On July 28, 2016, the Ontario government announced its plans to repeal the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan Administration Corporation Act, 2015 (Act) when the Legislature resumes sitting in the Fall, 2016. The Act created the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP) Administration Corporation to administer the ORPP, Ontario’s stand-alone solution to address retirement security concerns for…
Author: Hicks Morley
Employer’s Egregious Mistreatment of Disabled Employee Leads to Increase in Damages Award
In a recent wrongful dismissal case, Strudwick v. Applied Consumer & Clinical Evaluations Inc., the Court of Appeal increased the amount of damages awarded to an employee from $113,782 to $240,000, for what the Court of Appeal described as “a marked departure from any conceivable standard of decent behaviour” in an employer’s treatment of its employee…
Appellate Court Considers Intentions of Parties, Finds an ESA-Only Termination Clause Valid
We previously reported on a decision in which a motion judge of the Ontario Superior Court considered…
ORPP Act Passes Third Reading as Amended by Committee
On June 2, 2016, Bill 186, the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan Act (Strengthening Retirement Security for Ontarians), 2016 (ORPP Act, 2016) passed…
Extended Day and Third Party Program Regulation Filed Under the Education Act
On May 9, 2016, the Ontario government filed O. Reg. 129/16 made under the Education Act. O. Reg. 129/16 amends O. Reg. 221/11 (Extended Day and Third Party Programs) and is the supporting regulation to amendments made to the Education Act by the Child Care Modernization Act, 2014. Those amendments set out requirements for a…
Ontario Re-Introduces Bill to Protect Students
On May 17, 2016, the Ontario government re-introduced legislation to improve the discipline and investigation processes of the Ontario College of Teachers…
Appellate Court Finds Settlement for Payment of Bonus Enforceable Despite Breach of Non-Compete Clause
The Court of Appeal recently upheld a motion judge’s finding that an employer was required to pay a bonus despite the fact that the dismissed employee was in breach of a non-compete clause. In Wilson v. Northwest Value Partners Inc., the parties entered into a settlement at mediation regarding Wilson’s claim for benefits (inclusive of…
Full Payout to End of Fixed Term Contract in Case of Early Termination, No Duty to Mitigate
In Howard v. Benson Group Inc. (The Benson Group Inc.), the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that in the absence of an express provision specifying a pre-determined notice period or pay in lieu (for early termination without cause), on the early termination of a fixed term contract an employee is entitled to the wages the…
Ontario Budget Bill 2016 Passes
On April 13, 2016, the Ontario government passed Bill 173, Jobs for Today and Tomorrow Act (Budget Measures), 2016, omnibus legislation giving effect to initiatives contained in the Ontario Budget 2016. See our FTR Now of February 29, 2016, Ontario Budget 2016, for a detailed discussion of those initiatives of interest to employers, human resources professionals and…
Ontario Safety Blitzes To Target Workplaces and Sectors with Vulnerable Workers
The Ontario Ministry of Labour has announced that it will do over 20 targeted blitzes at Ontario workplaces from May 2, 2016 to March 31, 2017. The Ministry will investigate potential violations of employment standards and occupational health and safety laws at targeted workplaces which include food services, retail stores, construction sites, mines and, in…