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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Justice for Unionized Employees

MacLeod Law Firm — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 14:46:31 +0000

Unionized employees often seek our advice regarding human rights issues in their workplace. Sometimes this is because human rights violations have occurred and the union is not assisting them. Other times, the union itself may be part of the problem. The rights of unionized employees are different from those of non-unionized employees. Generally, employees in a union are not able to sue their…

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Employee Entitlements Upon Termination

MacLeod Law Firm — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 13:59:03 +0000

Termination is a stressful experience for any employee. An employee who has been fired needs to understand what their employer owes them, and what their employer is offering them. When employers do not make this clear, additional damages could be due to the employee. When an employee is terminated, they are entitled to receive certain minimum payments under the Employment Standards Act (ESA).

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Notice of Termination: Appeal Court Weighs in

MacLeod Law Firm — Wed, 09 Nov 2022 17:05:02 +0000

When terminated, an employee should generally receive reasonable notice of termination or pay instead of notice. This is unless the employee has signed a contract that contains an enforceable termination clause (which we’ve written about here). The calculation of the employee’s notice period is based on the specific facts of each employee, such as their position, length of service, age…

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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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