Québec Court: Tough Economic Times ≠ Just Cause to Terminate

After 17 years of loyal service, an engineering firm employee was laid off with just 8 weeks’ notice. The firm tried to justify the decision by saying it was experiencing “unexpected economic hardship” that forced it to terminate 37 other employees. But the Québec court didn’t buy it and awarded the employee 10 more months’ notice–$31,630. Financial problems don’t give an employer just cause to terminate, it reasoned [CMP Advanced Mechanical Solutions Ltd. v. Snow, [2012] Q.J. No. 8955, Sept. 20, 2012].