Employment Law Article Topics

Cause for Dismissal Articles

Avoid paying severance to ill employees and pay the price
Seldom will a temporary illness justify dismissal. But what happens when a sick employee may never return? Can employers discard employees they view as festering on their disability insurance or must they keep their jobs available for an indefinite period of time? According to a recent Alberta case, employers must tread carefully with injured employees or pay the price of their severance. ...[read more]

Be careful when working for a competitor
Nothing infuriates a company more than news of an ex-employee soliciting away its most prized assets: the clients. But clients, much like those employees, are not sedentary. Seldom are they attracted to one company or another exclusively by virtue of the services they are offered. Rather, their loyalty often lies with the relationships that are built and the key employees who have built them. ...[read more]

BlackBerry 'slips' can lead to trouble
Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), such as BlackBerrys, have grown in popularity – so much so, that a growing number of organizations are limiting their employees’ unrestricted use of these devices while at, or even away from, work. And there is good reason to do so, as employees are too easily confusing their privacy rights with freedom from workplace consequences. Where the PDA is provided by the employer or accessed through its network, employees should have no reasonable expectation of privacy. Therefore, where personal use is permitted, employees should concern themselves more with losing their jobs – instead of simply losing unlimited access to their PDAs....[read more]

Blogging can cost you your job
Hired to promote Nunavut as an arctic Nirvana, Penny Cholmondeley decided when she came across piles of abandoned machinery and rusted cans scattered on the snowy tundra outside Iqaluit that pictures of the debris would make for a captivating posting on her personal Internet Blog. As well as photos of garbage on the tundra, Cholmondeley also posted a poor review of a local restaurant and griped about the high prices for groceries. However, Cholmondeley’s boss at the Nunavut Tourism Agency disagreed; when he learned of Cholmondeley’s artistic tastes and the manner in which she promoted them, Cholmondeley was immediately fired. ...[read more]

Breaching company policy can prove costly
To the dismay of many employers, not all breaches of company policy will justify firing the responsible employee. However, as a Toronto area Longo’s grocery store recently learned, a little bit of yogurt and cream cheese can go a very long way. Entrusted with important responsibilities as a grocery store manager, Ray Agosta regrettably took company policy into his own hands. Captured on security cameras and spotted by a loss prevention specialist, Agosta was caught taking five items to his car that he had not checked out of the store. However, when Agosta’s story for taking the items didn’t check out either, the cost to Agosta was more than just his bill for the food; he paid by losing his job too. ...[read more]

Computer Misuse at work
Employees often get what they deserve. When they work hard, they get a bonus. When their service is long and meritorious, they may get a good severance package or pension. When they knowingly break their employer's rules, however, they often are fired for cause and get nothing at all. This is the tale of two employees who misused their computers at work and the consequences they reluctantly faced. ...[read more]

Criticising your boss can be perilous to your job.
Overtly criticising your boss can be perilous to your job. While criticism may be reasonably justified or even provoked, employees won’t find favour from the courts where the tone or manner of the criticism becomes disrespectful or otherwise incompatible with continued employment. ...[read more]

Dishonesty costs auto exec his job
Pat Donnely would have made Pinocchio proud. A model of excellence for 32 years, the auto executive had nowhere to go but up. However, those with the most to gain carry the greatest risk of loss. Repeatedly concealing his involvement in a scheme of strippers, strip clubs and secretive billings, Donnely ensured his reputation wouldn’t be harmed. But when a company-wide audit placed him at the scene of the crime, Donnely’s failure to speak the truth cost him more than a chance at redemption; after 32 years of dedication, it cost him his job. ...[read more]

Dismissal for theft or dishonesty
The cost to your company of engaging in a cash diversion scheme and lining your own pockets with the money over a number of years –> $12,000. The cost of a Polaris ATV that you received as a gift from a customer for providing them with unauthorized discounts –> $5,000. The cost of being caught red handed and fired immediately after spending most of your life working for the same company –> priceless....[read more]

Do's and Don'ts of Workplace Law
Employees are often the authors of their own misfortunes at work. Few take advantage of laws that are construed in their favour. Fewer will challenge their employer's decisions, however unjust. Most will just complain. But - if you have an inclination to fight back, here are some do's and don'ts. ...[read more]

