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Mitigation Articles
A recipe for the recently dismissed: 4 sure-fire ways to receive appropriate severance
With unemployment rates at a generational high, many employees are asking "how do you win an employment law case?" Here are four tips for the recently departed. If nothing else, following my advice ought to ensure an appropriate severance package, if not more....[read more]
Constructive Dismissal Proves Costly
Jean-Louis Drapeau was the consummate company man. But when his job was gradually eroded, his loyalty quickly turned to fury. Believing that his demotion was tantamount to a dismissal, Drapeau fled and then proceeded to sue his ex-employer. His belief was vindicated at trial. ...[read more]
Diligent job search can save your case
Succeeding with your termination case takes more than an excellent set of facts, a great lawyer and a little bit of luck on your side. Many good cases go awry because a dismissed employee does not look for another job. The law refers to this principle as mitigation and it requires a dismissed employee to make a diligent search for another similar job. If you do not, the damages you can claim may be substantially reduced. Therefore, I offer the following recommendations for employees to help build their case...[read more]
Employment contracts
On Krzysztof Rejdak's first day of work, he found himself in a pickle. He was given an employment contract with a three-month probationary term and asked to sign his name. For Rejdak, who had already resigned from his previous long-term job, his options were grim: he could either sign his name and agree to be a probationary employee or he could refuse and potentially be unemployed. Fortunately for Rejdak, he later learned in court that not all signed agreements will ultimately be enforced. ...[read more]
Failure to Mitigate defeats employee’s winning claim
How do you beat your ex-employer in court but ultimately collect little or no damages? Just ask Leo Magnan. He succeeded in proving that he was wrongfully dismissed but failed to collect the true value of his claim. His mistake: Magnan couldn’t demonstrate that his dismissal caused him a financial loss. ...[read more]
Make sure to read the fine print
In speaking recently to a forum of job seekers, I was asked what tops my list of “don’t” when it comes to receiving proper severance. Although, at first, it seemed obvious to me, I quickly realized that it was oblivious to others. Quite simply, too many employees make the strategic blunder of immediately signing a release without having first consulted with a lawyer. In fact, whether or not a release has been signed, is one of the first questions I ask when meeting with any potential new client. ...[read more]
No more bad faith? SCC ruling catastrophic for employees
It is one of the most important concepts in workplace law – or at least it was. Since 1997, When the Supreme Court presented Canadian workplaces with the Wallace decision, employers have had an obligation to play nice and behave well at the time of dismissal, or face paying additional “bad faith” damages to a former employee. But following the Court’s most recent landmark decision, employers now go from strength to strength. ...[read more]
Supreme Court orders fired employee to return to old job
We have decided to fire you. Now go back to your desk and finish your work! After a bitterly fought election of a new union executive whose candidacy he had opposed, Teamsters business agent Donald Evans saw the writing on the wall. When the new union president took over, Evans and five other employees lost their jobs....[read more]
The duty to mitigate: working for my former boss!
Until recently, it was generally proper for an employee to reject returning to the workplace that fired him. However, that all changed when the Supreme Court found that unless there are conditions such as humiliation, embarrassment or hostility, employees would be expected to return to their jobs....[read more]
Worse job may be case of constructive dismissal
Are you doing the job you were hired to do? Or are you doing something completely different? Have the terms of your employment agreement been changed without your permission?If so, you may have been “constructively dismissed,” whether you realize it or not. And you may be entitled to damages. Constructive dismissal occurs where your employer unilaterally implements a fundamental change to the essential terms of your job. When this happens, the job you are performing is significantly different than before, and your employer may therefore be deemed to have dismissed you....[read more]