As demonstrated by the Ontario Superior Court’s recent decision in Diamantopoulos v. KPMG LLP (“KPMG“), the answer to this question is still “it depends.” In determining the issue, courts will look at a number of contextual factors to determine “the intention of the parties” when they entered the employment agreement. In KPMG, the plaintiff commenced a…
Industry: Retail & Wholesale Trade
CASL Regulations Amended
On May 28, 2014, Regulations Amending the Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations (CRTC) (“Regulations”) were registered and came into force. The Regulations amend the Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations (CRTC) made under Canada’s Anti-spam legislation (“CASL”), to provide that section 5 of the Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations (CRTC) (“Specified Functions of Computer Programs”) comes into effect on…
Amendments Made to Federal Occupational Health and Safety Regulations
The federal government has registered two amending regulations made under the Canada Labour Code: Regulations Amending the Oil and Gas Occupational Safety and Health Regulations (Miscellaneous Program) and Regulations Amending the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (Miscellaneous Program) (“Regulations”). The purpose of the Regulations is, among other things, to clarify inconsistencies between their French…
Canada Labour Code Health and Safety Amendments to Come into Force on October 31, 2014
The federal government has fixed October 31, 2014 as the date that Division 5 of Part 3 of the federal Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 2 will come into force. Division 5 of Part 3 of the Act amends the Canada Labour Code (“Code”) and makes consequential amendments to other statutes to align them with these changes….
CPP Regulations Amended to Define “Substantially Gainful” Occupation
On June 18, 2014, Regulations Amending the Canada Pension Plan Regulations were published in the Canada Gazette. As previously reported, the Regulations amend the Canada Pension Plan Regulations to prescribe the meaning of “‘substantially gainful’, in respect of an occupation” in subsections 42(1) and 89(1) of the Canada Pension Plan, one of the factors relevant…
Court of Appeal Reduces 24.5 Months’ Notice Granted to 70 Year Old Employee
In 2013, the decision of Kotecha v. Affinia garnered some attention among employment lawyers and human resources professionals. The motion judge’s award of 24.5 months’ notice (22 months’ notice, in addition to the 11 weeks of working notice already provided) to a 70 year old employee was seen by some as a potential indicator marking…
2014 Waterloo Client Conference
Change is a constant in the human resources world – with new laws and court decisions and the evolution of best practices.
Arbitrator Upholds Dismissal of Grievor for Posting Vicious Comments about Co-Worker on Facebook
In a recent labour arbitration award, Arbitrator Laura Trachuk upheld the dismissal of a three and one-half year employee for posting vicious, humiliating and threatening comments about a co-worker on Facebook. While the Arbitrator left many specifics out of her decision in order to protect the identities of those involved, this decision serves as an…
2014 London Client Conference
Stay on the leading edge of Human Resources change Change is a constant in the human resources world – with new laws and court decisions and the evolution of best practices. Employers must take the lead in responding to these emerging challenges – and Hicks Morley is pleased to be your partner in navigating this…
Hicks Morley featured in Benefits Canada
Hicks Morley was cited in the May 26, 2014 edition of Benefits Canada in an article entitled “Court reduces award given to bullied employee“. The article references Hicks Morley’s recent FTR Now entitled, “Court of Appeal Reduces $1.45 Million Award to Constructively Dismissed Employee” which reviewed the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision to reduce the…