In Ontario (Labour) v. Flex-N-Gate Canada Company, the Court of Appeal for Ontario found that corrective action taken by an employer to merely comply with a safety order following a workplace accident was not a mitigating factor for sentencing purposes under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”), and that fines for multiple OHSA breaches…
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Application of “Family Status” Considered by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
Canadian human rights tribunals have, of late, been rendering decisions which examine the reach of “family status” as a prohibited ground of discrimination. Recently, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) examined a case that involved eldercare responsibilities the applicant had for his mother-in-law. It found that the eligibility rules of the employer’s Relocation Directive…
Alberta Employer Fined in Calf-Roping Machine Fatality Case
As we previously reported, an Alberta company was found liable by the Alberta Court of Appeal for failing to ensure the safety of its employees in the operation of a faulty calf-roping machine, rented from a third party for use at a client event. One of the employees was fatally struck by that malfunctioning machine….
Significant Punitive Damages Arising from Employee Termination
In the last several years, there have been some significant punitive damages awards in employment cases, where the court found that an employer acted in a “callous” or “hardball” manner upon termination. This recently happened in Pate Estate v. Galway-Cavendish and Harvey (Township). A trial judge had awarded $550,000 against a Township which had acted…
BCCA Decision Affirms Clear Language Needed to Reserve Right to Change Retiree Benefits
A recent decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal, Lacey v. Weyerhaeuser, considered an employer’s right to unilaterally change post-retirement benefits. Although the retiree benefits at issue in this case had been voluntarily instituted, it was found that the employer had represented that the retiree benefits would be maintained on and after retirement, and…
Supreme Court of Canada Hears Case Involving the Intersection of Privacy and Labour Relations Rights
The Supreme Court of Canada recently heard an appeal that involves the intersection of privacy rights with a union’s duty of representation to its membership. At issue was the request of the appellant that her employer not disclose her personal information to her union, to which she was obligated to pay dues but declined to…
Court of Appeal for Ontario Considers Enforceability of Restrictive Covenants
The Court of Appeal for Ontario has affirmed that if restrictive covenants are to be enforceable, they must be properly drafted. In Eagle Professional Resources Inc. v. MacMullin, the Court upheld the finding of a motion judge that “non-competition” clauses in the employment contracts of employees who left the plaintiff’s employ and joined a competitor…
Supreme Court of Canada To Hear “Right to Strike” Case
In a case that will be eagerly anticipated by the labour relations community, the Supreme Court of Canada has granted leave to appeal from a decision of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal which found that the “right to strike” is not constitutionally protected. Courts have been grappling with the extent of the constitutional protection for…
No Damages Awarded For Failure to Mitigate By Declining Job with Former Employer
In a recent decision of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Chevalier v. Active Tire & Auto Centre Inc., the Court upheld a trial judge’s finding that an employee who refused an offer of re-employment with his former employer was not entitled to damages: there was no evidence that had he returned to that workplace,…
Court of Appeal Upholds Termination of Employee for Driving Company Vehicle While Intoxicated
In Dziecielski v. Lighting Dimensions, the Court of Appeal for Ontario recently upheld an employer’s decision to terminate a long-service employee with an otherwise clean disciplinary record for driving a company vehicle while intoxicated. While driving, the employee had been involved in a car accident and was criminally charged. The lower court had examined the…