Yesterday, Congress broke new ground in federal law, passing the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016.
Once it receives the expected signature from the President, the DTSA will create a federal private cause of action for
What happens when an employer terminates an employee on a fixed-term contract? The Ontario Court of Appeal in Howard v Benson Group Inc. recently weighed in on the issue. The Court held that the employee was entitled to an amount equal to his salary and benefits for the unexpired term of the employment contract
Back in the day, the concept of vicarious liability (that is the situation in which one party is held liable for the acts or omissions of another) was largely confined to the employer/employee relationship. However, as working relationships have become more complex and diverse, and fewer people are entering into classic employer/employee relationships, vicarious liability
Ensuring safety compliance in the workplace can sometimes result in disciplinary action against employees who fail to comply with safety requirements. Unfair dismissal cases provide guidance to employers when it comes to the factors to take into account when terminating employment as a result of health and safety breaches.
Cases show that bodies like the Fair Work Commission (FWC) place importance on the seriousness of the safety breach, whether the breach was wilful or careless and whether procedural fairness was afforded to the employee.
Importantly, the cases also show that a safety breach doesn’t necessarily have to be deliberate to justify dismissal, but the employee’s explanation will be a relevant factor to take into account when proceeding with any disciplinary action.
This article was written by Jose Jorge, a Director and Steven Adams, an Associate at Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa
On 19 April 2016 the Labour Court (Court) handed down judgment in one of the first appeals to be decided in terms of the newly enacted section 10(8) of the Employment Equity Act
On Wednesday, February 3, 2016, the House of Commons adopted a motion forming a new Special Committee on Pay Equity (Comité spécial sur l’équité salariale in French) [the “Committee”]. The motion was passed with 224 votes in favour and 91 against.
The Committee’s mandate includes, but is not limited to, taking legislative
In an unprecedented decision from last May (and worth discussing again), the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (the Tribunal) awarded a migrant worker $150,000 in compensation for injury to her dignity, feelings, and self-respect under the Ontario Human Rights Code (the Code) as a result of sexual harassment and reprisal at the hands of
At first sight, the answer to this question would be: only by mutual agreement. But once you take a closer look there are many ways and situations that make it possible for an employer to unilaterally change the contractual terms.
In a preliminary award, an Ontario arbitrator allowed covert video surveillance footage to be used as evidence in a wrongful dismissal grievance. The complainant, Mr. Donnelly, was one of three elementary school custodians dismissed for allegedly smoking marijuana, adjacent to school grounds during working hours.
The wrongful dismissal case between Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and
The Supreme Court of Canada recently rendered its decision in Commission scolaire de Laval v. Syndicat de l’enseignement de la région de Laval, 2016 SCC 8, which clarified two important legal points for public sector employers.
First, the Court rejected the notion that a public sector committee that makes disciplinary decisions can refuse to