For Employers | MacLeod Law Firm

Doug’s Top 5 Employment Law Stories of 2022

Doug MacLeod — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 15:00:08 +0000

Here are my top 5 employment law stories for 2022: 1. COVID 19 – Temporary Layoffs This issue remains my number one story because this issue impacts so many court cases. Some judges have concluded that a temporary layoff set out in the Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (“IDEL”) regulation under the Employment Standards Act, did not change the common law. So, this kind of temporary layoff is…

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Reducing Litigation Risk

Doug MacLeod — Wed, 02 Nov 2022 14:00:26 +0000

In a recent case, Pohl v. Hudson’s Bay Company, 2022 ONSC 5230 (CanLII),an employer was ordered to pay a long service employee the equivalent of about 3 years pay and contribute about $ 35 000 to his legal fees. Although this was a without cause termination case, it was anything but a simple case. It addressed some of the litigation risk inherent in wrongful dismissal litigation.

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Employment Law Update: Electronic Monitoring Policy

MacLeod Law Firm — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 14:00:31 +0000

A new amendment to the Employment Standards Act requires employers with 25 or more employees on January 1st of a given year to put in place a written policy regarding any electronic monitoring processes they use to monitor employees. The deadline for 2022 is October 11, 2022. As electronic monitoring practices vary widely between businesses and different industries, the specific practices of…

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Another Reason to Periodically Review Your Employment Contract

Doug MacLeod — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 18:33:29 +0000

After the Court of Appeal’s 2020 decision in Waksdale v. Swegon North America Inc. many employers revised the termination clause in their standard employment contract because its existing termination clause was no longer enforceable. Now along comes another Ontario court case that renders an otherwise enforceable termination clause unenforceable because there was a specific penalty clause in the…

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Does Unpaid IDEL Trigger a Constructive Dismissal? Court Declines to Answer

Doug MacLeod — Tue, 24 May 2022 14:00:29 +0000

In a recent case, Taylor v. Hanley Hospitality Inc., 2022 ONCA 376, both lawyers asked a three judge panel of the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) to decide whether a law which allows an employer to force an employee to take an unpaid leave under the ESA’s IDEL regulation, which is in effect during the COVID pandemic, is NOT a constructive dismissal under the ESA, nevertheless is still a constructive…

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Is Secretly Recording A Workplace Conversation Just Cause for Termination?

Doug MacLeod — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 14:04:41 +0000

More and more employees are secretly recording workplace conversations. Although it not is not a crime to secretly record a workplace conversation if you are a party to it, one judge recently concluded it is just cause for termination. This blog discusses this case. Mercer Celgar Limited Partnership (the “Company”) terminated Mr. Shaligan’s employment without just cause.

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Ontario Government Proposes More Employment Laws

Doug MacLeod — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 04:00:41 +0000

In my last blog, I summarized some new employment laws that the Ontario government passed in December 2021. On February 28, 2022 the Ford government proposed more new employment legislation when it tabled Bill 88. This blog discusses three parts of Bill 88; that is, (i) a new law that would apply to gig workers who are currently mostly unregulated, (ii) a requirement that some employers…

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Employer Update: Recent Changes to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act

Doug MacLeod — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 07:30:51 +0000

In December 2021, the Doug Ford government amended Ontario’s Employment Standards Act. This blog discusses two of these changes. 1. Prohibition against Non-Compete Agreements As of October 25, 2021, employers are prohibited from entering into employment contracts or other agreements with an employee that are, or that include, a “non-compete agreement,“ which is defined as an agreement…

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Restaurant Owner Ordered to Pay over $ 40 000 for Refusing to Refer to an Employee as They/Them

Doug MacLeod — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 15:00:07 +0000

An employer cannot discriminate on the basis of gender identity. An employer is required to refer to an employee using the pronoun of the employee’s choice. Refusal to do so is a violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”). An employee can file a no cost, online complaint against the employer under the Code, and seek damages against the employer and the person who refuses to use the…

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For Employers | MacLeod Law Firm

Doug’s Top 5 Employment Law Stories of 2022

Reducing Litigation Risk

Employment Law Update: Electronic Monitoring Policy

Another Reason to Periodically Review Your Employment Contract

Does Unpaid IDEL Trigger a Constructive Dismissal? Court Declines to Answer

Is Secretly Recording A Workplace Conversation Just Cause for Termination?

Ontario Government Proposes More Employment Laws

Employer Update: Recent Changes to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act

Top 5 Employment Law Stories of 2021

Restaurant Owner Ordered to Pay over $ 40 000 for Refusing to Refer to an Employee as They/Them