EWorkLaw is Now Retired

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9:36:03 PM    

This Site's Imminent Demise

I'm thinking of retiring from writing this blog. Does anyone out there feel strongly about keeping this blog up and running? Let me know and I'll reconsider.

6:19:40 PM    

Employee Can't Deduct Purchase of Client List, Rules Top Court

(LSUC)--The Supreme Court of Canada has held that an employee is not allowed to deduct the cost of, and interest paid on a loan used to purchase a customer list and a non-compete agreement for the purpose of calculating income tax. In so holding, the court acknowledged the unfairness of treating employees and businesses differently and made important rulings with respect to interest deductibility. Read the Law Society's digest. Or the case.

10:14:04 PM    

Supreme Court Rules Arbitrators Have Power to Give Money and Not Reinstatement

In a case all the legal publishers are touting as exciting, because it's a slow news month, the Supreme Court has reaffirmed old arbitral case law, which stated that arbitrators have the right to grant--in exceptional circumstances--a damages award (i.e. cash) to aggrieved union members rather than reinstate them to jobs they were wrongfully fired from. Here it is.

10:02:01 PM    

Supreme Court of Canada Blows its Nose, Arbitrators Catch Cold

The Supreme Court has changed its mind once again. In two recent cases, they have reviewed the decision of a labour arbitrator on the basis of "reasonableness" reducing the deference formerly paid to labour arbitrators under the "patent unreasonableness." Since no one really knows what the hell the difference is between the two concepts, this makes little difference in the real world. See this case. And this one.

9:58:20 PM    

B.C. Court of Appeal Requires Employers to Accommodate Parents

Altering the working conditions of a parent whose child has severe psychiatric difficulties, and requires parental care as a key component of their medical treatment, may be a violation of the family status guarantees under human rights laws, ruled the BC Court of Appeal in a recent decision, which may extend the obligations on employers to accommodate parental obligations. See Health Sciences Association of British Columbia v. Campbell River and North Island Transition Society, 2004 BCCA 260.

9:33:12 PM    

Union Lawyers Blast Model Pension Law

Sack, Goldblatt, and Mitchell have stated that a model law being promulgated as a national standard for regulating pensions lacks the basic safeguards and guarantees already contained in Ontario's pension law. Read the press release. Go to the website of the pension law reformer do gooders.

10:51:00 PM    

Toothless Organization Launches Occupational Safety and Health Web site

OTTAWA, ON - The Trinational Occupational Safety and Health Working Group under the North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation (NAALC) has launched a Web site http://www.naalcosh.org to promote and improve safety in the workplaces of Canada, the United States and Mexico. Read the rest of the press release.

10:43:37 PM    

Ontario Will go After Bad Employers

Minister Bentley announced that legislation this spring will be introduced, allowing the government to ferret out law breaking employers. The current legislation requires an employee to lodge a complaint before an investigation is made. Read the Ottawa Citizen story here.

10:41:24 PM    

McGuinty government introduces family medical leave legislation

TORONTO, CNW/ - The McGuinty government today introduced legislation that would provide up to eight weeks of job-protected, unpaid time off work for those taking care of a gravely ill family member, Labour Minister Chris Bentley announced April 13th. Read the press release. Read a draft of the Bill.

10:35:50 PM    

Feds have power to place employees on temporary unpaid status

Read the case if you love public sector law.

7:00:26 PM    

Bad Faith Dismissal and Damages

A great case, kids, on bad faith dismissal and damages. An employee who was fired by a rude message left on his answering machine--accessible to his wife and kids--was later left to fight a claim for employment insurance because his employer had fabricated a series of lies on the Record of Employment in order to justify its wrongful termination. There's more. To obtain a copy of this case, contact me at 1-888-eWorkLaw or email me.

6:53:38 PM    

Another Public Servant Learns the Law

Over and over again, they sue in court only to discover they aren't allowed in. You have to grieve in the PS, sayeth the law. Here's a case on point.

6:35:56 PM    

Tricks of the Trade Foil Architectural Firm

An architectural firm that stated to one of its architechts "we want you to go" later claimed that it never told the architect he was fired. He misunderstood, they said. Later, they sent him his payment for work he had recently completed, and attached to the cheques was a contractual release of all claims--a standard form used in the construction field to release all liens against land. The judge thought little of the firms foolish games and awarded the architect over $60,000 for wrongful dismissal. Contact me at 1-888-eWorkLaw or email me for a copy of the case.

6:33:16 PM    

Quality Control Technician Who Failed to Control the Quality Wins Wrongful Dismissal Award

Although the court admitted that the plaintiff seemed to have problems with her mental state, and lacked any remorse for costly mistakes, she was not fired with legal cause, and awarded her 8 months salary in lieu of notice. A copy of the case can be read here.

6:20:44 PM    

Employee's Previous Service with Same Employer Not Counted in Reasonable Notice

A dismissed employee who had left his employer for a two-year term in 1985 and returned in 1987 claimed he was entitled to reasonable notice based on 27 years of seniority, which relfected his original start date in 1973. But a trial court agreed with his former employer argued the two-year gap meant he should only receive notice for 12.75 years of seniority. Contact me at 1-888-eWorkLawor email me for a copy of this case.

6:14:26 PM    

Disabled Employee Properly Dismissed after Return to Work Program Failed, Rules Appellate Court

A manager who spent years on disability leave and could only muster a small amount of non-managerial home-based work--even after a lengthy gradual return to work program--was properly dismissed for frustration of contract ruled a Canadian appeal court in a recent award. Contact me at 1-888-eWorklaw for a copy of this case or email me.

 

6:06:03 PM    

Appeal Court Upholds Restrictive Covenant

An instructor at a private school left and started his own business, with a number of his employer's students in tow. His former employer sued and won on the basis of a restrictive covenant which prevented the teacher from starting a business with 10 miles and for up to one year. The covenant was upheld on appeal. Contact me at 1-888-eWorkLawor email me for a copy of this case.

5:53:39 PM    

Court Orders Employee to Repay Signing Bonus

A court ordered a former employee to repay his $17,500 signing bonus for departing from his employer within two years. Contact me at 1-888-eWorklaw for a copy of this case or email me.

5:45:31 PM    

Smoking Joint not Misconduct under EI Rules

The Federal Court of Canada has upheld the decision to grant $10,000 worth of retroactive EI benefits to a man who was fired for smoking pot on the job, saying that such an activity was not misconduct. Read the Montreal Gazette editorial. Read the case.

8:44:43 PM    

Worker Collects LTD Benefits after Giving Up Workers' Comp

A worker who decided to give up his workers' compensation benefits--in order to sue the manufacturer of a product that injured him at work--was able to claim long-term disability benefits in full from his insurance company. The insurance company had argued that the worker's LTD payments should have been reduced by the amount he could have received had he continued to elect to receive workers' compensation benefits. Read the case.

9:54:52 PM    

CUPE Flight Attendants Score Pay Equity Victory

TORONTO, March 22 /CNW/ - The Canadian Union of Public Employees' ground-breaking pay equity victory is long-overdue justice for flight attendants at Air Canada that will benefit women workers across the country, said CUPE Air Canada Component president Pamela Sachs today. Read the press release. Read the Federal Court of Appeal case.

9:42:05 PM    

Ottawa Introduces Whistleblower Law

Ottawa (NUPGE) - The federal government has finally introduced its long-awaited whistleblowing legislation to protect public employees who report wrongdoing on the job. Read the article. Read the bill.

9:33:03 PM