Accepting New Employment During a Temporary Layoff
The answer is not the same in every circumstance; however, in two recent cases, it was found that an employee on temporary layoff had not resigned by accepting new employment elsewhere.
Sabbatical Leave – Still Largely for Professors
Whatever the reason, employees who are considering further education often ask: can I take a leave of absence from my job to go back to school?
Does my employer have to accommodate me as a single parent if I need time off to care for my sick child?
Put simply, employers are required to accommodate individuals to the point of “undue hardship” where the need for accommodation relates to a ground protected by human rights legislation, such as family status.
Yes, We Found Another Way to Invalidate Your Termination Clause
A recent decision from British Columbia reminds us that even the most bulletproof termination clauses can be rendered unenforceable when the termination is implemented wrongly.
Ontario Court of Appeal sides with Fixed-Term Employee
A recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal examined the intersection of two areas of employment law: termination clauses and fixed-term contracts.
Ontario Courts Continue to Strike Down Improperly Drafted Termination Clauses
For some time now, it has been clear that Ontario courts are taking a no-nonsense approach to the interpretation of termination clauses.
Wrongful Dismissal Claim + Turning Down Reasonable Work = Sacrificing Severance Entitlements
You’ve heard of Girl Math, but let’s do some HR Math. If you are pursuing a wrongful dismissal claim, and you are offered reasonable new work, but you turn it down, you could be sacrificing a significant amount of severance entitlements.
Your Termination Clause May Be Invalidated “At Any Time”
A recent unpublished decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice determined that simply saying that the employer can implement a without cause dismissal at its “sole discretion” and “at any time” is sufficient.
2023: Employment Law Year in Review
Without further ado, here is the Rudner Law summary of the top HR Law developments of 2023.
Building Services Providers as Employers
In most industries, there is no rule requiring new service providers to hire the employees of previous providers, and any severance obligations are the responsibility of the company that acted as the employer. However, the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and Ontario Regulation 287/01 contain special rules for employees of building services providers.
Locked Up: They Won’t Let Me Out (For My Shift)
What happens if someone is in jail and can’t make it to work? Can they be fired? Or is their contract of employment frustrated? Or does the employer have to keep their job open for them?
OHRC Finds Fighting Between Co-Workers Who Are Relatives Is Not Reprisal
In Leason v. ADAMANDA INC. o/a Dairy Queen Grill and Chill, Huntsville, the applicant brought a reprisal complaint against the respondent employer. In that case, conduct that might have been unlawful in most cases was found not to be, because the parties were all related.