Will Legalization Cause Workplace Safety To Go Up in Smoke?

The imminent legalization of marijuana is causing angst for many employers. Employers are unsure of how the issue can be dealt with in terms of prohibiting use in the workplace and addressing concerns of workplace safety.

The Day After: Canada’s Breach Notification Rules Soon to be...

Local and global data breaches remain headline news. From Facebook’s disclosure of its sharing of millions of users’ profiles (without their consent) to the recent data breach involving the Nova Scotia government’s Internal Services website, awareness is growing about privacy rights, how people share data, and how personal information is protected.

Employee Bonuses After Dismissal: When Are They Owed?

The Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Matthews v. Ocean Nutrition Canada Ltd., 2017 NSSC 16 (with supplemental reasons at 2017 NSSC 123) recently set out the test in Nova Scotia for determining whether an employee dismissed without cause is entitled to damages for lost future bonuses.

The Right Person For The Job: Nova Scotia Human Rights...

A recent decision by a Nova Scotia Human Rights Board of Inquiry in Yuille v Nova Scotia Health Authority, 2017 CanLII 17201 (NS HRC), offers another reminder of the expansive nature of the duty to accommodate and sets out specific limitations on that duty in case of prospective employees.

What Happens to Employment When an Employer Sells its Assets?

The issue of continuity of employment relationships upon the sale of the assets of a business was recently considered by the Ontario Court of Appeal in Krishnamoorthy v. Olympus Canada Inc., 2017 ONCA 873.

It’s 2018: Here are Three Workplace Policies That Businesses Should...

1. Workplace Safety If it wasn’t already clear, the wave of allegations that have had swept through the film industry and political sphere have demonstrated that sexual harassment and assault is a serious and prevalent workplace problem in our society. Under occupational health and safety legislation, it is the responsibility of the employer to furnish […]

January 8, 2018

Notice of Delay: Simon says, “I am making a claim.”

Contrary to the perception that lawyers thrive in loopholes, when a dispute arises, the concepts of fair and reasonable are consistent. It is on that basis that most parties are able to work through disputes without commencing litigation.

November 20, 2017

Settlement Agreements: Essential Terms and the Importance of Consensus

A recent decision of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, Mifflin v North Atlantic Refining Limited, 2017 NLTD(G) 140, demonstrates that Employers may be held to a settlement agreement if a consensus is reached on its essential terms, despite there being a continuance of a dispute as to its non-essential terms.

October 4, 2017

Changing Tides: Enforcement of Termination Provisions

From the employer’s perspective, one of the most beneficial terms in an employment contract is a prescribed notice period in the event of a “without cause” termination.

Mitigation Income: What’s In and What’s Out?

Under the common law, an employee who is terminated without cause is entitled to reasonable notice of termination, or pay in lieu thereof. That entitlement is not free of conditions.