Considerations After John Tory’s Resignation: How to Restore Your Workplace After a Disruption
John Tory resigned from his position as the Mayor of Toronto effective February 17, 2023, after it was revealed that he had been involved in an inappropriate relationship with a former city staffer who reported to him. The John Tory resignation exemplifies a major concern for many organizations that face similar situations where a senior […]
Bolstering Student Protection Against Sexual Misconduct in Post-Secondary Institutions
Bill 26, Strengthening Post-secondary Institutions and Students Act, 2022 [SPISA], which was passed on December 8, 2022, requires post-secondary institutions (“Institutions”) to develop better measures to address faculty and staff sexual misconduct towards students. By July 1, 2023, Institutions captured under the Ministry of Training, Colleges and University Act, 1990 and the Private Career Colleges […]
How Failing to Address a Supervisor’s Misconduct Cost an Employer Over $250,000 in Damages
Osmani v Universal Structure Restorations Ltd [Osmani] reminds employers that ignoring an employee’s misconduct can lead to considerable costs. In Osmani, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (“ONSC”) awarded nearly $300,000 to the plaintiff, a temporary foreign worker (“TFW”), who was mistreated by his supervisor—out of the total amount, the employer was liable for over […]
BC Tribunal Orders Former Employee to Compensate Employer for “Time Theft” Identified by Time-tracking Software
With work from home and remote work arrangements rising in popularity, employers are trying new ways to maintain and monitor employee’s work performance. The decision in Besse v Reach CPA Inc [Besse] out of British Columbia’s Civil Resolution Tribunal (the “CRT”), demonstrates how one employer managed to crack down on one employee’s “time theft”. “Time […]
Airline Flies into Extraordinary Damages: How Not to Dismiss an Employee
In Chu v China Southern Airlines Company Limited [Chu], the British Columbia Supreme Court (“BCSC”) awarded an employee $150,000 in extraordinary damages after his employer engaged in a broad and sustained pattern of abusive conduct, including attempting to manufacture cause for dismissal. Facts The employee was a 68-year-old Marketing and Business Development Manager with eight […]
Winter 2023 Newsletter
Welcome to the 2022 Year In Review edition of In The Know. This edition is designed to address the most significant HR law developments of 2022, as well as some important trends to keep on your radar for 2023.
Navigating the New Naloxone Kit Requirements for Employers
Recent amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act [OHSA], which we discussed previously, will come into force beginning on June 1, 2023 and require many employers to have naloxone kits available in Ontario workplaces, along with employees trained to administer the kits, if certain circumstances apply. Naloxone kits can be administered to temporarily reverse […]
Holiday Parties and Reducing Employers’ Exposure to Liability
Holiday Parties and Reducing Employers’ Exposure to Liability For many organizations, this year’s holiday party may be their first opportunity for everyone to meet or reunite in person. Holiday parties can be a great way for employers and employees to celebrate the end of the year together, but these parties can also increase liability if […]
Ontario Court of Appeal Further Defines Scope of Duty to Mitigate
In Lake v La Presse, the Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) determined that the motion judge erred in reducing the employee’s wrongful dismissal damages for failure to mitigate. The ONCA confirmed that the duty to mitigate does not require dismissed employees to apply to lesser paying or less senior positions, even after a reasonable period […]
Ontario Government Promises to Repeal Bill 28: Education Workers End Strike and Schools Reopen
On November 4, 2022, 55,000 education workers and members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) went on strike as a result of the breakdown of negotiations at the bargaining table. CUPE refused the Ontario government’s final offer to increase wages by 2.5% each year for education workers earning less than $43,000, and 1.5% […]