The Court of Appeal for Ontario has upheld a decision of the Divisional Court which found the Ontario Labour Relations Board (“OLRB”) was reasonable in its conclusion that the Greater Essex District School Board (“School Board”) was…
Practice Area: Litigation
Enjoying a Safe Holiday Office Party
Once again, the holiday season is upon us and it is that time of year when employers begin to plan for seasonal and holiday celebrations. Whether these celebrations are large or small, it is important that employers take proactive steps to ensure the health and safety of their employees who attend office parties or other…
Improperly Sent Email Has Legal Consequences For Employer
In a fast-paced workplace, misdirected emails can easily happen and may occasionally result in an embarrassing disclosure of information to the wrong person. A recent decision of the Divisional Court confirms that the inadvertent email can also result in significant legal consequences for employers. In Fernandes v. Marketforce Communications, the employer forwarded the email of a…
Check your email recipient list before you press “send”
Employers must take care not to press the “send” button too soon as inadvertently copying an incorrect person on an email communication can have unintended results. In Fernandes v. Marketforce Communications, an employer emailed information to its lawyer setting out concerns regarding the continued employment of an employee. By mistake, that employee was copied on…
Significant Decision on Pre-Retirement Death Benefits Rendered by Ontario Court of Appeal
On October 31, 2012, the majority of the Ontario Court of Appeal departed from the pension industry’s widely held interpretation of section 48 of the Pension Benefits Act when it awarded the pre-retirement death benefit payable under an Ontario registered pension plan to a member’s designated beneficiaries rather than to the member’s common law spouse….
Court Orders for Preservation of Evidence: What You Need to Know
We are all familiar with the concept of a search warrant, from watching police dramas on TV or in a movie theatre. But you may not know that the courts can issue a type of search warrant to litigants in a civil case. These are called “Anton Piller” orders, and they are typically meant to…
Supreme Court of Canada Grants Leave in Cyber-Picketing Case
The Supreme Court of Canada has granted leave to appeal in United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 401 v Alberta (Attorney General), a decision from the Alberta Court of Appeal which raised extremely broad questions about the constitutionality of Alberta’s commercial sector privacy statute in disposing of a dispute about the right of a union…
Hicks Morley Introduces Case Law Blog
Hicks Morley is pleased to announce the launch of Case In Point, a blog designed to provide human resources professionals with timely information about interesting case law developments in a range of employment-related areas. In this FTR Now, we highlight the features of this new service. BACKGROUND In 2010, Hicks Morley launched Human Resources Legislative…
Federal Court of Appeal Interpretation Stands: Remuneration of Office-Holders Pensionable for CPP Purposes
On October 4, 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada denied leave to appeal from the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision in Minister of National Revenue and Real Estate Council of Alberta (“RECA”), and in doing so has helped to clarify how certain amounts paid to board members, council members and office-holders are to be treated…
The Reasonable Expectation of Privacy: Where Does it End?
Privacy is an expanding area of law, and it has particular impact on employers. In a recent decision outside of the employment context – R v. Ward – the Court of Appeal for Ontario speaks to the scope of an individual’s reasonable expectation of privacy. The decision in Ward highlights two points of importance to…