Is Falsifying an Expense Report Just Cause for Termination?
It depends on the seriousness of the violation and who commits it. Is dishonesty just cause to terminate an employee? The answer, as it always is with just cause, is it […]
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Terminating “Just Cuz” Or For Just Cause? Recent Decisions Maintain A High Threshold For Just Cause Terminations
Courts are increasingly reluctant to find that employers have just cause to terminate their employees: Underhill v Shell Canada Limited, 2020 ABQB 341; Mack v Universal Dental Laboratories Ltd, 2020 ABQB 738; Baker […]
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Breach Of COVID-19 Policy Justifies Termination
COVID-19 has dominated our world for the past year. It has touched every facet of our lives. It has resulted in ever-changing rules, policies and procedures being implemented that affect […]
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Are There Limits To A Professional’s Freedom Of Expression In His Or Her Personal Life?
Professionals have ethical obligations and must respect them in all spheres of their lives, even in their private lives. While they enjoy the protection of the same constitutional rights and […]
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Hiding Behind A Screen: Ontario Recognizes A New Cause Of Action For Internet Harassment
In re-examining the balance of freedom of speech and the law of defamation in the Internet age, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has recently recognized a new tort for […]
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The Tort Of Internet Harassment: A New Tort With An Extraordinary Remedy
In a landmark decision in Caplan v. Atas, 2021 ONSC 670 (the "Decision"), the Superior Court of Justice recognized the common law tort of internet harassment-proclaiming itself the first common law court outside […]
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A Tale Of Two Documents
Employers and HR professionals have become increasingly aware to the requirement to document misconduct and build the case for termination of employment. Sometimes, we do not intend to go that […]
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Insolence/Insubordination Quiz
QUESTION What is the distinction between insubordination and insolence in Canada law? ANSWER Although the terms are used interchangeably, the meanings are different. Insubordination is the refusal by an employee to follow a […]
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Is Your Holiday Party a Religious Discrimination Liability Risk?
What’s At Stake Human rights laws ban employers from forcing employees to do something inimical to their religious beliefs. Stated simply, you can’t force employees to choose between their job and […]
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HR and Dress Codes: An Interview with Attorney Cedric Lamarche
One of the most perplexing issues for HR professionals is employee dress codes. Although HR may not want to get too specific about employee workplace attire and personal appearance, being too […]
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You Make The Call: Is This a Valid COVID-19 Screening & Quarantine Measure?
PANDEMIC QUARANTINE LAW, 101 OHS laws require employers to take reasonable or reasonably practicable health and safety measures to protect workers and others at the workplace against known hazards. Risk of […]
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Coronavirus: Can Ontario Employees Refuse to Work?
At the time this article is being written on February 21, 2020, the coronavirus remains a serious global threat. According to the New York Times, approximately 2,236 people have died […]
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HR Compliance Briefing: How to Tell the Difference Between a Proper & Improper Work Refusal
What's At Stake The right to refuse dangerous work is an important safety protection for employees. But it creates a dilemma for employers. Disciplining employees for properly exercising their refusal rights […]
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Inter-Personal Conflict: Is Dysfunction between Co-Workers Grounds for Constructive Dismissal?
While it’s surely unpleasant, having a bad relationship with another person in the workplace is generally not grounds for constructive dismissal. Employees are expected to tolerate some degree of unfriendliness, […]
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Firing Employees for the Things They Post on Facebook
“How could I have assumed that a release on a Facebook page would be grounds for dismissal?” “Facebook is a social networking site, it is merely the equivalent of […]
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Progressive Discipline for Badmouthing the Company Online
QUESTION I work for the [name omitted]. One of our employees became disgruntled after her son was expelled from a school that, while not technically under the [name omitted] umbrella, is […]
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Reconciling Family And Professional Obligations: What Should An Employer Do?
The Commission des relations du travail (CNT) confirmed in Dannie Bouchard c. 9180-6166 Québec inc. Honda de la Capitale, a decision rendered on January 20, 2015, that employers are not […]
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Rehire Policy Sample
Workplace policies protect human resources employment decisions. They're also helpful for a changing of the guard when a new HR regime comes in or another HR leader takes the helm. […]
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Salesman’s Conduct Not Willful So Pay in Lieu of Notice Required upon Termination
Salesman in truck dealership was terminated and denied notice or wages in lieu of notice because the employer alleged the salesman committed willful misconduct qualifying for an exception to the […]
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Salesman’s Conduct Not Willful So Pay in Lieu of Notice Required upon Termination
Salesman in truck dealership was terminated and denied notice or wages in lieu of notice because the employer alleged the salesman committed willful misconduct qualifying for an exception to the […]
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Test Your HR IQ: Unapproved Vacation
SITUATION Fred and Ethel work for the same high end clothing store. Both have accrued 2 weeks’ paid vacation for 2014. Ethel notifies the store that she plans to take her 2-week […]
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Fallout After the Office Holiday Party
Leading up to the workplace office party, you made an extra effort to remind all employees that company rules and policies would remain in effect during company activities. However, once […]
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Loyalty, Privacy, And Free Expression In The Digital Workplace
A growing number of employees are getting "dooced" at work these days. Doocing is defined by the Urban Dictionary as "the act of getting fired for something that you have […]
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Why Workplace Negativity Grows and 6 Solutions To Stomp It Out
7 common causes of workplace negativity, 6 solutions and a dash of emotional intelligence Workplace negativity is people based but organizationally enabled. It is best resolved by working together to change […]
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HR and Dress Codes: An Interview with Attorney Cédric Lamarche
One of the most perplexing issues for HR professionals is employee dress codes. Although HR may not want to get too specific about employee workplace attire and personal appearance, being […]
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OK to Fire Postal Worker for Insubordination & Refusing Training
A postal worker was fired for refusing to attend training and calling her supervisor a “******* liar” on the work floor. The union filed a grievance but to no avail. […]
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Firing Transgender Employee Is Sex Harassment
An employee who was a biological man when he was hired claimed he was fired for choosing to live as a woman. Nonsense, said the employer; the employee was fired […]
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Inappropriate Firing of Transgender Woman Reinforces Need to Educate Managers
A transgender employee claimed she was fired because her employer wouldn’t accommodate her gender identity. Nonsense, said the employer; the employee was fired for insubordination and a bad attitude. After hearing […]
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OK for Law Firm to Fire Lawyer for Insolence
Nothing gets the juices flowing like 2 lawyers caught in a nasty personal fight. Six months into the job, the associate of a one-woman law firm wrote a nasty letter […]
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No Proof Worker Disciplined for Complaining about Safety
A shipbuilding worker complained about having to wear decals on his safety helmet, arguing that they could fall into machinery and cause an incident. He then claimed the employer subjected […]
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