Robert Monti

The plaintiff brought a motion for summary judgment in a wrongful dismissal action after termination without cause following 31 years of service.

The court applied the principles in Hryniak v. Mauldin and found no genuine issue requiring a trial.

Considering the Bardal factors, including the employee’s age, lengthy service, supervisory role, and proximity to eligibility for an unreduced pension, the court determined that damages should effectively bridge the employee to his pension entitlement rather than apply a full 22‑month notice period.

The court rejected the employer’s mitigation arguments, finding that the employee’s extensive job search and acceptance of lower-paying retail work satisfied the duty to mitigate.

Judgment was granted for salary to the pension qualification date, compensation for lost pension value, and the contractual retirement allowance.

The respondent was dismissed from his position as executive director of the appellant association for sexually harassing female employees.

The trial judge found that the conduct occurred outside the workplace and was consensual, concluding there was no just cause for dismissal.

On appeal, the Court of Appeal overturned the trial judge's decision, finding that the trial judge failed to account for the power imbalance between a supervisor and employees, and erred in characterizing work-related social events as outside the workplace.

The Court held that the respondent's pattern of sexually harassing conduct created an intolerable work environment and constituted just cause for dismissal.