Employment Law & Litigation Insights

Mandatory Vaccines in the Workplace

In Ontario, various COVID-19 vaccines have become readily available to the public. A growing number of people are receiving their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine with second doses being scheduled for later this year. With the increasing availability of the vaccines and the duty of the employer to maintain a safe workplace environment, employers may be wondering whether they can implement mandatory vaccines in the workplace. The Current Situation - Mandatory Vaccines in the Workplace Currently, the law surrounding mandatory...

June 4, 2021

Contingency Fees in Employment Law: Explained

Sometimes, Achkar Law and our employment lawyers use something called a "contingency agreement" in specific cases. With this agreement, you don't have to pay us for our work until we successfully get compensation or damages from your employer. However, not all cases are suitable for contingency agreements. Some people hire us to force a specific action by the employer, such as negotiate new terms for continued employment. Here are some cases that we can work on contingency basis: Termination cases ...

June 2, 2021

Paid Infectious Disease Emergency Leave in Ontario

On April 29, 2021, the Government of Ontario passed Bill 284 , COVID-19 Putting Workers First Act, 2021, which amended the Employment Standards Act, 2000’s provisions related to the Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (IDEL). Specifically, Bill 284 has implemented up to three paid days of job protected leave for provincially regulated non-unionized employees for any situation in which Infectious Disease Emergency Leave would have already been available. Bill 284 comes in the wake of a surge of COVID-19 cases...

May 30, 2021

Can You Collect EI If You Quit?

Work from home has triggered many questions for employers and employees – including the management of those employees. With less structure to work and workplaces requiring masks and vaccines, some employees are feeling overwhelmed, or bullied and harassed enough to feel like they want to quit or resign. A common question we receive is, can you get EI if you quit? If employees quit or resign, they will risk losing out on Employment Insurance (EI) benefits. What are Employment Insurance (EI)...

May 28, 2021

Monitoring Remote Employees

For employees who have shifted to remote work during the pandemic, the transition has not always been smooth. Problems range form additional family obligations, an unsuitable work environment, to technological problems. As a result, some employers remain uneasy about having their teams working outside of the physical workplace. This has led to an uptick in inquiries about monitoring remote employees, and how to do so lawfully. Below are some of the most common questions we receive. Is it illegal for an...

May 14, 2021

Temporary Layoff Considered Constructive Dismissal at Common Law

Almost a year after the Ontario government enacted Ontario Regulation 228/20 – the Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (“IDEL”) under the Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, c.41, the Ontario Superior Court has found that employees who have been temporarily laid off due to a reason related to COVID-19, are able to bring a civil action for constructive dismissal under common law. While the Ontario Regulation 228/20 (“Regulation”) provided some flexibility for employer’s to make changes to their employee’s working hours...

May 10, 2021

The High Threshold of a Just Cause Dismissal

It is well-known that an employer may dismiss an employee for just cause, but where it does so, the employer has the burden to demonstrate it had just cause to dismiss the employee. A recent Ontario decision provides another example where the employer was unable to meet the high threshold of a just cause dismissal after it terminated a long-service employee due to his insubordination. Facts In Czerniawski v. Corma Inc., 2021 ONSC 1514, Mr. Czerniawski was a good worker with...

May 3, 2021

Can Working Parents Be Dismissed for Staying at Home?

As Ontario scrambles to handle COVID-19 variants amidst the third wave, it has delivered some mixed messages about in-person instruction at school. On April 12, 2021, Ontario confirmed that students will be reverting to online learning indefinitely. Although childcare centres remain open, before and after care for school-aged children is not being offered. This announcement left many parents and caregivers wondering how they will juggle supervising their children at home and their work. A common question we receive is,...

April 26, 2021

The Importance of Employee Handbooks in Ontario

In Ontario and federal workplaces, an employee handbook can go hand in hand with an employment contract. The employer may have certain policies that would not fit into the employment contract or make it overly lengthy. This includes policies for, but not limited to, health and safety, workplace hazardous materials, anti-harassment and discrimination, and accessibility. Such policies are a perfect inclusion in a complimentary employee handbook. Considering the importance of employee handbooks, employers should be aware of the benefits...

April 13, 2021

Can You Get EI If You Have Covid?

What Is Employment Insurance? In Canada, employment insurance (“EI”) is a program designed to financial assist individuals who have become unemployed through no fault of their own. There are several different criteria to meet to be eligible for the various programs that are available through employment insurance. The various program will be outlined below. Regular employment insurance benefits predate COVID-19 and are usually the most common form of EI used. Those who would be eligible for employment insurance typically include...

March 24, 2021

What Our Clients Are Saying

Excellent, professional and thorough. Communication was always clear and concise and they were open and available for questions and... support throughout the whole process. Everyone I dealt with at the office was great. Thank you Madison, Charles and Natalie for your quality work! Couldn't be happier with the process from beginning to end and of course, the result.read more

Marco Tasca

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Christopher was extremely supportive during a transitional period at my workplace. Together, we explored my options, and his guidance was... consistently insightful. I had an outstanding experience and would certainly enlist his services again anytime in the future.read more

Kay Zee

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I had spoken with Mariel. She was really sympathetic and made everything easy to understand. Calmed my nerves and explained everything... fully.read more

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I had the opportunity to speak with Charles Millar. I was impressed with his candor, knowledge, and kindness. I will be recommending him to... friends and family. True professionals like Charles are definitely hard to come by. Thank you.read more

mike battista

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I had the pleasure of working with Chris regarding a severance package. He was thorough, asked great questions, and made sure things I... hadn't thought about were covered and that I was being treated fairly. In addition to being happy with the quality of Chris' work, he was kind and even asked about my daughter. He clearly cares about people and that value came through in our conversations which I appreciated.read more

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Mandatory Vaccines in the Workplace

Contingency Fees in Employment Law: Explained

Paid Infectious Disease Emergency Leave in Ontario

Can You Collect EI If You Quit?

Monitoring Remote Employees

Temporary Layoff Considered Constructive Dismissal at Common Law

The High Threshold of a Just Cause Dismissal

Can Working Parents Be Dismissed for Staying at Home?

The Importance of Employee Handbooks in Ontario

Can You Get EI If You Have Covid?

What Our Clients Are Saying

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