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Serious insight for serious situations.

Serious insight for serious situations.

Insights

Reflections and news direct from Rubin Thomlinson.
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Snow day! Inclement weather and challenges for HR

For much of Canada, this winter has been severe and seemingly never-ending.  Toronto has just come through a February that didn’t see the temperature climb above the freezing mark even once; and as I type this, the 24-hour forecast calls for 5-10 centimetres of snow, ice pellets and freezing rain – and, obviously, very treacherous

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Winter safety blitz: Getting a grip on slips and trips in the winter of 2015

For those of us in Ontario, Quebec, the Prairies and Atlantic Canada, 2015 has so far been a never-ending story of winter. Work, however, must nevertheless carry on despite snow, ice, slush, and record breaking cold temperatures. However, with these plunging temperatures and slippery conditions comes an increased potential for twisted ankles, broken bones and

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This Partridge is probably “gettin’ happy” now

Lee Partridge worked originally as a dental hygienist for the Botony Dental Corporation and later as its office manager before she was fired following her return from a maternity leave in 2011.  She sued Botony for wrongful dismissal and for breach of both the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and the Ontario Human Rights Code.  In

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Sick notes, spying, and a toilet seat prank

Sick notes, spying, and a toilet seat prank: Did these things comprise a successful basis for moral damages? On January 7, 2015 the Ontario Superior Court of Justice issued a decision in Ciszkowski v. Canac Kitchens, 2015 ONSC 73 (CanLII). This case concerns the acrimonious termination of an 18-year employment relationship between the plaintiff and his

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Don’t like your “f**k a** job”? Tweeting about it is probably a bad idea

In the latest incident of an employee’s social media activity landing him/herself in hot water with an employer, media outlets reported earlier this week that a young woman in Texas was fired before her first day on the job, after allegedly tweeting the following: “Ew, I start this f**k a**job tomorrow.” The employee’s apparent disdain

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An avatar’s connection to the Divine

As workplaces become increasingly diverse, claims of “conflicting rights” appear to be on the rise as well. Often when there is a conflict of rights, one of the conflicting claims is grounded in creed – where an employee raises a religious objection to performing a particular job-related function. For example, many people recall the 2012

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Beer may create a workplace hazard, even if it isn’t consumed

Alcohol use in the workplace has been the subject of significant discussion by employment lawyers and Canadian jurists in recent years. In 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada held, in Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, Local 30 v. Irving Pulp & Paper, Ltd., that employers do not have an automatic right to impose

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Missing the target: Understanding mass terminations and CCAA protection

Over the last few weeks, the news has been dominated by stories of struggling businesses, including Target Canada Co. (“Target Canada”) and the impending mass termination of its employees. Many of these reports have focused on the (subjectively) small “severance packages” these employees are expected to receive. In Ontario, a “mass termination” is one that

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