This year brought more cases about termination clauses, the employer’s duty to provide a safe working environment, the duty to handle employee terminations with sensitivity and in good faith, fixed-term contracts, and more.
2024 brought some interesting arbitration decisions addressing a wide range of workplace issues, from mandatory vaccination policies and employee privacy rights to workplace misconduct and the limits of arbitral jurisdiction. This article highlights a few we thought were worthy of mention.
Ontario introduced the sixth installment in the Working for Workers legislative series (Bill 229), publishes coming-into-force information for changes made under previous installments, and files new related regulations.
This update features disputes regarding entitlement to compensation for time spent taking courses and obtaining certifications, more decisions regarding terminations related to COVID-19 vaccination policies, and guidance from the HRTO on what is required to establish discrimination in a health care setting.
In a recent (and rare!) decision from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Court upheld a termination provision that limited an employee’s compensation upon termination to only the minimum entitlements under the Employment Standards Act, 2000.
An employer failed to protect an employee from assault and sexual harassment in the workplace, and then terminated her employment when she could not return to work due to related mental health disability.
The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a decision awarding, among other things, $15,000 in moral damages against an employer for bad faith dismissal. The employee had secretly recorded the meeting and successfully used this as evidence in support of their claim.
Ontario Bill 190, the Working for Workers Five Act, 2024, received Royal Assent on October 28, 2024. Bill 190 amends the ESA, the OHSA and other legislation.
An employer’s promise of confidentiality may not protect complaint or investigation documents from disclosure in court proceedings.
Application alleging sexual harassment and discrimination dismissed for failure to establish nexus between workplace and misconduct.
An employer’s delay in imposing discipline for alleged sexual harassment does not necessarily render the discipline null and void.
This update features wage enhancements for PSWs, Human Rights Tribunal denying claims, procedural rulings and the doctor’s interest arbitration wage decision.
