Tag: Termination of Employment

Solicitor-Client Privilege Does Not Necessarily Arise Where Lawyer Copied on Internal HR Email

· 2 min read

Is an email sent by a human resources employee and copied to the employer’s lawyer covered by solicitor-client privilege? The Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently answered this question in Jacobson v. Atlas Copco Canada Inc. This action involved a plaintiff’s claim for wrongful dismissal. His employment had been terminated for allegedly participating in a…

Divisional Court Upholds Jan Wong’s Obligation to Repay Settlement Funds for Breach of Confidentiality

· 5 min read

The Ontario Divisional Court has unanimously upheld Arbitrator Louisa Davie’s decision that Jan Wong breached her confidentiality obligations under a settlement with her former employer, The Globe and Mail (the “Globe”) and is bound by the repayment obligation she agreed to as part of the settlement. The Court held that Ms Wong lacked standing to…

Ontario Court Voids Termination Provision for Non-Compliance with the Employment Standards Act

· 2 min read

In Miller v. A.B.M. Canada Inc., the Ontario Superior Court again nullified a termination provision in an employment contract because it did not strictly comply with the requirements of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”). The plaintiff worked for the defendant for 17 months in a middle management position at an annual salary of $135,000.The…

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…

Significant Punitive Damages Arising from Employee Termination

· 2 min read

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…

Court of Appeal Upholds Termination of Employee for Driving Company Vehicle While Intoxicated

· 1 min read

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…

Section 46.1 Code Damages Awarded by Court

· 1 min read

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently awarded damages under section 46.1 of the Ontario Human Rights Code, a section added to the Code in 2008 to permit courts to award damages for violations of the Code. Wilson v. Solis Mexican Foods appears to be the first decision in which such damages have been ordered…

OCA Upholds Termination Clause in Employment Contract

· 2 min read

In a recent decision, Dimson v. KTI Kanatek Technologies Inc., the Court of Appeal for Ontario found that the termination provision in an employment contract was enforceable and did not violate the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”). At issue were the following contract provisions: Section 18 (c) In addition, [the employer] may terminate this Agreement…