Public holiday pay: Is your absent employee entitled to it?
Section 26 of Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) outlines an employer’s compensation obligation towards their employees when a public holiday falls on a regular work day. In order to be entitled to public holiday pay, the employee must pass the “Last and First Rule” – which req…
View the post titled Public holiday pay: Is your absent employee entitled to it?Under suspicion: Top 10 tips for conducting a workplace investigation
Workplace investigations are an important process in any workplace. In some cases they are required by legislation and in others they are just good practice. Before conducting your own internal workplace investigation, be sure you have considered all of the points below. 1. Pick an investiga…
View the post titled Under suspicion: Top 10 tips for conducting a workplace investigationCan employers ask job-applicants if they are eligible to work in Canada on a “permanent basis”? That’s the $120k question.
As a part of their job-application process, many employers ask applicants a question about the applicant’s ability or eligibility to work in Canada. Depending on the exact wording of that question, it may violate the Human Rights Code (the “Code”). Such a violation could be costly. In 2018, …
View the post titled Can employers ask job-applicants if they are eligible to work in Canada on a “permanent basis”? That’s the $120k question.What are your environmental rights in Ontario? An overview of the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993, S.O. 1993, c 28
Is there a right to a healthful environment in Ontario? Who has that right and what does it entail? Does the public have any say in the government’s ability to make environmentally significant decisions? These questions are the subject of longstanding and ongoing debates in Canadian environm…
View the post titled What are your environmental rights in Ontario? An overview of the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993, S.O. 1993, c 28Court: Illegality of “for cause” termination provision in employment agreement does not taint distinct “without cause” termination provision
An Ontario summary judgment decision released October 3, 2019 has confirmed that an enforceable “without cause” termination clause is not unenforceable on the sole basis that, elsewhere in the employment contract, the “for cause” termination clause violates the Employment Standards Act, 2000…
View the post titled Court: Illegality of “for cause” termination provision in employment agreement does not taint distinct “without cause” termination provisionOntario court: purchaser in asset transaction cannot rely on release between employee and seller
“Privity of contract” is a common law tradition. The rights and obligations imposed by contracts are private – strangers to the contract generally have no entitlement to enforce such rights or obligations. But what happens when the employee of the seller of a business sues the buyer for wron…
View the post titled Ontario court: purchaser in asset transaction cannot rely on release between employee and sellerSurface water, natural watercourses, and Municipal drains: A brief guide to Drainage Rights in rural Ontario
Do you have a right to block surface water from entering onto your property? Can you modify a natural watercourse? Are you legally obligated to prevent surface water on your property from travelling onto your neighbour’s property? Rural landowners are often confronted with these perplexing i…
View the post titled Surface water, natural watercourses, and Municipal drains: A brief guide to Drainage Rights in rural OntarioSiskinds LLP class actions team ranked in top band of the Chambers Canada 2020 guide
The class actions team at Siskinds LLP has been ranked in the top band of the Chambers Canada 2020 guide, issued by international legal research organization, Chambers and Partners. The firm was credited with consistently winning praise among interviewees, with sources noting: “It has …
View the post titled Siskinds LLP class actions team ranked in top band of the Chambers Canada 2020 guideTermination clause update: The unclear impact of Andros v. Colliers Macaulay Nicolls Inc., 2019 ONCA 679
I have previously discussed the enforceability of termination clauses in former blog posts, available here and here. In short, a long history of inconsistent and amorphous case law has created significant uncertainty among lawyers attempting to advise their clients about whether a given term…
View the post titled Termination clause update: The unclear impact of Andros v. Colliers Macaulay Nicolls Inc., 2019 ONCA 679What can you ask for in a medical certificate?
Many employers have often had the experience of receiving a vague doctor’s note from an employee that reads something along the lines of, “this individual is unable to work for X weeks”. Employers are left wondering: Why? Can I be sure this is legitimate? Is the employee likely to return aft…
View the post titled What can you ask for in a medical certificate?Receive Blog Posts
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