Workplace investigations can be triggered by complaints from employees, customers or other third parties. In all circumstances, employees should be provided with a reasonable workplace investigation which is fair and thorough. We discuss employee rights during a workplace investigation. Procedural Fairness in Workplace Investigations in Ontario Workplace investigations are generally not an enjoyable experience because …
In Chin v. Beauty Express Canada Inc., 2022 ONSC 6178 (“Beauty Express”), the Ontario Superior Court considered an employee’s service with her previous employer in calculating her total years of service. The Plaintiff was a part-time aesthetician at Beauty Express, a salon located in The Bay. She began working for Beauty Express in 2013 after …
Ontario Superior Court Makes Statement on Calculating Reasonable Notice Read More »
In Brown v. Procom Consultants Group Ltd., 2021 ONSC 4185 (“Brown v. Procom”), a motion was brought to substitute the representative plaintiff in a proposed class action with another person (the “New Plaintiff”). The class action concerned the alleged misclassification of employees at Procom as independent contractors, thus disentitling those employees from the minimum employment …
In the first appellate decision to address the issue, the British Columbia Court of Appeal (the “Court”) confirmed with a sense of finality that the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (“CERB”) is not deductible from an award of wrongful dismissal damages. Yates v. Langley Motor Sport Centre Ltd., 2022 BCCA 398, concerned an employee who was …
Canadian courts have seen a vast array of employment law cases in 2022. We have identified 10 of the most important employment law cases from the past year. Many of these decisions set new precedents or otherwise clarify areas of the law that have caused uncertainty. With the implementation of the Working for Workers Act, …
Most Important Employment Law Cases Ontario 2022 Read More »
For lawyers, reputation is everything. A lawyer faced with false and defamatory statements about their personal performance would of course take issue with those statements. In Kohlenberg v. Canada (Attorney General) 2022 FC 906, a lawyer with the Department of Justice was accused of failing to meet expectations. The lawyer considered those statements defamatory, but …
Lawyer’s grievance dismissed: Performance assessment protected by qualified privilege Read More »
The class action lawyers at Monkhouse Law celebrated a victory when, on September 19 2022, their appeal of a dismissed certification motion was allowed. At issue was the certification of a class proceeding against Medcan Health Management Inc. for unpaid vacation pay and public holiday pay on variable compensation such as commissions and bonuses. In …
Monkhouse Law Successful Appeal in Medcan Class Action Read More »
In Mammoet Canada Eastern Ltd. International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 793, [2022] O.). No. 2633, the Divisional Court found, on an application for judicial review, that the Ontario Labour Relations Board was reasonable in their interpretation of a collective agreement provision. Mammoet Canada Eastern Ltd. brought a judicial review application on the decision of …
Ontario Superior Court affirms deference applies to contract interpretation Read More »
In British Columbia (Employment Standards) v. Kwok 2022 BCCA 196, the British Columbia Court of Appeal reaffirmed that when interpreting statute, you must look beyond the mere words of legislation and instead consider the very purpose of the legislation and the intent of Parliament. As the Supreme Court of Canada put it in Rizzo & …
In the recent case of Knaus v Minister of Employment and Social Development, the Social Security Tribunal of Canada awarded the Claimant Canada Pension Plan (“CPP”) disability benefits dating back to November 2017. The Claimant will remain eligible for benefits until her 65th birthdate. In this case, the Claimant was diagnosed with depression, sleeping disorders, …
Monkhouse Law Successfully Appeals Denial of CPP Disability Benefits Read More »