Whistleblowers and Private Interests: Who do you trust?
April 30, 2021 By Brian Babcock Non-beneficiaries are not allowed to sue to enforce trusts. This includes an ex-employee of a corporate trustee. The Court of Appeal affirmed this in a judgment which reviews many essential concepts of trusts law and remedies, but should also be of interest to any employers at risk of extraordinary […]
Buyer Beware: Employment After Share Sale
April 6, 2021 By Brian Babcock Employment contracts related to commercial transactions remain employment contracts and employment law applies. You should not ignore this if you are involved in a purchase and sale transaction, or any terminations after the sale. Ontario courts continue to find in favour of employees on termination of employment issues. In […]
The Cost of Not Investigating Harassment Complaints
March 21, 2021 By Brian Babcock Failure to conduct a proper workplace investigation in response to a harassment complaint may be expensive. Ontario employers have an obligation to maintain a safe workplace under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Harassment explicitly makes for an unsafe workplace. There is a similar obligation under the Human Rights […]
Corporations, Charter Rights, and Cruelty
March 7, 2021 By Brian Babcock A corporation may be treated like a natural being for many purposes in the law, but not when it attempts to claim the protection of the prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishment” in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The issue was decided by the Supreme Court of […]
Termination Clauses and Construction Workers
March 3, 2021 By Brian Babcock Ontario Courts REALLY dislike termination clauses in employment contracts which attempt to limit how much an employee may receive upon termination. I have written on this topic previously. Another recent case is a fresh example that makes this point even more clear. The construction industry is known for its […]
Unsettling Settlements
December 23, 2020 By Nick Melchiorre Careful drafting of your settlement agreements may avoid future grief, legal expense, uncertainty and delay. Poor drafting may even make your settlement vulnerable to being reopened. If it is a settlement you reach without lawyers, this is particularly problematic; but even if you have a lawyer, they need your participation […]
Constructive Dismissal and Bonus Payments
November 30, 2020 By Brian Babcock A senior executive who is constructively dismissed is entitled to a bonus he would have earned during a period of reasonable notice, the Supreme Court of Canada has confirmed. Other portions of their ruling may also increase payments to departing employees. Some issues are left open for future cases, increasing […]
When is a Lawsuit an Appropriate Means to Resolve a Wrongful Dismissal Claim?
November 23, 2020 By Brian Babcock Generally, in Ontario, a person suffering a loss must sue within two years of suffering the loss. There are, however, circumstances that extend this time limit. Discoverability is at the heart of calculating the time limit to sue in Ontario. It simply is common sense that you cannot be expected […]
Racial Slurs May be Grounds to Terminate
October 16, 2020 By Brian Babcock Racial slurs have no place in the workplace, and may be grounds to terminate for cause. A recent arbitration award, Levi Strauss & Co. v Workers United Canada Council, 2020 CanLII 44271 begins by noting that at one time, verbal clashes between coworkers, even ones involving racial insults were not […]
Human Rights and Arbitrations
September 23, 2020 By Brian Babcock May unhappy unionized employees take a grievance to an arbitrator, and at the same time apply to a human rights tribunal? Allowing two proceedings to address the same or similar complaints is inefficiency, both in terms of cost and the risk of inconsistent rulings. In Ontario, this problem is reduced […]