Employee Owed More Severance Because He was Fired in June

Does it matter in which month an employee is fired? According to decision from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Fraser v Canerector Inc., 2015 ONSC 2138 (CanLII), the answer is “yes.”

In his reasons for decision granting the plaintiff 50% more reasonable notice than he otherwise would have awarded, the Honourable Justice Sean F. Dunphy wrote:

I must also account for the time of year when his employment was terminated in assessing reasonable notice. Mr. Fraser’s employment was terminated in June and it was quite foreseeable that hiring decisions at his level might have needed to be delayed somewhat due to the summer months in order to account for vacation schedules of key decision-makers.

“Bridging” Employee to Retirement is an Inappropriate Method by which to Calculate Reasonable Notice says ONCA

How are trial judges to calculate the amount of reasonable notice to which a suddenly unemployed employee is entitled? In yet another decision to reinforce the position that the analysis set out in Bardal v Globe and Mail remains the preeminent method by which to calculate the same, Arnone v. Best Theratronics Ltd., 2015 ONCA 63 (CanLII), the Court of Appeal for Ontario disapproved one judge’s approach of calculating the amount of time it would take to ‘bridge’ the employee to an unreduced pension.

Requirement to Purchase Shares Signalled Employer’s Intention to Create Long-Term Employment Relationship: ONSC

How does requiring an executive to purchase shares in his employer’s company affect the employee’s reasonable notice period in the event that his employment is terminated without cause? According to the Honourable Mr. Justice G.E. Taylor of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the answer is that it tends to length the notice period.

In the case of Rodgers v. CEVA, 2014 ONSC 6583 (CanLII), Mr. Justice Taylor held that, “Based on the required investment in [the employer] I find there was at least an implied representation that the plaintiff was about to embark upon a long-term employment relationship with [his employer.]

Stated Intention to Retire May Reduce Wrongful Dismissal Damages

Can publicly announcing one’s intention to retire from employment serve to reduce an employee’s entitlement to wrongful dismissal damages if the employee is later terminated without cause?

According to a decision from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Kimball v Windsor Raceway Inc, 2014 ONSC 3286, an employee’s stated intention to retire and therefore not look for new employment following termination "may well be relevant in assessing what constitutes reasonable notice.”

Dispute about Availability of Similar Employment Grounds to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Summary Judgment Motion

Will summary judgment be appropriate in a wrongful dismissal action if the issue of the plaintiff’s mitigation efforts are hotly contested? According to a 2013, pre-Hryniak decision, the answer can sometimes be “no.”

In a case where the primary concern was that of availability of similar employment, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice refused to grant summary judgment in an otherwise straightforward wrongful dismissal matter.