Deemed Dismissal Results in Award of Common Law Damages

To many the question “Have I been fired?” may seem a little ridiculous. Typically one knows whether or not he has been terminated. And although usually the termination itself comes as a surprise, there is little question as to certainty of the situation.

And yet, in late 2011 a case came before the Court of Appeal for Ontario that asked the question of whether or not an employee was entitled to common law damages following his “deemed” dismissal from employment. (NB: for a description of what is meant by “common law damages” see my definition in Explaining Wrongful Dismissal under Ontario Employment Law)

The Right to be Free from Harassment... Online

In an earlier post (You Can’t Do That on the Internet) I canvassed what some Ontario Labour Relations Tribunals have done with respect to online conduct. In a July 2012 decision, Taylor-Baptiste v. Ontario Public Service Employees Union, 2012 HRTO 1393 (CanLII), the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario weighed in on the issue.

Ontario Recognizes Tort of Invasion of Privacy

(c) istock/vchal

When the Court of Appeal for Ontario released its decision in the case of Jones v. Tsige, 2012 ONCA 32 many commented upon how Ontario law had finally recognized the tort of "invasion of personal privacy."

However, saying that the Court of Appeal recognized “the tort” is not entirely accurate. What the Court of Appeal recognized was that there are, in fact, four torts that fall under the umbrella of ‘invasion of privacy.’

The Requirement to Maintain Disability Benefits on Dismissal

As regular readers of this blog may know, I have a certain affinity for the decision of the late Justice Echlin in Brito v. Canac Kitchens, 2011 ONSC 1011 (CanLII), affirmed by the Court of Appeal for Ontario, 2012 ONCA 61.

The reason why the decision in Brito is so important is that Justice Echlin ordered an employer who had provided to its employees a group insurance plan to essentially stand in the disability insurer’s shoes when the employee was dismissed and the employer made no arrangements for the dismissed employee to maintain that insurance coverage beyond the statutory notice period; a decision that cost the employer nearly $200,000 in what was otherwise a modest wrongful dismissal case.

Ontario Human Rights Damages to Dismissed Breast Cancer Employee Affirmed

One may recall the story of Elsa Torrejon, who in 2009 was fired from her employer, Weston Property Management, after disclosing that she had breast cancer. The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal ordered Weston to pay Ms. Torrejon $20,000 in general damages for injury to dignity, feelings and self respect and $2,640 in special damages for loss of employment income.

Now, if Weston’s behavior was not bad enough – terminating an employee simply because she discloses a diagnosis – Weston sought judicial review of the Tribunal’s decision from the Ontario Divisional Court. In reasons for decision released March 30, 2012, 1147335 Ontario Inc., o/a Weston Property Management v. Torrejon, 2012 ONSC 1978 (CanLII), Justices Jennings, Kent and Sanderson affirmed the Tribunal’s decision awarding a further $7,000 in costs.

How Much Time Do You Have to Start a Lawsuit for Wrongful Dismissal in Ontario?

How long do you have to start a claim for wrongful dismissal under Ontario law?

While the default (and safe) answer would be two years from the date of dismissal, a 2010 decision from the Ontario Superior Court demonstrates that that may not always be the case.

Social Media and the Rule against Solicitation

As someone who both practices employment law and blogs, tweets, whatever verb Facebook becomes, a question that is often put to me by persons contemplating moving to a new employer is whether that person is entitled to change the name of his or her employer on various social media sites.

The answer is more complicated than it would first appear; and, I would submit, also remains unanswered by Ontario courts. Nonetheless, below one will find the musings of this passive observer.