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A golden parachute is a term coined for clauses in employment contracts that provide for enhanced severance packages. Typically, these are given to executive level employees. In Ontario, there are certain termination packages that employees are legally entitled to receive upon termination unless terminated appropriately for cause. For instance, the minimum severance entitlements upon termination …

Golden Parachutes: Enhanced Severance Packages – Toronto Employment Lawyer Read More »

Under the Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”), employees are entitled to a work environment free from discrimination and harassment on the basis of their race and/or ethnic origin. Typically, in this day and age, racism and discrimination do not often materialize in direct in-your-face attacks or slurs, although lately there appears to have been …

The Difficulty of Proving Racial Discrimination in the Workplace Read More »

There is a good faith obligation on employers and employees during the life of the contract which includes a duty to act honestly with the other party. When an employee’s dishonesty leads to their hiring, the employer may resort to terminating their employment upon discovering the misrepresentation. An employee who believes their employer was dishonest …

Employer Misrepresentations During Hiring Process – Toronto Employment Lawyer Read More »

When an employee feels unable to work because of a health condition, employees who have coverage may qualify for Long-Term Disability (“ LTD”). Many people who contact us, along with their doctors, believe that the health condition must be severe to the point of missing a limb or being bedridden in order to qualify for …

Can I Go On Long-Term Disability? The Test for Own Occupation and Any Occupation Read More »

It has been over a year since the government provided the options for new parents to take up to 18 months of parental leave instead of the previous 12 months. However, with these changes come new questions and confusion for both employees and employers. Employment Insurance (“EI”) provides financial assistance to workers who have stopped …

Maternity/Parental Leave and Benefit Eligibility – Toronto Employment Lawyer Read More »

Employees should be free from retaliation in the event they complain about the discrimination they are experiencing at work. For example, an employer might terminate an employee after the employee complains about being discriminated against due to their gender, race, disability, or one of the other grounds of discrimination under the Ontario Human Rights Code. …

Reprisal After Complaining About Discrimination Read More »

The relationship between an employee and employer is one of contract and is either written or implied. In a typical situation, the employee agrees to engage in certain services in exchange for payment of wages, benefits and/or other forms of compensation (also referred to as consideration). It is prudent for employers to have written agreements …

Key Considerations for Drafting Enforceable Employment Agreements Read More »

When an employee is terminated without cause they are presumptively entitled to reasonable common law notice of the termination of their employment. In most cases, this means the employee is entitled to a package – which takes into account the employees age, years of service, character of employment and availability of similar employment – known …

What Happens when a Wrongfully Dismissed Employees Passes Away during the Notice Period? Read More »

Businesses are frequently bought and sold.  The structure of the sale can affect the liability for employees’ severance entitlements. It is important for both employers and employees to understand whether the previous or current owner is required to provide severance pay to dismissed employees. Generally speaking, businesses can be sold in one of two ways: …

Sale of a Business – Toronto Employment Lawyer Read More »

Human Rights laws protect an employee from being terminated due to a disability. We often hear concerns from employees on a disability leave regarding whether they can and will be terminated from their job. The answer depends on the specific fact scenario, as well as the legislations and recent case laws. What is Frustration of …

Can I Be Fired When I’m On Disability Leave? Clarifying the Concept of Frustration of Contract Read More »