Upcoming Webinar: June 12, 2025 @ 12:30 P.M. (ET)  |  Mental Health Considerations for Workplace Investigators |   Register Today!

Serious insight for serious situations.

Serious insight for serious situations.

Insights

Reflections and news direct from Rubin Thomlinson.
Subscribe to receive updates of interest to you.

Filtered By:

Mass terminations: What workplace parties need to know

In a volatile global economy, it is sometimes necessary for organizations to restructure their operations in order to remain competitive. Often, this “right-sizing” exercise involves the termination of groups of employees, or even entire departments or business units. Canada has been no stranger to job loss over the past five years and, indeed, talk of

Read More

Investment banker dies after working “until 6am for three nights in a row”

There comes a time when both employers and employees need to be reminded of the limits to the employment relationship, and the physical limits to which one can push his or her body. In reading a news article published by The Daily Mail, I figured that now was the time for that reminder. The article’s

Read More

Tweet, Tweet! – “A little bird told me”: Employee dismissed after twitter post comes to employer’s attention

In the latest incident of an employee’s social media activity landing him/herself in hot water with an employer, media outlets reported last week that a Toronto-area mechanic was fired after allegedly tweeting the following: “Any dealers in Vaughan wanna make a 20sac chop?  Come to Keele/ Langstaff Mr. Lube, need a spliff or two to

Read More

So you’ve never hired an employment lawyer?

I’ve been speaking with quite a few entrepreneurs lately about employment law issues, and I’ve been surprised to learn how few of them have ever worked with an employment lawyer.  Their impression seems to be that, once you engage a lawyer, they come in, rack up thousands of dollars in legal fees and do not

Read More

AODA compliance: Audits and websites

During a recent AODA training session that I conducted, it became apparent that most organizations represented at the session had taken steps to meet their obligations under the Customer Service Standard and were now preparing for the next stage of compliance under the Integrated Accessibility Standards (IAS), dealing with employment, information and communication and transportation.

Read More

What to do when employees are not flooding to work

The other week, Toronto was hit with a major rainstorm that ground parts of the city to a halt. The effect of the storm was felt particularly by those in the west end of the city whose homes, businesses and streets were flooded by the uncharacteristic amount of rain. Naturally, those affected by the storm

Read More

If you think reorganizing your workplace is as easy as the PM’s most recent cabinet shuffle, think again!

This week’s ministerial cabinet shuffle got me thinking about workplace changes and the risks associated with them.  From time to time employers feel the need to make significant personnel changes in their workplace which can include revising the duties, titles, and pay structure for some of their employees. While the business may dictate such a

Read More

Court reinforces employer’s responsibility in managing sexual harassment and refuses to accept antiquated thinking

In a recent decision, Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada v. Communications, Energy and Paperworkers’ Union of Canada, Local 3011, 2013 ONSC 2725, the Ontario Divisional Court held that the discharge of an employee who had sexually hara­ssed a co-worker was an appropriate penalty.  The employee, a mail room clerk, tried to kiss

Read More