Articles of Interest – Page 9

If Your HR Department Overlooks the Importance of this Key Role, It Could Cost You

As any practitioner will tell you, the field of human resources has undergone a sea change. Gone are the days of its role as merely an administrative-payroll arm. Now, HR has become a key part of management with expertise in a variety of specialties related to managing people. Continue reading If Your HR Department Overlooks the Importance of this Key Role, It Could Cost You

Court Ruling Sheds Light on Fiduciary Status

Some real-life legal scenarios are so outlandish they resemble a plot for a madcap caper film or a gripping novel about revenge.

In one thrilling episode of Mad Men the ad agency’s top management successfully conspired to jump ship and start a rival agency, over just one giddy weekend in 1963. (They supposedly evaded their employment contracts by inviting a co-conspirator to fire them, expecting he’d then be fired, too.) But in Canada, in 2015, Don Draper would be successfully sued for “breach of fiduciary duty.” Continue reading Court Ruling Sheds Light on Fiduciary Status

Avoid These Pitfalls When Writing a Reference for a Dismissed Employee

Many employers worry that if they fail to provide a dismissed employee with a deserved reference, additional damages could follow. That concern is not without warrant, but careful thought should go into writing that reference. Continue reading Avoid These Pitfalls When Writing a Reference for a Dismissed Employee

Already Fired Someone? Evidence Found After Termination Can Still Pay Off

The battle to prove just cause doesn’t end with termination. Employers can rely on new grounds and win in court even if those grounds are discovered months, or even years, after the termination. But it requires doggedness and determination.

Shelly Harrigan demonstrated that tenacity and won. Continue reading Already Fired Someone? Evidence Found After Termination Can Still Pay Off

Why Fraud Victims Should Make an Election Before Pleading Negligence

Norman Groot, LLB, CFE, CFI

Fraud, in its most basic form, is theft by lies and omissions. The losses suffered by fraud victims occur because fraudsters misrepresent facts to their victims, or they fail to advise their victims of material facts that would have affected their decision as to whether to part with their money.

When confronted, fraudsters often blame a fraud victim for not conducting due diligence as to the bona fides of their representations – arguing “buyer beware” or that they too were dupes of someone else’s misrepresentations. Fraudsters also often argue that their representations were not material, or were not relied upon by their victim before entering into the transaction at issue. Sometimes victims feel so embarrassed by what they can see in hindsight was a bad decision that they are inclined not to pursue recovery. Continue reading Why Fraud Victims Should Make an Election Before Pleading Negligence

Employers Should Not Rely on Hearsay to Prove Cause for Dismissal

Even when a dismissed employee lies on the witness stand, the employee may still come out ahead.

That’s the lesson Stelcrete Industries, and its owners Larry Cohen and his son, Steven, learned. Richard Ludchen began working at the company, which makes and assembles rebar, as a welder and rose to plant superintendent of the Welland, Ont. facility, supervising 16 staff. Continue reading Employers Should Not Rely on Hearsay to Prove Cause for Dismissal

No More Doctors’ Notes Will Cause Big Headaches For Employers

I was gobsmacked when I heard that on behalf of Ontario’s doctors Scott Wooder, president of the Ontario Medical Association, had declared that employers should no longer be able to ask employees for sick notes.

My initial presumption was he was either being misquoted or was making an early bid for the most idiotic comment of 2014. But then the Nova Scotia Medical Association chimed in, agreeing with him. Continue reading No More Doctors’ Notes Will Cause Big Headaches For Employers

Five Big Developments In Employment Law In 2013

Here is Howard’s year-end wrap up of the major employment law developments of 2013: Continue reading Five Big Developments In Employment Law In 2013

When Does the Law Apply to the Public Sector?

In my experience as an employment lawyer on the management side, outside of the movies, workers who sleep at their desks, or who retroactively alter their records, charging their employer thousands of dollars in false expenses usually lose their jobs. Continue reading When Does the Law Apply to the Public Sector?

Company’s Insolvency Turns Good Case into No Case Against Labour Ministry

Two employees, Michael Mosey and Eileen Tremblay, have commenced a well-publicized, but potentially ill-fated, lawsuit against the Ontario Ministry of Labour, claiming it misled them as to their severance entitlement. Continue reading Company’s Insolvency Turns Good Case into No Case Against Labour Ministry