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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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Let’s talk workplace incivility

Last week, I traveled to York University to give a lecture on workplace incivility to students in the Human Resources Management program. Other than marveling at some of the new buildings on my old university campus, I was also surprised by the discussion that was occurring in the classroom about incivility. The solutions that these

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AODA deadlines approaching quickly

With Halloween behind us, it’s time to look ahead to another big date looming on the calendar. Yes, that’s right, another AODA deadline is fast approaching. Unlike under the AODA Customer Service Standard, an organization has a variety of deadlines to meet under the Integrated Accessibility Standard (“IAS”) depending on the nature of the requirements.

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Trick or treat or legal issues?

Halloween usually brings out the creative side in all of us, whether through designing costumes, putting up decorations, or at times the choice of what treat to hand out to eager trick-or-treaters (I personally still recall the lady on our street who handed out a six-pack of Sprite!). Although Halloween is meant to be a

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Clear drafting: Essential to the enforceability of termination clauses

When terminating an employee without just cause, an employer is required to provide the employee with reasonable notice of the termination or reasonable payment in lieu of such notice at common law.  The length of notice can be significantly less than the common law would require provided that the parties enter into an employment agreement

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Ahh, the lure of self-employment…

According to a report released last week, more Canadians are joining the ranks of the self-employed, with self-employment climbing 3.6% in the last year. It seems that employers are reluctant to offer permanent positions and expand payrolls in times of economic uncertainty. In addition, many older workers seem to like the idea of being their

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The unintended consequence of an enforceable non-competition agreement … A Longer reasonable notice period

Employers often wish to restrict the competitive activities of an employee who is no longer in their service. However, the Ontario Superior Court case of Dimmer v. MMV Financial Inc. (2012 ONSC 7257) informs employers that where they seek to restrict an employee from engaging in competitive activity post-termination, the reasonable notice period awarded may be

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Alberta court reaffirms reasonable notice entitlements for dependent contractors

At the end of a typical employment relationship, it is not uncommon for the parties to disagree over the amount of “reasonable notice” (or pay in lieu of notice) that the employer is required to give to the employee under common law. However, in situations where an organization has retained an individual as a contractor

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High there!* Do employers need to accommodate the smoking of medical marijuana in the workplace?

As many employers already know, smoking in the workplace is prohibited in Ontario. However, with the topic of medical marijuana increasingly in the news, a question that comes to mind is: “Does this prohibition apply to the smoking of medical marijuana in the workplace?” Section 9 of the Smoke–Free Ontario Act  states: No person shall

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