E-mail misuse leads to work trouble
An e-mail could seriously harm your career. It cost Nicolas Di Vito and Alastair Mathers theirs. Di Vito and Mathers, employees of MacDonald Dettwiler technology company, distributed a vulgar e-mail detailing the sexual gymnastics of an overweight female co-worker. They viewed it as a prank.Although neither created this e-mail, they created a problem for themselves by not deleting it. About a year later, they revived their joke, forwarding the e-mail to a number of co-workers. Another employee posted it on the office bulletin board. When questioned, they lied. Unluckily, the e-mail was traced to their computers and they were fired....[read more]

Embezzling costs more than job
Stealing millions from the bank and giving it to his friends, executive Rodney Chen said he was doing his customers a favour. But when the money was discovered lining Chen’s own pockets, losing his job was the least of his worries....[read more]

Employee Bonuses
Employees don't always get the bonus they deserve.�Seldom will this amount to a successful lawsuit.

Veteran investment banker Kenneth Mathieson was well rewar ded in his good years. In 2005, he earned a bonus of $1.1 million. However, when his employer, Scotia Capital, decided that he deserved only $360,000 in 2006 - the lowest bonus he had ever received - Mathieson believed the bank was attempting to force his resignation. He wasn't about to go quietly....[read more]

Employees always have basic rights
Not all companies have turned to mass layoffs in order to weather the current economic storm. There are other devices: many have turned to temporary layoffs, hiring freezes and slashing salaries in order to reduce overhead and maintain the bottom line. But while employees have no legal entitlement to continued employment, they do retain some basic rights....[read more]

Employees should respond to discipline at work
Canadian employers seeking to discipline and then dismiss a habitual underperformer have limited options at their disposal: pay severance, and get it over with, or progressively build a case for cause. If an employer chooses the latter course, the underperforming employee may grow tired of the battle and voluntarily leave, or enough ammunition may be obtained to ultimately support the employer case. But instead of accepting defeat, an employee should fight back - challenging any discipline imposed and building his or her own supportive documentary case....[read more]

Employment Law Basics
Most employees cling to beliefs about workplace rights they gleaned from media, friends or researching on the Internet. But many of these "perceived" rights often do not exist. Here are some of my favourite misconceptions....[read more]

Employment Policies Not Always Enforced
Left to pay part of her customers’ bill, waitress Karen Glazier grabbed her manager’s swipe card and wrote off the debt, ensuring that her own paycheck wouldn’t be docked. Although Glazier didn’t have permission, she thought she was just following procedure. When her employer found out, however, Glazier was fired for breaching company policy. The only problem was that she had never been given a copy. ...[read more]

Firing, hiring raise legal issues
Donald Trump has made a fortune with the use of the phrase, “You’re fired!” on his hit reality television series The Apprentice. However, the former contestants or “apprentices” can’t be all too pleased about having been terminated and embarrassed on national television. It’s a good thing they can’t sue The Donald for wrongful dismissal. Most people don’t stop to consider the legal rights and obligations that surround their employment relationship. They may not think it is necessary to know. Or they are simply discouraged by all the legal jargon....[read more]

Frustration of contract not easily proven
Can an injured employee languishing on medical leave simply be discarded by his employer? According to a recent British Columbia case, absolutely not! When Kashmir Sandhu took time off work to recover from a car accident, he expected to return to his job when his injuries healed. But the problem for Sandhu’s employer, Delta, B.C.-based North Star Mills Ltd., wasn’t allowing Sandhu an extended absence from work – it was whether it would permit him to return. ...[read more]

Gossip can be harmful to your career
Are you angry with your company or your boss? Be careful not to confuse freedom of speech with freedom from workplace consequences because, as a Canadian court recently found, gossip can be harmful to your career. Upset with her perceived mistreatment at work, Deborah Lee Dilg spoke to her co-workers to criticize her boss. ...[read more]

Handle References with Caution
Picture this scenario: a former employee requests a letter of reference. His next job is contingent upon it being positive. He may have been well liked, but his performance left much to be desired. Commenting positively, without mentioning the problems he created, is simply not candid. But alluding to the quality of his work will damage his prospects. And, while invaluable to the departed employee, the reference you give is just as important for his prospective employer, who will rely on it in deciding which candidate should be offered a position. ...[read more]

