An employment law blog.
Sean Bawden, Partner, Kelly Santini LLP.
sbawden@kellysantini.com | 613.238.6321
Tuesday 26 June 2012
Doctors' Notes - Better Late than Never
Sunday 24 June 2012
Protecting Employee Reputations
Friday 22 June 2012
Fixing the Duty to Mitigate
(c) istock/AndreyPopov
Is an employee, who is terminated without cause, required to mitigate his or her loss when entitled to a fixed term of notice or pay in lieu, and the contract of employment is silent with respect to mitigation?
In reasons for decision released June 21, 2012, Bowes v. Goss Power Products Ltd., 2012 ONCA 425, the Court of Appeal for Ontario answered that question in the negative.
I quit! You sue?
There are several ways to become “suddenly unemployed;” one of the ways not frequently canvassed in the employment law realm is that of voluntarily resignation. Although many are familiar with the concept of “wrongful dismissal,” the concept of “wrongful resignation” is much less frequently considered.
The first thing to observe with respect to resignation is that nowhere within the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 will one find the legal requirement for an employee to provide two weeks’ notice of resignation. In fact, the word “resignation” barley appears within that law. This fact may lead some to believe that there is no duty to provide any notice of resignation; like many assumptions about the law, that belief may be incorrect.
Tuesday 19 June 2012
Deducting WSIB from Wrongful Dismissal
One of the joys of being a “lawyer for the suddenly unemployed” is that one gets to work in the field of overlapping insurance policies and acronyms: LTD, CPP, WSIB, EI, and occasionally SABS. While issues concerning the deductibility of various payments from other entitlements is often enough to make one reconsider his career choice, a recent decision from the Ontario Superior Court does supply some clarity with respect to the issue of an employer’s right to set of WSIB (Workplace Safety & Insurance Board) benefits as against wrongful dismissal damages.
In a decision welcomed by employers’ counsel (see others’ commentary here and here) the Honourable Justice Roland Haines, in his reasons for decision in Jensen v. Schaeffler, 2011 ONSC 1342 held that an employee’s receipt of WSIB income replacement benefits was to be deducted from her common-law, but not statutory, wrongful dismissal damages.
Employee Should Have Taken Test Drive
Monday 18 June 2012
No Costs for You!
One consequence of the increase to the jurisdiction of the Ontario Small Claims Court, from $10,000 to $25,000, is that some litigants – especially those commencing wrongful dismissal actions – are now being told that they are in the ‘wrong place, at the wrong time.’
In a decision released March 16, 2012, Shakur v. Mitchell Plastics, 2012 ONSC 1780, (the facts of which I earlier canvassed in my post titled "No finding of just cause notwithstanding workplace assault") the Honourable Justice David A. Broad held that a plaintiff who won $12,514.00 in a Superior Court action should be denied his costs because he received an amount within the jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court, notwithstanding the fact that when he commenced his case the limit of the Small Claims Court was only $10,000.