2554 Results

Appellate Court Overturns Summary Judgment Decision that Former Employee Owed $20m in Damages to Employer; Matter Remitted for Trial

The decision of a summary judgment motion judge who ordered a former employee to pay his former employer $20 million in damages has been overturned by the Court of Appeal. In Plate v. Atlas Copco Canada Inc., the Court held that the motion judge erred when he found a trial was not necessary and proceeded…

Appellate Court Reviews “Family Status” Test

The British Columbia Court of Appeal recently clarified the meaning and scope of the term “family status” in Envirocon Environmental Services, ULC v. Suen. This case confirmed the Campbell River test, which imposes a higher standard for establishing discrimination than the often-cited Federal Court of Appeal test in Johnstone, adding to the “family status” interpretation…

Federal Government Considering Equal Pay Protection for Employees in Air Transportation Sector

The Labour Program of the federal government is seeking input on the development of a regulation under section 47.3 of the Canada Labour Code (Successive Contracts for Services) which currently applies only to contract pre-board security services employees. It is proposing extending the application of that equal pay provision to include other federally regulated employees…

A Cautionary Tale: Appellate Court Upholds Judgment Against Employer for Punitive Damages, Aggravated Damages and “Unusually High” Costs

In Ruston v. Keddco MFG. (2011) Ltd., 2019 ONCA 125 (CanLII)(Keddco), a unanimous Court of Appeal for Ontario upheld a substantial damages and costs award against an employer that breached its “duty of good faith and fair dealing in the manner of dismissal.” The Keddco decision serves as an important reminder for employers across Canada…

Pay Equity Compliance Checklist

This Client Toolkit is intended to help employers monitor pay equity compliance within their organization by providing a checklist of key compliance benchmarks that must be monitored regularly.

Notice of Intended Decision Considers Whether Vacation Pay Forms Part of Pensionable Earnings

The Ontario Superintendent of Financial Services (Superintendent) issued a Notice of Intended Decision (NOID) in late 2018 that considered whether vacation pay should be factored into a pension plan’s definition of pensionable earnings. The NOID indicates that, in the absence of clear exclusionary language, the Superintendent will interpret the phrase “base pay” to include vacation…