Harassment doesn't belong at work
Every employer in Ontario has a legal obligation to provide a workplace free from harassment. This obligation extends to protecting you from harassing acts committed by other employees, management personnel, agents of the company, and clients or customers. Many times, both employees and employers are not clear about what their obligations are and what harassment in employment actually means. Furthermore, many people who have been subjected to harassing behaviour are not aware of what they can do to remedy the situation....[read more]

Have you been wrongfully dismissed?
Here are seven questions to ask yourself if you’ve recently been dismissed....[read more]

Internet misuse at work
With positive performance reviews and regular salary increases, 14-year company veteran Gregory Backman had nowhere to go but up. But life can be lonely at the top. Having admitted to viewing pornography on his workplace computer, Backman was immediately fired. He wasn’t about to go easily. Supervising employees at the Saint John, New Brunswick premises of Maritime Paper Products Ltd., Backman had run into problems with Internet pornography before. He had been caught viewing inappropriate websites in 2002 and 2005. When a computer audit revealed that Backman had been surfing pornographic web sites for more than 10 hours in October 2006, Maritime Paper’s response was swift. Backman was shown the door. ...[read more]

Internet misuse at work
The workplace no longer has traditional borders. Employees now correspond through instant messages, through Facebook and via e-mail. Seldom do they do so exclusively for business purposes. Others, who are bored, unmotivated or underworked, surf the internet for much of their workdays, managing their sports pools, blogging about coworkers, reading the news or dating on-line. Employers have good reason for concern. Lost productivity and potential liability for the actions of their employees have caused most organizations to revisit their computer use policies - or create new ones altogether. ...[read more]

Investigate fully before condemning employees' fate
Proof of workplace misconduct may be present, but it seldom matters if the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. ...[read more]

Investigating allegations of misconduct
A lot can be discovered just by asking the right questions. That is why I’m truly amazed when employers fail to confront employees with allegations of misconduct prior to condemning them, or worse, terminating them for alleged just cause. Employees often bemoan the fact they were not provided with “due process” or an opportunity to plead their case prior to discipline being administered. It seems that when serious allegations manifest, employers often respond with a coup de grâce: the employee is shown the door. And, she can forget about her severance. ...[read more]

Job Abandonment
As is often the case, employers use an employee’s departure as an opportunity to relieve themselves of that worker’s services. But not so fast: Where an employee expresses or implies a desire to return to work, she won’t be viewed as having resigned....[read more]

Journalist's revenge costs job, reputation
His work and ethics criticized, a British Columbia CBC journalist decided to take the law into his own hands. He attempted to poison his adversary by contaminating a box of chocolates he then sent to the critic as a gift. But when his scheme backfired, the reporter lost more than his chance at revenge. He had tainted his reputation and his career....[read more]

Labelling employees as contractors doesn't necessarily make it so
Customs used to define Canadian employment law - not contracts. When there was a workplace dispute, judges would decide cases based on what was reasonable or just or what the parties would have agreed to if they had thought about the issue from the outset. Customs, however, have been replaced by comprehensive employment contracts and lawsuits for wrongful dismissal. Now, instead of being asked to consider what's most reasonable or fair, judges are asked whether a contract applies and, if so, what its terms represent. But what happens when a contract doesn't accurately portray the true nature of an employee's job? As Centra Windows Ltd. recently learned, sometimes workers are not bound by the agreements they have agreed to....[read more]

Letters of Reference are an Invaluable Tool
For many of my recently dismissed clients, a good letter of reference is invaluable to finding new employment. In fact, when I represent employees, I customarily request a supportive letter of reference in my initial negotiations with a company and, many times, I take an active part in drafting the reference to my client’s satisfaction....[read more]

Lying on your resume could cost your job
Imagine this scenario: You have landed the job of your dreams. Six months later, you get an email, summoning you to the manager’s office. Confused, you make your way to her office. You are joined by the human resources manager, who tells you that the company has discovered that you were dishonest on your resume, and as a result, you’re being fired. Studies reveal that resume falsification is a common event. Statistics suggest that as many as 50 percent of all resumes contain some degree of distortion - from white lies to outright whoppers....[read more]

Lyng on resumes
Recently, one of my clients consulted me about its employee, Jane, who was found lying on her resume. The problem for my client was that Jane’s delinquency wasn't discovered until after she was hired. As the story goes, Jane had stated on her resume that she was still working for a large computer company and wanting to avoid a relocation, she was looking for a new job. In fact, Jane had been fired months earlier. Jane also had stated that she had a diploma in animation but again, Jane had been less than honest. Jane's luck eventually ran out when the company learned about her dishonesty. It fired her immediately for just cause. ...[read more]

