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Serious insight for serious situations.

Serious insight for serious situations.

Problem employees: how can businesses survive them?

Recently, Kim Stacy, owner of the now defunct Emma’s Eatery in Nova Scotia, sparked a social media debate by complaining that a frustrating new generation of employees has helped put her out of business.  Ms. Stacy complained that during the nine years her eatery was open, young employees demanded to be paid dearly for working

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Can employers make unilaterally imposed deductions to recover inadvertent overpayments to employees?

I have, on a number of recent occasions, had employers contact me to determine what options are available to them when they have mistakenly overpaid an employee. Most employers wish to simply reverse the overpayment on a following pay thereby deducting the overpayment from wages owing. Section 11(1) of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 of

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Happy anniversary! An employment lawyer’s perspective on employment anniversaries

On July 8, 2015, I celebrated my 2nd year anniversary of practicing law with my colleagues at Rubin Thomlinson. As a lawyer in my 18th year of practice, I have celebrated many anniversaries, however, this most recent one caused me to pause and think about the importance of anniversaries in the employment law realm. I

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To mitigate or not to mitigate? That is the question

Often times in a constructive dismissal situation where an employee is demoted, the affected employee will have to decide whether or not they are required to accept the demoted position in order to mitigate any damages that they seek arising from the constructive dismissal. In the recent case of Dunstan Morgan v. Vitran Express Canada

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Dependent contractors receive 26 months’ pay in lieu of notice

The common law in Ontario, relating to dependent contractors, is now well established. Employment relationships exist on a continuum; with the employer/employee relationship at one end of the continuum, and independent contractors at the other end. Between those two points, lies a third intermediate category of relationship, now termed “dependant contractors”. Like employees, dependant contractors

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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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Feeling the pressure yet? Additional workload can cause legal liability for constructive dismissal

I recently read an article written by Leah Eichler for the Globe and Mail (January 17, 2015) titled: “Do more – without blowing a gasket.” In the article she referenced a colleague who never sleeps. She stated that he responds to her emails or texts late into the night and regardless of the hour he

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