Whether it is drunken misadventures going viral on the internet, or hostile and negative social media rants, the nagging question remains; can an employer terminate an employee for “just cause” for the employee’s off-duty conduct? The short answer is, it depends. It depends on: the type of conduct; the proximity of the conduct to…
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The Court of Appeal of Alberta recently released its decision in Holm v. AGAT Laboratories Ltd., 2018 ABCA 23. Holm v. AGAT is a case regarding constructive dismissal in which the court focused on termination clauses in the plaintiff’s employment agreement, which limited notice to the minimums required under Alberta’s Employment Standards Code. In…
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A recent decision out of Kelowna, B.C., found a long-term West-Kelowna firefighter, Kerry Klonteig, to be wrongfully terminated after he was arrested for impaired driving in a Fire Department vehicle while off-duty. The plaintiff in Klonteig v. District of West Kelowna, 2018 BCSC 124, who had been a firefighter for the District of West…
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In an undefended case out of Ontario, Horner v. 897469 Ontario Inc. o/a Superior Coatings, 2018 ONSC 121, a short term employee was awarded $10,000 for wrongful termination and an additional $30,000 in aggravated and punitive damages for the aggravation of her known depression and the callous manner of termination when the employer failed…
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We’ve all been there, sitting in our car in a left turning lane waiting patiently for the never ending traffic to pass or the light to turn yellow so that we can finally make our left turn. It's even possible to have waited through multiple sets of light changes before finally getting to the…
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One of the less desirable parts of being an employer involves sometimes being forced to terminate staff members. While awkward and often painful termination meetings cannot be avoided, a potential claim for damages for wrongful dismissal can generally be sidestepped with a few simply preemptive steps. Employers are well advised to understand their obligations to…
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The Supreme Court of British Columbia recently released its Reasons for Judgment in Ensign v. Price Alarm Systems (2009) Ltd., 2017 BCSC 2137, where an employer’s multiple, but clearly disingenuous offers to re-employ a terminated long-term employee attracted aggravated damages as well as damages for wrongful termination. The Details of the Case The plaintiff,…
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The British Columbia Court of Appeal recently weighed in on the calculation of employment income earned by a plaintiff during the reasonable notice period in Pakozdi v. B & B Heavy Civil Construction Ltd., 2018 BCCA 23 (CanLII). In its decision the Court of Appeal addressed a situation where a terminated employee was not…
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