Just Cause For Termination | MacLeod Law Firm

Wrongful Dismissal Update: Judge Upholds Just Cause Termination for a 30 Year Employee Who Touched a Co-Workers Buttock

Doug MacLeod — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 14:06:07 +0000

After a 10 day trial, an Ontario judge recently concluded that touching a female’s buttock in the presence of four witnesses, who had conflicting versions of what happened, was just cause for termination for an employee with 30 years service who had a clean disciplinary record. Some may think this is a result of the #MeToo movement but Ontario courts have considered sexual harassment/

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Doug’s Top 5 Employment Law Stories of 2019

Doug MacLeod — Tue, 10 Dec 2019 13:51:02 +0000

We have started the last month of 2019 and it is time for my annual top Employment Law stories of the year. 2019 has been a relatively good news year for Ontario employers. On January 1, 2019, the new Conservative provincial government started the year by delaying (likely indefinitely) the implementation of the Pay Transparency Act and by repealing a $1 per hour increase in the minimum wage…

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Wrongful Dismissal Update: Alleging Just Cause is a Legal Minefield

Doug MacLeod — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 14:01:05 +0000

A recent case, Headley v. City of Toronto, 2019 ONSC 4496, shows that alleging just cause for termination for a long-service employee can be a risky and costly strategy. The Facts: Headley v. City of Toronto After completing an internal investigation, the City of Toronto terminated Mark Headley, a shift leader at a men’s shelter, for just cause after 15 years service for allegedly stealing $5…

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Arbitration Update: Employee with an Addiction Who Stole Narcotics is Reinstated

MacLeod Law Firm — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 18:52:31 +0000

In a 2019 arbitration case, a Registered Nurse who was terminated for stealing narcotics and falsifying records was ordered reinstated to her job at a nursing home and awarded compensation because the nurse had a disability. The nurse and her union acknowledged that the nurse’s actions were at the highest level of misconduct for someone in her position and amounted to just cause for termination.

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Wrongful Dismissal Update: Recent Case Law Increases Legal Uncertainty

Doug MacLeod — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 14:57:24 +0000

Recently, it has become increasingly difficult for employment lawyers to assess an employer’s potential legal liability in connection with an employee termination. The law is pretty straightforward but predicting how a judge will apply the law to a specific termination is riddled with legal uncertainty. A recent case involving a 54-year-old senior executive who earned about $275 000 a year who…

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Punitive Damages: Rare But Not Unheard Of

MacLeod Law Firm — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 15:28:48 +0000

As we have written before, an employer may generally terminate an employee for any good business reason as long as it provides the employee with adequate notice of termination (or pay in lieu of this notice). Failure to provide adequate notice results in a wrongful dismissal. However, if an employer has ‘just cause’ for the termination, then the employer does not generally need to provide the…

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Are You Still Entitled to Employment Insurance If You Quit?

Fiona Martyn — Wed, 17 Oct 2018 15:24:47 +0000

Under the Employment Insurance Act, both employers and employees are required to contribute to Employment Insurance (“EI”) premiums. The objective of EI benefits is to provide temporary income support to unemployed workers while they search for new employment. It is well recognized that terminated employees are entitled to receive EI benefits. But what if an employee resigns?Are they still the…

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Secretly Recording Your Boss: A Slippery Slope (Part 1)

Nadia Halum — Fri, 10 Aug 2018 15:36:58 +0000

One question I have been frequently asked is whether an employee can record a conversation with their supervisor, usually without the supervisor’s knowledge. As technology has advanced to the point that we all have recording devices in our pockets (i.e. our smartphones), this issue will only become more common in the workplace. The first question I often hear is “is it legal?” Although I am not…

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Can An Employee’s Off-Duty Behaviour Constitute Just Cause for Termination?

Hina Ghaus — Wed, 08 Aug 2018 16:34:13 +0000

We receive calls from employers asking whether they can terminate an employee for off duty conduct. Unfortunately there is not an easy answer. This blog discusses two cases of similar off-duty conduct. A judge found the employer did not have just cause to terminate in one case whereas in the other case the judge concluded the employer did have just cause. Case Where Off-duty Conduct Did Not…

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Employment Law Update: Mid-Year Report

Doug MacLeod — Tue, 26 Jun 2018 19:34:39 +0000

In this blog, as we enter the dog days of summer, I will review five current trends and developments in Ontario’s employment laws. 1. A New Sheriff is in Town: The PC party has replaced the Liberal party as Ontario’s governing party I anticipate this change in government will result in less government regulation of Ontario’s workplaces. During the election campaign, Doug Ford promised not to…

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