News & Events

Since being released, Ontario courts have applied Waksdale v. Swegon North America Inc., 2020 ONCA 391 (“Waksdale“) and held that where a ‘for cause’ provision violates the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA“), all clauses in the employment contract are void and unenforceable, thus entitling employees to full common law notice. This was no different in

Busayo Farderin was quoted in the Canadian HR Reporter article, “Why HR should care about new violence and harassment treaty” To read the article, please click here. 

As we start off the new year it is a good time to review your practices and think of adopting some new ones.  What are the ways to do what you do better?  Here are a few thoughts on what we see businesses missing or getting wrong with great frequency. Not updating policies Your Workplace

While the 2021 ESA amendments relating to non-competition agreements are likely to limit the circumstances in which such agreements can or will be used in the future, non-competition agreements that were in place prior to the ESA amendments remain unaffected. The legal enforceability of non-competition agreements that pre-date the ESA amendments continue to hinge on

Arleen Huggins will be speaking at the HRPA 2022 Annual HR Law Conference on October 26, 2022. Arleen will be participating in a panel discussion focused on “A Retrospective of 30 Years in HR Law”. For more information about the conference, please click here.

The Ontario Court of Appeal in the 2019 decision of Dawe v. the Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada held that only exceptional circumstances would support the award of a notice period in excess of 24 months in relation to the termination of someone’s employment. Recently they had occasion to review that decision.  At trial

After a series of extensions, deemed infectious disease emergency leave (“deemed IDEL”) will expire on July 30, 2022, and paid infectious disease emergency leave (“paid IDEL”) is set to expire on July 31, 2022. Deemed IDEL Recap Subject to certain exceptions, the Ontario government instituted temporary relief from Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) termination and

As public health responses adapt to an ongoing and evolving COVID-19 pandemic, now dominated by the Omicron variant, arbitrators continue to consider whether mandatory workplace vaccination policies remain reasonable. In two recent decisions, Alectra Utilities Corporation v Power Workers’ Union and FCA Canada Inc. v Unifor, Locals 195, 444, 1285, labour arbitrators recognized the importance

Martin Ejidra will be speaking at the Certificate in Canadian Benefit Plans Program in Seattle on August 22-24.  The Certificate in Canadian Benefit Plans is the perfect introduction to the world of Canadian employee benefits, pensions and human resources practices. This intensive 3-day program offers unmatched opportunities for live, hands-on learning, networking with your peers

With the summer months here and many workplaces and employees focused on upcoming time off, it is important that workplaces ensure that they are up to date on new workplace requirements in Ontario. Right to Disconnect Policy For the first year of this new requirement, employers that employed 25 or more employees on January 1,