On June 7, 2021, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released another decision on the issue of whether an employee who has been temporarily laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been constructively dismissed pursuant to the common law. In pre-COVID times, an employee who had not previously agreed to be subject to temporary […]
After seventeen months of a living in a global pandemic, it’s certainly beginning to feel like we’re reaching the light at the end of the tunnel. Friends and families can gather, restaurants have reopened, recreational sports are back in action and we can all get a long overdue haircut. From a legal perspective, the receding […]
As more and more Canadians get vaccinated, we have begun to see the effects of the pandemic slowly fading. Businesses are starting to operate again and employees are finally getting back to the office. In fact, some employees who were purportedly “temporarily laid off” during the pandemic are now being recalled to work. As we […]
Overview As the pandemic continues to persist throughout Canada and with increasing restrictions being implemented by the Ontario government, more and more employers and employees are forced to reconsider their rights and legal obligations. The amendments made to the Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, c. 41 (“ESA”) by the Ontario government on May 29, […]
The ravages of the Court of Appeal decision in Waksdale v. Swegon North America Inc. are being felt. As mentioned in our previous blogs, this decision is impacting almost every employment contract in the province. It is sending employers scrambling to update their employment contracts to address this new reality. Many employees who would only […]
The four-term English Prime Minister and renowned statesman, William Gladstone, said that justice delayed is justice denied. While that may be true when the wheels of justice are intentionally slowed to deny a party’s rights, it is certainly not emblematic of the Courts’ recent efforts to ensure that justice continues to be efficiently served in […]
As we discussed in a previous blog, the decision in Waksdale v. Swegon North America Inc., 2020 ONCA 391 has an impact on the enforceability of most employment contracts in Ontario. When the decision was rendered, it left many employers scrambling to properly update their employment contracts, while providing a far greater number of dismissed […]
As we trudge through the ninth month of the COVID-19 global pandemic, you are no doubt weary of the overused clichés and underwhelming messages that we are “all in this together”. While the war to combat and ultimately conquer COVID-19 is a collective one, daily survival on all fronts is very much an individual battle. […]