Jun 17, 2022The Road to Settlement is Paved with Admissible Communications In a decision released earlier this year, the Ontario Court of Appeal affirmed that “without prejudice” communications are admissible to prove the existence of a settlement, even…
Jan 4, 2022That’s an Order! Ministry of Labour reminds Employers that Compliance with Orders to Pay (and other Statutory Obligations) are not Optional A Toronto-based newspaper and advertising company – and its director – were recently fined $90,000 and $10,000 respectively for failing to pay employees the wages they were…
Dec 2, 2021Never Settle for Uncertainty In a pair of recent decisions, Justices MacPherson, Simmons and Nordheimer of the Ontario Court of Appeal remind us that as with other commercial contracts, courts will…
Sep 27, 2021New Hope for Employers for “Just Cause” Termination Provisions: Rahman v Cannon Design Architecture Inc. In Rahman v Cannon Design Architecture Inc., 2021 ONSC 5961 (“Rahman”), Justice Dunphy of the Superior Court of Ontario rejected the plaintiff’s argument that a “just cause”…
Sep 14, 2021A Cautionary Tale for Employers: Russell v The Brick Warehouse LP In Russell v The Brick Warehouse LP, 2021 ONSC 4822 Justice Vella of the Superior Court of Ontario awarded a terminated employee $25,000 in moral damages due…
Sep 13, 2021Where to? Another Trip for Uber as the Heller v Uber Technologies Inc. Class Action Drives Ahead Following the Supreme Court of Canada’s highly anticipated decision in Uber Technologies Inc. v Heller, 2020 SCC 16, on August 12, 2021, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice…
Sep 7, 2021WeirFoulds’ Commercial Litigation Practice Group lawyers contribute to the Civil Procedure & Practice in Ontario 2021 WeirFoulds Commercial Litigation Practice Group is proud to contribute to Civil Procedure & Practice in Ontario (“CPPO”), a new free online resource jointly published by the University…
Aug 19, 2021Elections in the Time of COVID: Employer Obligations on Federal Election Day and COVID-19 Considerations On September 20th, 2021, Canadians will head to the polls to elect their next Prime Minister and members to Parliament. This will be the first time in…
Jul 12, 2021Do Not Make a Bad Situation Worse: Court of Appeal Awards Punitive Damages for Inadequate Safety Practices following a Workplace Accident In Eynon v Simplicity Air Ltd,[1] the Ontario Court of Appeal recognized that post-incident conduct in the workplace can expose an employer to additional liability. The Court…
Jun 29, 2021You Heard Us the First Time: Global Payrolls Determine Severance Pay Obligations in Ontario In Hawkes v. Max Aicher (North America) Limited,[1] the Divisional Court strongly affirmed and expanded the 2014 ruling in Paquette v Quadraspec Inc[2] that an employer’s entire…
Jun 21, 2021The Ontario Court of Appeal Provides a Clear Solution to the Common Employer Doctrine In O’Reilly v ClearMRI Solutions Ltd.[1], the Ontario Court of Appeal clarified when the “common employer doctrine” will ascribe liability to a corporation in respect of an…
Jun 9, 2021The Home Stretch: Ontario Extends Temporary ESA COVID-19 Rules to September 25, 2021 On May 29, 2020, as Ontario was in the midst of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ontario government introduced Ontario Regulation 228/20 (the “Regulation”)…
Apr 29, 2021Stay Home and Stay Safe: Ontario Announces Paid Sick Leave to Combat COVID-19 Pandemic The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has placed the Ontario government in the unenviable position of having to balance the need to protect workers with the need to preserve…
Apr 26, 2021The Lawyer’s Daily cites WeirFoulds Partner Daniel Wong and Associate Max Skrow in an article on the increased inspections of workplaces in Ontario amid rise of COVID-19 cases On April 16, 2021, John Schofield of The Lawyer’s Daily reported on the government of Ontario’s increased inspections of construction sites and workplaces provincewide as new COVID-19…
Apr 20, 2021Toronto and Peel to Name and Shut down Workplaces with COVID-19 Breakouts; Other Regions may Follows may Follow As Ontario continues to experience its third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become clear that this wave is quite unlike the previous two. While Ontario…
Apr 12, 2021Employers, Are you Ready? Ontario Continues to Ramp up Workplace Inspection Efforts In January 2021, the Ontario government announced that it was ramping up workplace health and safety inspections in an effort to combat COVID-19.[1] With COVID-19 cases again…
Jan 21, 2021Ontario Further Expands its Workplace Inspections Campaign to Combat COVID-19 Last week, the Ontario government announced that it would be ramping up workplace inspections to combat the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the province.[1] The government’s…
Jan 14, 2021Ontario Ramps up Workplace Inspections to Combat COVID-19 The Ontario government recently announced additional measures aimed at addressing the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in the province,[1] and are now taking steps to ensure that…
