Duty To Mitigate | MacLeod Law Firm

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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Temporary Layoff Update: Can An Employee Refuse a Recall?

Doug MacLeod — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 18:55:18 +0000

Contrary to popular belief, a temporary layoff usually constitutes a wrongful dismissal which requires an employer to pay the laid off employee termination pay. This general rule does not apply in all situations such as when your employment contract states that the employee can be temporarily laid off, or your organization has a history of temporarily laying off an employee…

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Do I Have to Accept a Job Offer from the Purchaser of my Employer’s Business?

Hina Ghaus — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 12:50:29 +0000

Ontario courts have mentioned time and time again that a terminated employee has a duty look for and accept comparable employment. What happens when your employer is sold and the purchaser offers you employment? A recent decision from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice provides some direction on when such an offer of employment can be rejected. Dussault v. Imperial Oil Limited…

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How Does Returning to School Affect an Employee’s Duty to Mitigate Losses?

Doug MacLeod — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 14:51:17 +0000

A terminated employee has a duty to mitigate his or her damages by looking for alternative employment. We are often asked questions like: Can an employee start her own business? Can he or she return to school or a retraining program? This blog addresses these questions. The General Principle Around Returning to School Two scholars summarized an employee’s duty to mitigate damages in their 2001…

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Duty to Mitigate: What Happens to Earnings from a Lower Paying Job?

Hina Ghaus — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 14:41:45 +0000

Losing your job is one of life’s awfully stressful events. Yet, Canadian courts have long recognized the duty of a dismissed employee to seek new employment to mitigate their losses. The duty to mitigate requires wrongfully dismissed employees to take reasonable steps to minimize the losses they have suffered. Although not usually a burdensome standard to meet, a dismissed employee should be…

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Why An Oral Employment Contract is a Bad Idea

Nadia Halum — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 12:30:08 +0000

We’ve written before on the importance of requiring new hires to sign an employment contract which contains a termination clause. In a recent decision from British Columbia, one employer learned this lesson the hard way. James v The Hollypark Organization Inc. The Facts The Hollypark Organization Inc. was run by Mr. Dhillon, a 25-year old entrepreneur who wanted to open a new hotel under the…

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Do You Have An Obligation To Look For A New Job After Being Fired?

Nadia Halum — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 15:00:26 +0000

The Basics A wrongful dismissal occurs when an employer does not provide you with enough notice of termination. Most employers do not provide any notice of termination. In a wrongful dismissal action, you can claim damages against your former employer equal to the value of the pay and benefits you would have earned during the applicable notice period. During this notice period, you have a legal…

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Fired: Now should You Look for a New Job?

Nicole Simes — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 15:00:52 +0000

The Duty to Mitigate Terminated employees who sue their former employers for wrongful dismissal have a duty to look for a new comparable position. This is called the duty to mitigate. If an employee is offered comparable employment, he must accept it. Then, any income earned in that position is deducted from what the former employer owes the employee as damages. Employees often ask us what this…

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Wrongful Dismissal Update: Three Ways to Minimize Termination Pay

Doug MacLeod — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 02:09:41 +0000

As readers of this blog are aware, many wrongful dismissal actions are now being decided by way of summary judgment motions. This blog summarizes a recent successful summary judgment motion involving a former IBM Canada employee. The Facts Ms. Leeming, a 60-year old employee, was terminated by IMB without just cause after 8 years of employment. The only issues to be decided were how much notice of…

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Wrongful Dismissal: The Cost of Terminating a Senior Citizen

MacLeod Law Firm — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 17:17:57 +0000

In 2008, mandatory retirement was eliminated in Ontario. Since then the courts are starting to see more wrongful dismissal cases involving senior citizens. Many employers are concerned that judges will start finding very lengthy reasonable notice periods for older workers. The unofficial maximum reasonable notice period is generally considered to be 24 months. 70 year old Employee Terminated After…

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