Over close to 9 weeks of social-distancing, my 2-year old daughter and I have watched Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (at her request, I promise) at least 167 times (and often before the sun rises). As we both became word-perfect, I realized this movie, in addition to great animation, holds some important lessons for Ontario employers and employees.

COVID-19 seemingly came from nowhere and fundamentally altered our lives. It has brought challenges to many Ontario workplaces, exposing deficiencies in employment agreements and emphasizing the need for strategic planning and preparedness.

Tired of talking about COVID-19? We certainly are. In an effort to set the pandemic aside for a moment, in this blog article we are going to revisit an old topic: sexual harassment in the workplace.

The sudden loss of a key employee can have a significant impact on an employer’s operations. It may result in loss of business, an inability to properly service clients and/or increased costs associated with replacing the lost worker.

Please note: the situation with COVID-19 is continuing to rapidly develop. In the coming days and weeks, it is likely that both levels of government may introduce additional measures/legislation that could impact employee rights/obligations. We will look to update this page accordingly. If, however, you have specific questions about your workplace entitlements, please contact an employment lawyer directly.

As of February 1, 2020, U-Haul no longer hires nicotine users in 21 of the US states in which it operates. The company, which employs over 30,000 people across the US and Canada, announced this new policy late last year.

For the past two months, the attention of the world has been fixed on Wuhan, China, as the epicentre of a new respiratory virus. The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (or 2019-nCoV) has been declared a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” by the World Health Organization and as of February 8, 2020, there have been eight (8) confirmed cases in Canada.

The Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”) protects employees from discrimination in the workplace based on one (or more) of its protected grounds, which include disability, age, creed, sexual orientation, and gender identity. It further places a positive obligation on Ontario employers to reasonably accommodate employees to the point of undue hardship.

Q&A is a recurring series on the Vey Willetts LLP blog. The aim is to provide quick answers to questions we commonly encounter in our day-to-day practice of employment law. In this edition, we focus on how employment law applies to foreign embassies and consulates that engage Canadian citizens and permanent residents to work at their diplomatic missions in Canada (“locally-engaged staff”).  

Office romances are nothing new. Many people have, and will likely continue, to meet their partners at work. In recent months, however, and in the wake of the #MeToo movement, office relationships have become something of a hot topic.

As an employer in a competitive market, there may be a strong business case to actively recruit top-performing employees from other companies. While there can be clear advantages to attracting talented and qualified employees, an aggressive recruitment strategy targeting workers in otherwise stable employment can also lead to unintended liability.

One of the issues we commonly encounter, when speaking with both individuals and employers, is whether the language in their employment contract addressing termination is enforceable.

For employees, where a termination provision is unenforceable, it can mean they have an entitlement to increased severance. Whereas for employers, if the clause does not hold, it can create uncertainty and result in unintended liability.

In a prior blog article, we wrote about an important decision from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“HRTO”) concerning discriminatory hiring practices. That case was Haseeb v. Imperial Oil, and the decision involved Imperial Oil’s policy of requiring all project engineer job applicants to hold either Canadian citizenship or permanent residency in order to be eligible for employment.

The 43rd Canadian Federal Election will be held on October 21, 2019. In advance of Election Day, employees and employers should familiarize themselves with the rules governing voting rights for Canadian workers.

Q&A is a recurring series on the Vey Willetts LLP blog. The aim is to provide quick answers to questions we commonly encounter in our day-to-day practice of employment law. In this edition, we focus on “frustration of employment.”  

People quit their jobs at various times and for various reasons. Often, when a worker quits his/her job they provide their employer with a written letter or an email confirming their decision to resign on a specified future date with the intention of continuing to work until that date.

Vey Willetts LLP started operations in August 2014, when lawyers Andrew Vey and Paul Willetts relocated from Toronto to Ottawa, with both keen to return to Eastern Ontario after several years working in the GTA. The firm was a true “start-up”, begun without a single client. As such, job #1 was to get the telephone ringing and clients through the door.

Beware the fixed-term employment contact. That should be every employer’s mantra following the recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court in McGuinty v. 1845035 Ontario Inc. (McGuinty Funeral Home), 2019 ONSC 4108 (“McGuinty”).