Serious insight for serious situations.

Serious insight for serious situations.

Insights

Reflections and news direct from Rubin Thomlinson.
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“F**k it – I quit!”: Perils of the YouTube-worthy resignation

Earlier this week, Charlo Greene, a reporter for KTVA News in Anchorage, Alaska, issued a dramatic “live-to-air” resignation that no doubt stunned viewers and her in-studio colleagues alike. Following a pre-taped report on the Alaska Cannabis Club (which, according to its Facebook page, “is a medical marijuana collective organized to serve patients throughout Alaska”), Ms.

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Emails do not create a fixed-term contract

With the increasing use of email during the recruitment process, it is possible that certain terms of an employment relationship will be first discussed, if not finalized, over email before they are ever (ideally!) put into an employment contract. So, can the items discussed over email constitute terms of employment if they do not make

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New Brunswick arbitrator concludes workplace investigation deeply flawed

Across the country, legal decision-makers are increasingly reviewing employers’ workplace investigation efforts and finding them flawed. Consistent with this trend is a case from New Brunswick, Cyndi Cross v. Irving Pulp & Paper Limited, 2012 CanLII 85143 (NBLA) in which Arbitrator George Filliter reviewed the employer’s workplace investigation, and found it deeply flawed. Cyndi Cross,

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Expect the unexpected: Employees (and Rob Ford) on sick leave

I spent much of this past weekend poring over the news associated with Rob Ford’s departure from the Toronto mayoral race due to ill health. Despite feeling sympathy for Mr. Ford and wishing him a speedy recovery, there were voters and columnists who spoke of their disappointment at being deprived of the opportunity to cast

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Trust and loyalty never go out of fashion – Court makes finding of cause against senior employee

Alleging cause against an employee is the most severe punishment an employer can impose. It means no severance, no reference and no Employment Insurance Benefits for the employee. Being accused of wrongdoing can have far reaching consequences for an employee. As a result, employers bear the burden of proving cause, which can be difficult and

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Workplace conflict or harassment: Nova Scotia arbitrator weighs in

Does piling boxes on a co-worker’s desk during a move constitute harassment? Does having your vehicle towed by your employer after you deliberately parked behind other vehicles, blocking them in, amount to intimidation? Does the employer have the right to change employee working hours to that of the posted hours of operation and in response

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TIFF: Life imitating art?

I was lucky enough to be invited to attend a TIFF Premiere this past weekend for the film “Welcome to Me”.  In case you’re not familiar with the film, it tells the story of a woman, Alice, who suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder and wins $86 million in the lottery. The film focuses on the

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Car company’s classic case of constructive dismissal

For an employee to successfully argue that she has been constructively dismissed is an uphill battle. The onus is on her to show that a fundamental term of the contract of employment has been breached, she has not condoned that breach, and in walking out the door, she has not failed to mitigate her damages.

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