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Dismissal, Mitigation Kevin Patrick Robbins Dismissal, Mitigation Kevin Patrick Robbins

Time to Expand the Search? The Duty to Mitigate in a Remote Work World

Individuals in Ontario have a duty to mitigate their loss of employment when seeking damages for wrongful (or constructive) dismissal. In practical terms this means that while employees may be able to seek damages from their former employer (to put them in the position they would have been had they received adequate notice of termination), they must make reasonable efforts to replace their lost income by looking for, and accepting, other comparable work.  

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Employment Contracts, Employment Litigation Kevin Patrick Robbins Employment Contracts, Employment Litigation Kevin Patrick Robbins

Fixed periods of employment are unaffected by unenforceable termination provisions

We often come across fixed-term contracts in our legal practice. Employers have varying reasons for wanting to use such agreements. Perhaps funding for an employee is tied to third party grants, or an employer wants to temporarily replace an existing worker during their period of maternity leave. Whatever the justification, we generally advise employers to think twice before using fixed-term contracts.

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COVID-19 & Employment, Wrongful Dismissal Kevin Patrick Robbins COVID-19 & Employment, Wrongful Dismissal Kevin Patrick Robbins

CERB Payments are not Deductible from Wrongful Dismissal Damages

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (“CERB”) was a form of income replacement offered by the Government of Canada at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible recipients could receive $2,000.00 per month during the program’s 28-week duration (which ran from March to September 2020).

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Employment Contracts, Wrongful Dismissal Kevin Patrick Robbins Employment Contracts, Wrongful Dismissal Kevin Patrick Robbins

Understanding the Changed Substratum Doctrine - Is Your Old Employment Contract Still Enforceable?

Our firm is often retained by employees and employers to provide advice on dismissal entitlements. One of the first places we look in this regard is to the parties’ written employment contract (if one exists). Employers have an incentive to implement written contracts as a means of limiting future dismissal costs. For similar reasons, contracts often come under heavy scrutiny by employees (and their lawyers) whenever a job termination takes place.

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Discrimination, Employee Hiring, Employee Rights Kevin Patrick Robbins Discrimination, Employee Hiring, Employee Rights Kevin Patrick Robbins

ChatGPT and AI in the Workplace

ChatGPT (an artificial intelligence language generator financed by Microsoft) has captured the world’s attention. By inputting prompts in plain language, ChatGPT can do a seemingly endless series of tasks. Some are quite mundane – such as answering questions – while others could be revolutionary for automating common and labour-intensive work.

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