Jan 13, 2021Ontario Declares Emergency and Issues Stay-at-Home Order: What are the Implications for Employers? Ontario has declared a second provincial emergency under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act in response to the growing number of COVID-19 cases in the province.…
Jan 5, 2021Comply or Beware: Toronto to Begin Naming Employers With COVID-19 Outbreaks As COVID-19 cases in the City of Toronto continue to rise, local health officials are imposing additional requirements on employers to combat the spread. On Monday, January…
Dec 18, 2020Stop the Clock: Ontario Again Extends the Deemed COVID-19 Emergency Leave and Introduces Flexibility for Layoffs in Unionized Workplaces Ontario has once again extended the relief for employers from the temporary layoff provisions under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) in the hopes of protecting…
Dec 11, 2020Seller Beware: Ontario Court of Appeal Confirms that a Purchaser’s Inspection does not always Relieve the Vendor of Liability for Misrepresentations The general rule regarding the purchase of real property is that the purchaser must satisfy himself or herself of the suitability of the property he or she…
Oct 11, 2020Ontario Introduces further COVID Restrictions and Promises $300 million to help Businesses Weather the Storm: What Employers Need to Know With COVID-19 cases on the uptick, the Ontario government has imposed modified Stage 2 restrictions in the Ottawa, Peel and Toronto regions. The following measures will be…
Sep 17, 2020WeirFoulds welcomes six new associates WeirFoulds is pleased to welcome back five of our former articling students as associates and welcome one new associate to the firm. They join WeirFoulds in the…
Sep 4, 2020A Cautious Reopening: Ontario Extends the Deemed COVID-19 Emergency Leave to January 2021 On September 3, 2020, the Ontario government extended the relief for employers from the temporary layoff provisions under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) until January…
Aug 21, 2020Multiple Choice: Canada to Replace CERB with New and Revised Income Support Programs for Employees As Canadian businesses and workers continue to feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian government has announced several income support measures. The Canada Emergency Response…
Aug 13, 2020Federal Government Extends the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy Program: What Employers Need to Know The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (“CEWS”) program was launched in April of 2020 to help mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to Canadian employers. Originally intended…
Jun 1, 2020Ontario Government Introduces Significant Changes to Temporary Layoffs and Constructive Dismissals under the ESA, 2000 On May 29, 2020, the Ontario government filed Ontario Regulation 228/20 (the “Regulation”).[1] This Regulation, made under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000, (the “ESA”) provides some clarity…
May 15, 2020Back in Business? Strict Requirements and Other Considerations for Ontario Employers as Select Businesses are Permitted to Reopen On May 14, 2020, the Province of Ontario issued its “Detailed List of Stage 1 Openings”.[1] Effective May 19, 2020, Ontario will enter “Phase 2” of the…
May 1, 2020As Ontario Begins to Reopen, Provincial Health and Safety Associations Provide Guidance to Employers Regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic presents a myriad of challenges for employers. In addition to the financial and social issues posed by the pandemic, employers are under increased pressure…
Apr 29, 2020The “New Normal”: What Ontario’s Plan to Reopen Means for Employers On April 27, 2020, the Ontario provincial government released “A Framework for Reopening our Province”, which details the government’s plan to gradually ease the restrictions that were…
Apr 22, 2020Further Details on the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy: Applications Process to Open April 27, 2020 Prime Minister Trudeau has provided further information regarding the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including updates to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (“CEWS”) program. The…
Apr 13, 2020Helping Employers Understand the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy On April 11, 2020, the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act, No. 2, which includes the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (the “CEWS”), received Royal Assent and is now available…
Apr 6, 2020Ford Government Tightens Lockdown on Ontario Businesses: New Truncated List of Essential Workplaces Released On Friday April 3, 2020, the Ontario provincial government released a new, truncated list of essential workplaces exempted from the mandatory emergency closure order. This measure was…
Apr 2, 2020The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy: What All Employers Need to Know On April 1, 2020, Finance Minister Bill Morneau provided details regarding the federal government’s Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy that was initially announced on March 27, 2020. Consistent…