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On March 12, 2020, the Ontario government announced that public schools will be closed in an attempt to stop the spread of coronavirus COVID-19.  While our young ones are excited by the prospect, parents are scrambling to find alternatives. Lots of difficult questions arise including: Will I lose my job if I have to stay …

Ontario Employees Rights During the Coronavirus School Shutdown, Illness and Quarantine Read More »

The difficulty of landing full time teaching jobs at the big school boards has created a large pool of underemployed qualified teachers and a ready supply of staff to take on short-term teaching gigs on a contractual basis. In many fields, more university graduates are produced than the economy needs. In recent years, over 40 …

2020 Good News For Gig Economy Workers – Private High School Settles Class Action by Teachers Misclassified as Independent Contractors Read More »

Non-compete and non-solicitation agreements are clauses that attempt to limit a former employee’s ability to work with a competitor and/or solicit former clients for a specific duration of time.  In most cases, these types of clauses are found within a written employment agreement. However, for fiduciary employees such as senior executives or those with specialized …

Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation Clauses 101 Read More »

In Ontario, all workers are guaranteed certain rights pursuant to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (the “Act”), which came into force in 1979. Since the Act’s inception, various amendments have been made establishing new safety procedures and rights for workers in the workplace. The Act recognizes three fundamental rights for all workers in Ontario: …

Three Basic Rights of Health and Safety in Ontario Read More »

In the October 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified, in the case of Matthews v Ocean Nutrition Canada, that when awarded common law notice for termination, employees must be put in the position they would have been had they been working during the notice period, which may include being compensated for bonuses they would …

Bonus or No Bonus During the Notice Period (Updated Nov 23, 2020) Read More »

Now that recreational cannabis has been legalized in Canada, many employers may have questions on the effects of cannabis in the workplace, especially if they had not already implemented or updated a drug and alcohol policy for their workplace. The short answer is from a practical perspective; nothing much has changed. The issues that arise …

Cannabis in the Workplace | What Employers and Employees Need To Know Read More »

On January 31, 2020, the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency as a result of the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). On March 12, 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak was qualified as a pandemic. One hopes that the contagion will be successfully controlled, but it is prudent to make contingency plans to prepare for a …

COVID-19 Contingency Plans for Employers and Employees Read More »

Previous blog posts from Monkhouse Law have touched on the differences between provincially regulated employees and federally regulated employees. The short version is that, in Canada, some industries are federally regulated such that the employment relationship is regulated by the Canada Labour Code (the “Code”) rather than the equivalent provincial employment legislation. Perhaps most importantly, …

Federal Court Upholds Employee’s Right To Claim Unjust Dismissal After Signing Release Read More »

Has your job become unbearable? Are you thinking of leaving? Sometimes quitting your job can be the right solution, but it is important to do so in the right way at the right time in order to protect your legal rights while also allowing you to leave an unsafe situation. So what do you do …

Are You Being Harassed Or Bullied At Work? Are You Thinking of Resigning? Read More »

The most frequent use of secret surveillance is when an employee is off work and collecting benefits due to an injury, and the employer or the insurer has reason to suspect that the employee is exaggerating. The employer will sometimes hire a private investigator, who will follow the injured worker around and take secret videos. …

Role Of Secret Surveillance In The Workplace Read More »