Canada: Employment Law Tracker - July 2020

All or Nothing: Void Just-Cause Termination Provision Invalidates Entire Termination Clause

In a recent decision, the Court of Appeal for Ontario held that an employer could not rely on a valid and enforceable without-cause termination provision because the employment contract included a separate for-cause termination provision that violated the Employment Standards Act, 2000 ("ESA"). In coming to its decision, the Court of Appeal considered it irrelevant that the employer had not actually relied on the for-cause termination provision when terminating the employment relationship. The Court of Appeal also refused to give any effect to the employment contract's severability provision. Read More

Reopening Ontario - Stage 3

The Ontario Government announced that, as of 17 July 2020, it will begin implementing the final stage of its three stage process for reopening Ontario's economy. Stage 3 will take a regional approach to restarting the economy by opening most businesses and services and opening all public spaces in the regions with lower rates of COVID-19 transmission. Stage 3 will also see gathering limits loosened, subject to ongoing health and safety measures. Read More

Federal Government Publishes Final Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations

On 24 June 2020, the Federal Government published the final version of the Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations. These Regulations will come into force on 1 January 2021, providing federally regulated employers with 6 months to implement changes to their policies. Read More

Internationally, we are the single Canadian member of L&E GLOBAL, an alliance of over 1500 labour and employment lawyers in more than 120 offices around the world. As part of L&E GLOBAL, Filion offers access to a single legal powerhouse for clients requiring complex cross-border labour and employment services throughout the world.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.