Justin W. Anisman, Barrister & Solicitor
161 Bay Street, Suite 2900 Toronto, ON, Canada

Quick cheat sheet for healthcare workers, firefighters, EMS, and other health professionals on their Ontario employment law rights.

Discrimination in the course of a job interview or in the making of hiring decisions remains too common across Ontario. The job interview is an opportunity for both employers and job seekers to learn about each other and to determine suitability or fit for the job at hand, not the place to solicit information that relate to the protected grounds of race, age, sex, gender or identity.

Here's a quick article explaining "restrictive covenants" in employment contracts.

Due to a very disruptive decision released by the Ontario Court of Appeal last week in Waksdale v Swegon North America Inc., 2020 ONCA 391, your employment contract is probably no longer enforceable. If you're a business owner, the Waksdale decision is a serious liability. The majority of employment contracts in Ontario need to be amended and updated. Otherwise, employers risk their termination provisions being unenforceable, which means they will owe employees common law reasonable notice. Common law reasonable notice often works out to months or years of notice rather than weeks under the ESA.

Punitive damages may be awarded in situations where an employer's misconduct is so malicious, oppressive and high-handed that it offends the court’s sense of decency. In the context of Ontario employment law, Courts can punish employers by an award of punitive damages, in situations where the misconduct is serious and egregious.

Ontario workplaces that are considered "federally regulated" are governed by a different set of laws. It is important to understand how these federal employment laws differ from the Ontario employment law and whether your workplace is considered federally regulated.

Constructive Dismissal describes situations where, although an employer has not directly fired an employee, its actions or its failure to address issues, leaves an employee feeling like they have no choice but to resign. Another way to think about constructive dismissal is that it arises when an employee has a good reason to quit their job.

Temporary layoffs are an attractive option for employers facing economic downturn, business or financial troubles, or a global pandemic like COVID-19. While it may appear to be a good way to eliminate staff without paying termination pay or severance, there are many misconceptions that both employers and employees have. Under Ontario employment law there's no implied right to layoff employees. If layoffs are permitted, it's only for temporary periods with strict conditions. https://www.torontoemployment.law/temporary-layoffs/

Starting a new job on "Probation" or hiring someone you're not quite sure about. Probation may seem simple, but it doesn't necessarily allow employers to fire someone free and clear within their first 3 months of employment.

COVID-19 is having significant economic impacts on both employees and employers. Mass layoffs are happening across Canada despite government initiatives to avoid them. Many employers are considering staff cuts to remain profitable. While terminating employment for legitimate business reasons (such as a downturn in the economy) is lawful, generally speaking, an employee terminated in these circumstances is entitled to reasonable notice of termination, or pay in lieu of notice. It’s important to understand how the state of the economy can influence the length of reasonable notice owed to terminated employees

Comprehensive FAQs for #Employees on COVID-19. #CoronaVirus #Ontario #EmploymentLaw

Whether an employee is entitled to payment of their bonus after being terminated is complex. Employers need carefully drafted bonus policies if they wish to avoid this obligation and employees need to know when to fight for their bonus after being fired, laid off or terminated. #EmploymentLaw #Bonuses #WrongfulDismissal

For your Friday commute home. Learn about what companies are required to do to help employees with #MentalHealth issues in the workplace, including #Stress, #Burnout, #Anxiety and #Depression.