Matter of "just cause"
Too often employees fail to pick their battles. Just ask Gary Gordon. By refusing to take on additional responsibilities, he lost his job - and recently, he lost his case against his ex-employer. ...[read more]

New Year's resolutions for employees
My top employment law resolutions to help assist employees inspired to change. ...[read more]

No Excuse for Sleeping on the Job
Richardson, a Production Foreman for Davis Wire Industries Ltd. was a stellar employee for 17 years. That is why his General Manager, Stephen Ward, was slow to accept the mounting reports being received from other employees that Richardson was sleeping on the job. But the complaints mounted and Ward, reluctant to confront Richardson with the allegations, decided to take a much more clandestine route to investigate the truth: Ward positioned a hidden video camera in the employee lunchroom and waited for Richardson to make his appearance. Over a period of four days, Ward concluded from the videotapes that Richardson had, in fact, been sleeping and that his ”so called” power naps went beyond the 50 minutes he was allotted as a break....[read more]

Off-duty activities can affect the health of your career
Employees who believe that their conduct away from the office is immune from discipline are mistaken. Employers have the technological means -- and occasionally the inclination-- to monitor behaviour that occurs away from the job. And where off-duty behaviour poses a problem, don’t be surprised when it follows you back to your desk....[read more]

Office romance is a tricky business
Employees cannot escape liability because the actions giving rise to a complaint have occurred after working hours or away from the workplace. Even a tenuous connection to work is enough for an employer to intervene....[read more]

Performance Appraisals can cut both ways
Employers seeking to dismiss their habitual underperformer usually follow a prescription for a tidy divorce: gather ammunition and create a paper trail documenting any and all allegations and concerns. Typically, this is accomplished by a series of negative performance appraisals. If the employee then wishes to go to war, he’ll have a mountain of evidence to overcome. Performance appraisals can, however, be a double-edged sword. ...[read more]

Performance Appraisals can cut both ways
Dismissing an underperformer is not an easy task! Court cases clearly state that employers owe a duty to provide employees with the opportunity and means required to improve underperformance, if dismissing them on those grounds. Judges require that employers prove an employee was grossly incompetent, and that progressive warnings were issued, clearly identifying areas of concern....[read more]

Performance Appraisals can cut both ways
Employers seeking to dismiss their habitual underperformers usually follow a prescription for a tidy divorce: gather ammunition and create a paper trail documenting any and all allegations and concerns. Typically, this is accomplished by a series of negative performance appraisals. If the employee then wishes to go to war, there will be a mountain of evidence to overcome. ...[read more]

Performance Improvement Plans
Sometimes employees too easily confuse who gets to call the legal shots. Believing that their job is an entitlement, some workers try to take the law into their own hands. They are often mistaken. This is the tale of one employee who learned this lesson the hard way....[read more]

Permanent Illness can put your career at risk
Employers are entitled to expect their employees to show up for work. Without a valid reason, employees who don’t show up are subject to dismissal without pay. Temporary illness, however, usually offers that valid reason. But what of the employee who’s disability renders her unlikely to ever return to her job? As Terry Ann Wilmot recently learned, illness is not always a shield from dismissal....[read more]

Refusing to accept blame can cost your job
A serious error doesn’t necessarily justify discipline. But refusing to accept blame can cost you your job. ...[read more]

Rules of Misconduct Prevail
Having been inadvertently overpaid for four years, when Huntley Zia disagreed with his employer’s actions in reclaiming the money, he took it to court. Zia’s lawsuit sent shockwaves around the B.C. offices of Telus Communications, where suing his employer while he was still employed was regarded as more than inappropriate; it was the last straw....[read more]

Saying No to the Boss has Consequences
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you just said “NO” to your boss? Although the thought has certainly crossed the mind of many employees, most won’t have the satisfaction to see it transpire. But not Dianne Roden and Karen Mottram. For these two employees, refusing a direct order from the boss became more than just a fantasy, it became their reality. ...[read more]

Senior managers may owe a duty of fidelity
All employees owe a duty of fidelity to their employers, but those in senior management positions may owe even more. ...[read more]

