Two recent Ontario decisions show how employee conduct and violation of settlement terms can invalidate such agreements and give a basis for employers to recover payments already made under the settlement
Roder v 1049077 Ontario Limited, 2014 ONSC 4389 involved an employee who was dismissed due to poor performance. The employee sued for wrongful
In Direct Energy Marketing Limited and Unifor, Local 975, 2014 CanLII 657, an arbitrator refused to depart from a prior arbitral award despite his preference for a contrary line of authority. The prior award – Direct Energy v Unifor, Local 975, 2013 CanLII 94391 – involved a similar grievance alleging a failure
The legal background
Under French employment law, part-time work is subject to specific rules the purpose of which is to ensure that employees benefit from a minimum level of stability and predictability in their working time schedule. More specifically, the relevant legal provisions state that the additional working hours that an employer can require an
Is the employment tax incentive a success?
During the State of the Nation address the president announced that the tax incentive to incentivise employers to employ youths was claimed by 29 000 employers for at least 270 000 young people. He further stated that jobs in South Africa grew by 203 000. Two questions arise;
In the U
nited States, the Federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act (“PDA”) has long forbidden an employer with fifteen or more employees from pregnancy-related discrimination. 42 U.S.C. § 2000(e) et seq. Similar laws have likewise long existed in many states and cities. See, e.g., Minn. Stat. Ch. 363A (sex includes pregnancy).
But 2014 developments raised the
Prosecution for breaches of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Fair Work Act) is on the rise, and not just against companies but against directors personally.
Over the Festive Season / New Year period the Federal Circuit Court handed down nearly $600,000 in penalties in eight separate cases brought by the Fair Work Ombudsman. The recent cases all related to underpayment of wages in some form, including wages for foreign nationals working on visas as well as payments to unpaid interns who were in fact deemed to be employees. In each of the cases both the companies and some company directors were fined, and the penalties were exacerbated in cases where directors had failed to comply with notices from the Fair Work Ombudsman.
The recent decision of United Steelworkers of America, Local 9548 v Tenaris Algoma Tubes Inc, 2014 CanLII 26445 (ON LA) provides an example of how a unionized employee’s off-duty social media behavior can justify dismissal, despite the absence of any reference to social media in the company’s harassment policies.
The grievor was a crane
In O’Neill v General Motors of Canada Ltd., 2013 ONSC 4654, a motion for partial summary judgment was granted in a class action by retired employees of GM after their health care and life insurance benefits were substantially reduced to offset GM’s financial difficulties. Just prior to the scheduled trial of an appeal
Our global employment and labour team has compiled a comprehensive global guide of employment laws spanning 21 jurisdictions.
It comes at a time when more organisations are growing their global footprint, requiring a deeper understanding of how employment and labour laws vary across multiple jurisdictions.
As businesses expand and people move around the globe, it
In the UK, under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (which implements an EU directive), if an employer intends to dismiss 20 or more employees as redundant within a period of 90 days or less at one establishment, the employer will have a duty to collectively consult with employee representatives. The meaning