10 Employment Law Cases That You Should Remember from 2017 (in 280 characters or less)

As we begin 2018, we bring you a review of 10 employment law cases that we thought were worth tweeting about in 2017.

1. Buchanan v. Introjunction Ltd, 2017 BSCS 1002 – Employee who was dismissed before actually starting work gets 6 weeks’ notice.
2. Brake v. PJ-M2R Restaurant Inc., 2017 ONCA 402 – Mitigation Madness! Employment income earned during “statutory entitlement period” and/or from “inferior position” may not be deductible from wrongful dismissal damages.
3. Wood v. Fred Deeley Imports Ltd., 2017 ONCA 158 – Another termination clause bites the dust! In order to contract out of the common law, employers must use clear and unambiguous language. An employer cannot fix an otherwise illegal and unenforceable termination clause through its post-termination conduct.
4. Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 113 v. Toronto Transit Commission, 2017 ONSC 2078 – Ontario Court allows the Toronto Transit Commission to implement random drug and alcohol testing.
5. Krishnamoorthy v. Olympus Canada Inc., 2017 ONCA 873 – Court of Appeal confirms that in an asset sale, a purchaser’s offer of employment constitutes sufficient consideration for changes in an employment contract – including the introduction of a termination provision.
6. McLeod v. 1274458 Ontario Inc., 2017 ONSC 4073 – Working Notice Doesn’t Work for Disabled Employees. Court rules that employers cannot provide working notice to employees on disability leave because they are incapable of working.
7. Lalonde v Sena Solid Waste Holdings Inc, 2017 ABQB 374 – Employer’s “shoot first ask questions later” approach to termination results in $75,000 in aggravated damages. Employers must conduct a thorough investigation which gives the employee a proper opportunity to present his/her side of the story.
8. British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal v. Schrenk, 2017 SCC 62 – The scope of human rights legislation is broad enough to protect employees who suffer discrimination from co-workers – even if the co-worker is employed by a different employer.
9. Bottiglia v Ottawa Catholic School Board, 2017 ONSC 2517 – Some helpful guidance on when an employer can request an independent medical examination! Where an employer has a reasonable and bona fide reason to question the adequacy and reliability of the information provided by its employee’s medical expert an IME will be warranted.
10. Papp v Stokes et al, 2017 ONSC 2357 – Employer’s negative reference does not trigger damages because it was substantially true and is covered by qualified privilege (so long as there is no proof of malice).

Stay tuned for details on our upcoming webinar where we highlight the employment and labour law trends to be prepared for in 2018!