Practice Area: Employment Law

Notice Period for 70 Year Old Plaintiff Reduced

· 1 min read

In a recent decision, Kotecha v. Affinia, the Court of Appeal for Ontario reduced the 24.5 months’ notice that had been awarded to a 70 year old plaintiff, holding that there were no exceptional circumstances to justify the award. While the Court found that it was unlikely the employee would obtain similar employment, the award…

Court Considers Deductibility of STD/LTD Benefits from Notice Award

· 1 min read

The Ontario Superior Court recently considered the deductibility of short term disability (“STD”) and long-term disability (“LTD”) benefits from a notice award. It concluded that STD benefits could be deducted because the benefits were provided as salary continuance, the plaintiff had not contributed directly to their cost and the cost was absorbed by the employer…

Common Law Notice – Can Employers Deduct STD and LTD Payments?

· 3 min read

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…

Ontario Human Rights Commission Releases New Policy on Mental Disabilities and Addictions

· 12 min read

One of the most significant challenges facing employers today involves identifying, managing and accommodating mental health and addiction issues in the workplace. In June 2014, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (“the Commission”) issued a new policy dealing with this issue. The new policy, entitled Policy on preventing discrimination based on mental health disabilities and addictions,…

Ontario Re-Introduces BPS Accountability, Transparency Legislation (Formerly Bill 179)

· 2 min read

On July 8, 2014, the Ontario government re-introduced broader public sector (“BPS”) accountability and transparency legislation. If passed, proposed measures in Bill 8, the Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act, 2014, identified in the government’s press release would, among other matters: authorize the government to directly control compensation of senior executives in the BPS by…

Hicks Morley Receives Highest Ranking in Labour Relations in the 2014 Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory

Hicks Morley is delighted to once again be named “Most Frequently Recommended” in the Labour Relations (Toronto) category and “Consistently Recommended” in the Labour Relations (Ottawa) category. The firm has also been named “Most Frequently Recommended” in the Labour Relations (Kitchener-Waterloo) category and the Labour Relations (London) category. The firm has once again been ranked “Consistently…

Court of Appeal Reduces 24.5 Months’ Notice Granted to 70 Year Old Employee

· 3 min read

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…

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…