MacLeod Law Firm | 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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Working for Workers Act, 2021: New Obligations Imposed on Employers

Doug MacLeod — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 15:02:09 +0000

New obligations are being imposed on employers as a result of the Bill 27, or the Working for Workers Act, 2021. Three new obligations that will be imposed on employers: 1. Employers who employ 25 or more employees will be required to have a written policy with respect to disconnecting from work. The term “disconnecting from work” is defined to mean not engaging in work-related…

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Have reasonable notice periods increased during the COVID pandemic?

Doug MacLeod — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 15:40:30 +0000

I will tell anyone who asks – and many people who don’t ask – that every employer should require every employee to sign an employment contract with an enforceable termination clause. More and more employers are doing so, however there are still many employees who have not signed an employment contract with an enforceable termination clause. Particularly because of the Ontario Court of Appeal’s…

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Non-Compliance with Mandatory COVID Vaccine Policies

Doug MacLeod — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 14:07:52 +0000

In the last month or two many (if not most) organizations have introduced a mandatory COVID vaccination or/or a COVID negative policy. A mandatory vaccination policy requires an employee to get double vaccinated, whereas a COVID negative policy requires an employee to regularly test negative for COVID. A mandatory COVID vaccine policy must exempt those who qualify for an exemption for medical…

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Wrongful Dismissal: How To Reduce Litigation Risk

Doug MacLeod — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 13:55:40 +0000

The best way to reduce litigation risk in relation to an employee termination is to agree in advance how much notice of termination (or pay in lieu of notice) an employee is entitled to receive. Employers rarely provide ANY notice of termination so the employee’s employment contract should have a termination clause setting out how termination pay is calculated. Kraft v.

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Mandatory COVID Vaccination Policies

Doug MacLeod — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 14:30:53 +0000

Mandatory COVID vaccination is a controversial issue at the moment. Children will be returning to school in a couple weeks and many parents want all staff and children over 12 vaccinated. The federal Liberals announced it is introducing mandatory vaccinations in a number of settings just before it called an election to create a wedge issue with the PC party who is against mandatory vaccination.

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Court says $ 2.5M payroll is not limited to Ontario Payroll for Severance Pay Purposes

Doug MacLeod — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 14:37:59 +0000

An employee with 5 years service is entitled to one week severance pay for each year of service to a maximum of 26 weeks severance pay under the Employment Standards Act (ESA) IF the employer’s payroll exceeds $ 2.5M. In 2014, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice concluded payroll is not limited to Ontario payroll but the Ontario Labour Relations Board has not followed this decision and has…

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Federal Terminated Employees Can Prove Contract is Unenforceable

MacLeod Law Firm — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 20:50:41 +0000

We often write about termination clauses and the impact that they have on terminated employees. This type of clause can change the pay a terminated employee receives by thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands, of dollars. Often though, the legal cases fighting about the validity of termination clauses are based on provincially regulated employers. Federally regulated employers include…

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Court Refuses to Enforce Contractual Language Limiting Termination Pay

Doug MacLeod — Tue, 27 Oct 2020 13:39:59 +0000

I have written several blogs on whether wrongful dismissal damages include compensation for the variable compensation the employee would have earned during the applicable notice period. Most cases consider whether the language in a variable compensation plan which purports to limit or eliminate the employee’s entitlement to variable compensation during the notice period is enforceable.

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