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Litigation Value: A narrow escape from Michael burning the office down (twice) and, as always, plenty of lost productivity while the employees held a garage sale, played “Dallas” and helped Michael propose to Holly. Since last night’s “Office” was another rerun, I thought I would take this opportunity to talk about the “Garage Sale” episode. […]
The worst-case scenario for any claim involving an employment-related decision is the “smoking gun” piece of evidence that destroys the case. It could be a notation in an interviewer’s notes that the applicant was “old” or a supervisor’s note indicating that the recently terminated employee “complained about safety issues a lot.” Because you generally have […]
By Alix Herber and Jessica Schnurr Think an employee in Canada has to quit before suing the employer for constructive dismissal? Think again, says the Ontario Superior Court. An employee may pursue a constructive dismissal claim without quitting. Traditionally, faced with a unilateral change to a term or condition of employment, an employee had two […]
Litigation Value: Squiggle Quips = $3.95 per package; delicious dinner without your wallet = an embarrassing (and defamatory) mugshot on the restaurant wall; finding out Angela publicly joked about urinating on Gabe = priceless. Last night provided us with an evening of reruns, but I love The Office and have been known to watch episodes […]
By Anthony Houde and Emilie Paquin-Holmested You are quietly sipping your coffee one Saturday morning and flipping through the newspaper. You suddenly stumble upon an article about one of your Canadian employees. He or she has been accused of committing a criminal offense outside the workplace but has not yet been convicted. Your mind races […]
By Maria Giagilitsis and Brian Smeenk In a decision released earlier this week, the highest court in Canada’s most populous province, Ontario, issued a surprising ruling on workplace privacy law. The case involved criminal charges against a teacher accused of possession of child pornography. The court said the employee has a reasonable expectation of privacy […]
From the nightly news to the employee break room, one of the hottest topics right now is how the cost of gas keeps going up, and with the crisis in the Middle East continuing to escalate, there is no end in sight. Employees are feeling the pain of rising gas prices and some may be […]
by Hadiya J. Roderique Human rights claims are an increasingly common occurrence for Canadian employers. Employees or former employees can initiate these claims at little or no cost in most Canadian jurisdictions (the various provinces, territories, or the federal sphere). An employer must defend human rights claims to avoid an award of damages or other […]
By Hector A. Chichoni Because of tremendous advances in technology and transportation, companies are able to locate resources and skills in different parts of the world and manage them as if they were in one place. Competition for resources and skills is brutal and requires speedy and fluid access to global markets. When U.S. employers […]
When last night’s episode originally aired on February 10, 2011, I noted that the Scranton office more closely resembled a nightclub at the height of the sexual revolution than a reputable place of business — see my original commentary entitled “Let’s Get It On.” I discussed recent findings on the prevalence of workplace dating, as well […]