The authority to make laws in Canada is split between the federal and provincial governments. Generally speaking, the employment relationship of most Ontario workers is subject to provincial laws such as the Employment Standards Act. A limited number of Ontario employees, however, work in industries over which the federal government has jurisdiction, and consequently sets the law. The federal equivalent of the Employment Standards Act is the Canada Labour Code. Federal jurisdiction applies to many Ontario workers employed in the following industries:

A workplace is a team environment. It functions best when the atmosphere is positive. One of the biggest concerns for employers, in Ontario and elsewhere, is how to address and manage the presence of a “toxic employee” in the workplace.

Vey Willetts lawyer Paul Willetts was quoted in the November 28, 2016 edition of Canadian HR Reporter in an article entitled "Older Employees Deserve More". The article discusses the recent Ontario Superior Court decision of Ozorio v. Canadian Hearing Society. In this case, a 60-year old senior managerial employee, with 30 years service was dismissed. Ms. Ozorio was ultimately awarded 24 months of reasonable notice. To read our recent review of the case and its implications for older workers please click here.

In the recent decision of Morison v Ergo-Industrial Seating Systems Inc. the Ontario Superior Court of Justice made an award of $50,000.00 in punitive damages against the defendant employer. This decision is an important reminder to all Ontario employers of the type of conduct which may attract punitive damages.

With the internet playing an ever larger role in our lives (and our work), it is no surprise that there has been a corresponding increase in online employee misconduct. In this realm, one of the most frustrating situations for employers relates to anonymous postings that offend company policy. These occur in a variety of ways: from nameless comments on online message boards disparaging the workplace to videos uploaded to sites like YouTube as a form of workplace or co-worker harassment.

Fixed term employment contracts can serve a useful purpose within an organization. They permit employers to limit the engagement of an employee to a set project or a fixed period of time. In circumstances where there is a significant fluctuation in annual work volume or where temporary staff are required to offset absences (such as due to illness or a parental leave) fixed term contracts may be ideal.

Last week, VW Lawyers' Andrew Vey spoke at the Ottawa Human Resources Professionals Association Conference on the process of providing reasonable accommodation to Ontario employees at work.

In our First Reference blog of February 19, 2015, we discussed an interesting decision out of the British Columbia Superior Court of Justice: Consbec Inc. v. Walker.

The facts (in brief) related to a claim from a family-owned company for a variety of damages related to an employee’s hasty resignation. Among these was the allegation that the Defendant ex-employee failed to provide reasonable notice of resignation (he in fact provided none) and this caused the company to incur damages related to arranging for a replacement.

Many Ontario employees receive some form of bonus payment as part of their total compensation. In a recent decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal, Paquette v. TeraGo Networks Inc., the Court provided clarity around the circumstances in which an employee will be entitled to receive bonus payments as part of their severance during the applicable notice period. 

Courts have previously recognized that older employees may struggle to find comparable re-employment. In a recent decision, Ozorio v. Canadian Hearing Society, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice awarded 24 months’ common law reasonable notice to a dismissed employee, Ms. Ozorio, who was 61 years old at the time of dismissal.

A Performance Improvement Plan (or “PIP” for short) is a non-disciplinary tool that some Ontario employers use when they have identified concerns with an employee’s performance. A PIP can be a legitimate means by which to help a struggling worker identify weaknesses in the performance of their duties and return to success. 

Some jobs are boring. I spent eight months during University working as a parking booth attendant. There was not much to do in the 3' by 3' box, but it helped pay for tuition.

Despite workplace boredom being a mundane reality of some working lives, it may also be the catalyst for more serious workplace concerns. At the extreme, in limited circumstances, boredom could even form the basis for constructive dismissal.

You have just been given the bad news that your employer is letting you go. They brought you into a room, made a brief statement and handed you some papers to sign. You have been told you have a few days to review and return the documents.

What do you do now? How can you tell whether what the company has offered in severance is fair? What about this "Release" that they are asking you to sign  should you do it?

By now you have likely heard of the new gaming phenomenon sweeping the globe: Pokémon GO. This is an augmented reality game that can be downloaded for free by anyone with a smartphone. 

In essence, Pokémon GO requires users to explore their local city with their phones. By visiting different areas, certain rewards or objectives can be received. The Pokémon (or digital creatures) can only be seen by users on their phone and are displayed over the camera picture of the local environment (thus the "augmented" nature of the game). This has led to some odd outcomes. For instance, a police station in Darwin Australia has had to tell players to keep out and catch Pokémon elsewhere. In another case, the National Holocaust Museum in Washington DC has been forced to remind visitors that it is not an appropriate venue for gaming.

As an employee in Ontario, it is important to understand your vacation entitlements. This Q&A article seeks to provide some answers to the more frequent questions we receive.

The Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) is the law governing minimum vacation requirements in the province. As such, in order to determine your particular vacation entitlement, it will be necessary to review the ESA as a starting point, and consider any additional entitlement set out in your employment agreement or, if you are a unionized employee, in a collective agreement