Sometimes even lawyers need counsel
I love the tales from the workplace trenches. Those that I select to report are chosen based on a combination of their merit, law, skill – and sometimes error. Hired as an associate lawyer by the law office of Leonard Levencrown, for two years Sharon Johnston and her boss enjoyed a “father/daughter” relationship. Like most small law firms, the pair were close-knit and Johnston, the associate, depended on her boss for work. When financial troubles struck this office, it would have been no surprise that Johnston was dismissed for lack of work....[read more]

Termination for Incompetence is a Difficult task to Prove
All-star Sales Manager, Jack Bogden didn’t know what to think. He had been a paradigm of achievement for Purolator Courier Ltd. and was praised by those who worked with him. But for Bogden’s boss, Pat Capparelli, the proof was in the pudding. Confusing excellence with mediocrity, Caparelli’s opinion of Bogden was nothing more than inconsistent. But when the Judge heard all the evidence, Caparelli was the only one that was found erratic. ...[read more]

The Fine art of Investigating Pays Dividends to Employers
The workplace should be concerned with work and not the “art of war”; however, in many ways, employment law disputes inevitably become a chess match, in which each side looks for the next fatal blow. I’m often asked what I enjoy most about representing both employees and small businesses in workplace disputes, as this practice is commonly seen as an exception, not the rule. My response: by walking in my opponents’ shoes, I can anticipate their next move. ...[read more]

The Rocky Road to Dismissal - Employees must combat warning signs
With no legal entitlement to continued employment, Canadian employees decry that the law of dismissal favours their employer. Employers, however, don’t have a magic bullet for liberating themselves from unsatisfactory employees; most mistakes are made by the employees themselves....[read more]

There is more to a case than just the facts
Generally, employers are in no hurry to move cases along quickly. They would much prefer to wait and let the employee’s legal costs accumulate and her frustrations grow. In typical cases, claims can meander through the court system for years, with inherent pre-trial delays, mandatory mediations and few, if any, deadlines. Few unemployed can afford to wait for a trial. Fewer can afford to pay for one....[read more]

Tips for employers when checking references
For many recently dismissed employees, letters of reference are invaluable when it comes to securing another job. On the flip side, however, letters of reference can be just as important for prospective employers when selecting whether or which candidate should be offered a position. ...[read more]

Use Facebook with Caution
“The Internet website that you have requested has been deemed unacceptable for use for government purposes” – so read the warning that greeted thousands of Ontario government employees, political staffers, MPPs and cabinet ministers who tried to log on to the popular website Facebook.com last week. Facebook has grown in popularity -- so much so, that a growing number of organizations, including your provincial government, have restricted access to the site from work. And, in my view, there is good reason to do so, as employees are too easily confusing freedom of speech with freedom from workplace consequences....[read more]

Wallace Damages
Unfortunately, I’ve learned that we cannot always expect others to treat us fairly, reasonably and decently. But when it comes to being terminated from a job, employers are legally required to behave in such a manner. A 1997 Supreme Court of Canada decision — which is considered to be one of the most influential employment law decisions to date — established the standard requiring employers to treat employees with good faith and fair dealing at the time of their termination....[read more]

Workplace absenteeism: assess context first when dismissing employees
Ignorance may be real. But sometimes it leads to a paid vacation. Fraught with personal problems, when busy season at work hit, equipment operator Brad Smith had little tolerance left. Despite supportive co-workers and comfortable patterns, a last-minute request to work overtime pushed Smith over the workplace ledge. Deciding that he needed time off work, Smith spoke to his supervisor, seeking assurance that he could leave. The response was swift: Smith was told to do “what you gotta do. Believing this statement meant that he could simply pack up and leave, Smith left work – without indicating when he would return. Without knowing where Smith was, and having failed in its various attempts to contact him, Smith’s employer, the City of Ramara, considered Smith’s absence to be misconduct and fired him....[read more]

Workplace investigations
While lying during the course of an investigation may be deemed cause for dismissal, Canadian employees should pause given the court’s willingness to also equate silence with dishonesty....[read more]

Workplace policies
Many disputes are rooted in, and later resolved on the basis of, policy. Or at least they should be. This applies in law as much as it does in life: our courts do not always decide employment cases based on what is reasonable or just, but rather, on what makes for the best workplace policy....[read more]

Wrongful Dismissal not clear cut
Six factors to consider if you’ve recently been dismissed....[read more]