Canadian HR Reporter: Top legislative updates, case law for 2024
Joel Smith discussed 2024’s most important developments in employment law with the Canadian HR Reporter. See an excerpt below: Top legislative updates, case law for 2024 Lawyer cites ‘year of legislative intervention into the working conditions, entitlements and rights of employees’ As December comes to a close, it’s a reminder that employers had plenty to […]
No Changes to the Law Regarding Enforceability of Termination Clauses – The Court of Appeal Declines to Reconsider Dufault
The Ontario Court of Appeal (the “ONCA”) recently released its decision in Dufault v Ignace (Township), ultimately upholding the decision from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the “ONSC”) that the entire termination provision was unenforceable. As previously discussed on our blog, in Dufault v The Corporation of the Township of Ignace [Dufault], the ONSC […]
New Year, New Rules: Upcoming Changes from the Working for Workers Acts for 2025 and Beyond
Beginning in 2025, key provisions of the Working for Workers Four Act and Working for Workers Five Act will take effect, along with an enacted regulation detailing requirements for employers from the third Working for Workers Act, 2023. These provisions introduce significant updates to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 [ESA], the Occupational Health and Safety Act [OHSA], and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 [WSIA]. These legislative […]
Winter 2025 Newsletter
Welcome to the Winter 2025 edition of In The Know.
A Win for Employers: Court Finds Termination Clause Unambiguous and Enforceable
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice (“ONSC” or the “Court”) has provided some encouraging news for employers with its recent decision in Bertsch v Datastealth Inc [Bertsch], which departs from a long-standing trend of employee-friendly rulings on termination clause enforceability. In Bertsch, the ONSC upheld a termination clause that limited the employee’s termination entitlements to […]
Recipe for Dispute: Ontario Court Dismisses Employer’s Claims Against Former Employee
In Boaden Catering Limited v Earl Haig Community Day Care, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (“ONSC”) dismissed an employer’s claim that its former employee misused confidential information and engaged in unfair competition after leaving the company. This decision offers key insights for employers on how to handle disputes and craft enforceable restrictive covenants. Background […]
Mitigation Matters: Employer Strategies and Employee Responsibilities in Business Acquisitions
In Brown v General Electric Canada et al, the Court of King’s Bench of Manitoba (the “Court”) held that an employee was constructively dismissed when the employer company was acquired by a third-party purchaser. However, the Court also found that the employee failed to mitigate his losses after he rejected a job offer from the […]
When Twitter Fingers Trigger Investigations: Navigating Social Media Misconduct in the Workplace
The recent arbitration decision in Board of Governors of Mount Royal University v Mount Royal Faculty Association [Mount Royal] illustrates the complexities of managing employee conduct involving off-duty social media use and political expression, particularly in the context of academic freedom. Facts The employee, a tenured professor at the employer, a university, was dismissed following […]
Ontario’s Bill 229, Working for Workers Six Act, 2024 Receives Royal Assent – Key Amendments to Workplace Legislation
Ontario’s Working for Workers Six Act, 2024 [WFW6A] received royal assent on December 19, 2024. The WFW6A amends several key workplace statutes, including the Employment Standards Act, 2000 [ESA], the Occupational Health and Safety Act [OHSA] and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 [WSIA]. The WFW6A follows previous updates under the “Working for Workers” initiative, including the Working for […]
OMHRA: Aligning Performance Expectations with Public Service Motivation: Strategies for the Public Sector
Inggrid Wibowo recently wrote about the benefits of integrating public service motivation principles into performance management processes within the public sector. See an excerpt below: Aligning Performance Expectations with Public Service Motivation: Strategies for the Public Sector In the public sector, employees are often driven not solely by job stability or compensation, but by a […]