2021

Today
Today

Just cause and dependent contractors

  • November 15, 2014
  • David S. Louie

The fact that your contractors ostensibly work for themselves does not make them independent. David Louie, an articled student at Roper Greyell, reviews a case where the British Columbia Supreme Court determined that a contractor in a position of economic dependence vis-Ă -vis the defendant was entitled to reasonable notice of termination.

Labour & Employment

Proving just cause: MacBurnie v. Halterm Container Terminal

  • November 15, 2014
  • Rick Dunlop and Jessica Morrison

Terminating a long-service employee for cause is a recipe for lengthy litigation if the employer doesn’t give that employee every opportunity to rectify the situation. Rick D. and Jessica M. show how Halterm Container Terminal built its case.

Labour & Employment

Does sexual misconduct in the workplace justify dismissal?

  • November 15, 2014
  • Fiona McFarlane

Courts remain split on the question of whether sexual misconduct is a firing offence. It’s a timely topic in the wake of the Jian Ghomeshi allegations, and those made against MPs and staffers on Parliament Hill.

Labour & Employment

Ensuring the punishment fits the crime: proportionality and just cause

  • November 15, 2014
  • Stephen Goodwin

The definition of “just cause” is never as straightforward as employers would like, says Stephen Goodwin, a partner with Hicks Morley in Waterloo, Ont. Recent decisions continue to underline the importance of the contextual and proportional approach…

Labour & Employment

Two recent cases clarify just cause terminations

  • November 15, 2014
  • Gordon Forsyth

Just-cause job security is one of the most important collective agreement provisions in unionized workplaces. Gordon Forsyth of Pink Larkin in Halifax looks at two recent cases providing informative interpretations of just-cause protection.

Labour & Employment

Recent case law on injunctions in employment law

  • June 30, 2014
  • Fiona H. McFarlane

RJR-MacDonald Inc. v Canad remains the starting point and litmus test for employers concerned about ex-employees stealing clients. Fiona H. McFarlane of Alliance Lex Corporation studies how that test was applied in some recent cases…

Labour & Employment

Context is key for covenants

  • June 30, 2014
  • Siobhan O’Brien

Siobhan O’Brien of Hicks Morley looks at the deference afforded to restrictive covenants through the lens of the Supreme Court decision in Payette v. Guay inc.…

Labour & Employment