As previously reported, the pension reforms in British Columbia will come into force on September 30, 2015. Amendments to plans registered in British Columbia which reflect the new legislative requirements must be filed by December 31, 2015. While likely to follow suit, the Ontario pension regulator, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, has not yet…
Publication Type: Blog Post
Employment Standards Enforcement Blitzes Announced for Ontario Workplaces
The Ontario Ministry of Labour has announced that it will do province-wide enforcement blitzes of workplaces that employ “new, young and vulnerable workers engaged in “precarious employment”” and temporary foreign workers to ensure that employers are complying with their obligations under the Employment Standards Act, 2000. The blitzes will take place from May 1 to…
B.C. Pension Reforms Effective September 30, 2015
Effective September 30, 2015, British Columbia’s new Pension Benefits Standards Act (“PBSA”) and supporting regulation, the Pension Benefits Standards Regulation (the “New Regulation”), will come into force, at last implementing key legislative changes originally passed by the British Columbia government in the spring of 2012. Plans must be administered to reflect the new legislative requirements…
(Yet Another) Ambiguous “ESA-only” Termination Provision Unenforceable
Another “ESA-only” termination provision in an employment contract has been found unenforceable by the Ontario Superior Court. In Howard v Benson Group, the Court decided that the termination provision providing only Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) minimum entitlements was ambiguous; therefore, the common law applied and the plaintiff was entitled to reasonable notice of termination….
Claim Against Employer Arising out of Social Event Allowed to Proceed
The decision of K.L. v. 1163957799 Quebec Inc. raises a caution for employers when planning social events. The employer hosted an unstructured evening social event at a water park where employees had unrestricted access to alcohol. The plaintiff brought an action against the employer and a supervisor as a result of an alleged sexual assault…
2015 Ontario and Federal Budgets Released
On April 23, 2015, the Ontario government tabled the 2015 provincial Budget, “Building Ontario Up” (“Budget”) and Bill 91, Building Ontario Up Act (Budget Measures), 2015 (“Bill 91”), supporting omnibus legislation designed to implement some of the proposals contained in the Budget. We are in the process of reviewing the Budget and Bill 91, and…
FSCO Updates Form 1 (Pension Plan Registration), Asset Transfer FAQs
On April 7, 2015, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (“FSCO”) published a revised Application for Registration of a Pension Plan, Form 1 and added new frequently asked questions for plan administrators (“FAQs”) with respect to Multi-Jurisdictional Pension Plan Asset Transfers, among other things. The Form 1 has been updated to provide FSCO with additional…
Termination Clause in Federal Employment Agreement Enforceable
The recent decision in Luney v. Day & Ross Inc. is good news for employers. The Plaintiff worked for an interprovincial trucking company subject to the Canada Labour Code (“Code”). The Defendant terminated the Plaintiff’s employment without cause and offered the Plaintiff a severance package that it asserted was consistent with the termination clause in…
Federal Court: Unjust Dismissal Complaint for Without Cause Termination Requires Evidentiary Hearing
In a recent decision, Sigloy v. DHL Express (Canada) Ltd., the Federal Court overturned the decision of an adjudicator which had granted an employer’s preliminary objection and dismissed a complaint of unjust dismissal for lack of jurisdiction because the complainant had been dismissed without cause. At the adjudication, the employer objected to the unjust dismissal…
Indefinite Suspensions with Pay: The SCC Clarifies the Test for Constructive Dismissal
The Supreme Court of Canada recently considered the common law doctrine of constructive dismissal in Potter v. New Brunswick Legal Aid Services, where a majority of the Court (with two justices concurring in the result) concluded that placing an employee on an indefinite administrative suspension with pay constituted constructive dismissal. It found that even where…