A recent Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) decision found that two teachers engaged in a lawful work refusal when they refused to return to work following a classroom incident where a student engaged in a violent episode against another staff member. In Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association v Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, three teachers…
Publication Name: Case In Point
Court of Appeal Confirms Employment Contract Frustrated by Failure to Comply with Mandatory Vaccination Requirement
In Croke v. VuPoint Systems Ltd., the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a motion judge’s decision that an employee’s failure to comply with his employer’s vaccination requirements amounted to a frustration of contract, disentitling him to wrongful dismissal damages at common law. The lower court decision was discussed in our Case in Point of March…
Ontario Court of Appeal Finds Plaintiff Did Not Fail to Mitigate, Upholds $50,000 Aggravated Damages Award for Manner of Dismissal
A recent Court of Appeal decision provides an illustration of when an employee may successfully claim they were unable to mitigate due to physical incapacity. It also provides a reminder of the factors a court will examine to determine if an employee is entitled to aggravated damages for the manner of dismissal. Krmpotic v. Thunder…
Supreme Court of Canada: Exclusion of Managers from Definition of “Employee” in Québec Labour Code Does Not Violate the Charter
On April 19, 2024, the Supreme Court rendered Société des casinos du Québec inc. v. Association des cadres de la Société des casinos du Québec in which it concluded that the exclusion of managers from the definition of “employee” in the Québec Labour Code (Code) does not violate the right to freedom of association found…
Ontario Divisional Court Finds Arbitrator’s Decision to Reinstate Terminated Grievors Was “Fatally Flawed”
On April 2, 2024, the Ontario Divisional Court released its decision in Metrolinx v. Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1587, which was a judicial review of an arbitration decision rendered by the Grievance Settlement Board (GSB). The Court found that the decision of the arbitrator, in which he reinstated five grievors whose employment had been terminated…
OLRB Considers Employer’s Disclosure Obligations Under OHSA After Workplace Harassment Investigation
The Ontario Labour Relations Board (the OLRB) has provided guidance on the extent of an employer’s disclosure obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) when an investigation into workplace harassment has been conducted. In Shannon Horner v Stelco Inc. Lake Erie (Shannon Horner), the OLRB considered, for the first time, an employer’s disclosure…
Divisional Court Confirms Concurrent Jurisdiction Model Applies to Human Rights Disputes in Unionized Workplaces
The Divisional Court has confirmed that Ontario labour arbitrators share concurrent jurisdiction with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) over human rights disputes that arise in a unionized workplace. As reported in our FTR Now of October 6, 2022, in Weilgosh v. London District Catholic School Board, the Tribunal determined it shared jurisdiction with…
Supreme Court of Canada Finds Individuals Have a Privacy Interest in Their IP Addresses
In R. v. Bykovets, released on March 1, 2024, the majority of the Supreme Court of Canada (Court) found that individuals have a privacy interest in their internet protocol (IP) addresses. The issue arose in the context of the Court’s consideration as to whether police had breached section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights…
Ontario Court Finds Failure to Accept Comparable Position Constitutes Complete Failure to Mitigate
In Gannon v. Kinsdale Carriers, the Ontario Superior Court recently considered what constitutes “comparable employment” for the purpose of mitigation of reasonable notice damages. The plaintiff was employed by the defendant, a federally regulated trucking company, for 23 years. At the time of her termination from employment, the plaintiff held a role that included accounts…
Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario Awards Applicant $180,000 as Compensation for Injury to Dignity, Feelings and Self-Respect
In the recent decision of L.N. v. Ray Daniel Salon & Spa, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) awarded an applicant $180,000 in damages for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect. In this case, the applicant was a recently arrived refugee to Canada. She had not yet received her work permit when she started…