the validity of a clause that attempts to limit payments sue on dismissal to less than required by law. Perretta v. A Rand Technology Corporation illustrates a somewhat different […]
Enforceability of Arbitration Clauses in Employment Agreements
August 16, 2021 By Brian Babcock It may be that not all arbitration clauses in employment contracts are unenforceable. The Supreme Court of Canada decision in Uber Technologies v Heller has attracted a lot of attention for declaring that the particular arbitration clause in the Uber agreement was invalid because it was unconscionable. At a […]
Punitive Damages and Workplace Injuries
August 6, 2021 By Brian Babcock Punitive damages might not be as limited as suggested by our recent articles on the subject. The Ontario Court of Appeal decision in Eynon v. Simplicity Air Ltd. is a useful reminder that each case turns on is own facts, and the facts of that case are startling. Outrageous […]
Accommodation in Scheduling and Family Status
July 26, 2021 By Brian Babcock The duty to accommodate exists to make equality in employment truly equal. It is a violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code to fail to take proper steps to assess an employee’s Code-related needs. A common issue in workplaces that receives little attention in cases is the difficulty that […]
Municipal Liability as Employer Under OHSA
July 14, 2021 By Brian Babcock Owners, constructors, employers, supervisors and workers all have different roles and responsibilities under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). The more hats you wear, the more potential there is for liability. What might surprise some municipal leaders is the extent of a municipality’s exposure as an employer. […]