Employment and Labour Law - ODC

The appellant, an IT contractor, appealed a Small Claims Court decision dismissing its claim for unpaid fees and expenses against the respondent placement agency.

The parties' contract contained a 'pay when paid' clause.

The third-party client terminated the appellant's services and refused to pay outstanding invoices after discovering the appellant's principal had undisclosed U.S. and Ontario securities convictions for insider trading.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, finding the trial judge made no palpable and overriding error in concluding that the respondent had made good faith efforts to collect the unpaid amounts before reasonably abandoning the collection efforts due to the appellant's material non-disclosure of penal offences.

The applicant sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision certifying the respondent union and refusing reconsideration.

The applicant argued it was denied procedural fairness because the Board failed to contact it by telephone, and that the Board's finding regarding delivery of the certification application was unreasonable.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding the procedural fairness argument was not raised before the Board and the Board's decision on delivery was reasonable based on the evidence.

Costs of $5,000 were awarded to the respondent union.

The applicant union sought judicial review of an arbitration award dismissing a grievance for unjust termination and denial of benefits.

The grievor, who was off work on workers' compensation, claimed ongoing benefits from the predecessor employer after the entire business was sold to a successor employer.

The arbitrator held that the predecessor employer had no ongoing liability under the collective agreement except for crystallized entitlements.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding the arbitrator's conclusion that the successor employer replaced the predecessor employer for ongoing benefits was reasonable and consistent with labour relations jurisprudence.

The applicant police officer sought judicial review of a decision by the Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC) upholding his conviction for unnecessary exercise of authority.

The applicant argued that the hearing officer erred by applying the civil standard of proof (balance of probabilities) rather than a higher standard of 'clear and convincing evidence' under s. 84(1) of the Police Services Act.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, holding that the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in F.H. v. McDougall established that there is only one civil standard of proof, and that police discipline hearings remain civil proceedings governed by the balance of probabilities.

The applicant sought judicial review of an arbitrator's interim procedural ruling that issued a summons compelling the production of a Wagg brief in a grievance arbitration.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, holding that it is premature to judicially review interlocutory decisions of administrative decision-makers.

The court found that the arbitrator has the authority to rule on her own jurisdiction and procedural matters, and that fragmenting the arbitration process would frustrate legislative goals.

The defendants sought leave to appeal an interlocutory injunction that enforced a non-competition clause and prevented the individual defendant from working for the corporate defendant for six weeks.

The court dismissed the application for leave to appeal, finding no conflicting decisions and no reason to doubt the correctness of the motions judge's application of the RJR-Macdonald test.

The court also noted that the non-competition period had already expired, rendering the matter largely moot and not of public importance.

The applicant sought judicial review of a Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario decision that found it contravened the Human Rights Code and ordered compensation to the respondent, a former employee.

The applicant argued the Tribunal unreasonably ignored the employment contract's termination clause and unearned commission in calculating lost wages.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, holding that the Tribunal's power to order compensation under the Code is not limited by common law wrongful dismissal principles, and the Tribunal reasonably refused to consider the commission issue due to lack of documentation.

The applicants, suppression firefighters, sought judicial review of a Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario decision that summarily dismissed their age discrimination applications.

The applicants challenged the mandatory retirement age of 60, arguing the employer failed to accommodate them by not engaging in individualized testing for cardiac risk.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding the Tribunal reasonably relied on established precedent that mandatory retirement for firefighters is a bona fide occupational requirement, and that the applicants failed to provide the necessary individualized medical evidence of extremely low cardiac risk to trigger the narrow exception for accommodation.

The applicant sought judicial review of a Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) decision that awarded her $5,000 for discrimination.

The applicant argued the award was unreasonable because it did not compensate her for lost wages akin to a wrongful dismissal claim.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, holding that the HRTO's award was based on a procedural failing in the duty to accommodate and was distinct from common law wrongful dismissal damages.

Applying the reasonableness standard of review, the court found the HRTO's decision fell within the range of possible, acceptable, and defensible outcomes.

The successful applicant in a labour arbitration judicial review sought partial indemnity costs exceeding $30,000.

The Divisional Court found this amount excessive for a matter that was not overly complex.

The court fixed costs at $7,500, which it deemed to be within the accepted range for such proceedings.

The applicant union sought judicial review of an arbitrator's award upholding the termination of three employees for assaulting a replacement worker during a strike.

The arbitrator found the assault was premeditated and unprovoked, and that the employees were dishonest during the proceedings.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, holding that the arbitrator's findings of fact were reasonable, supported by the evidence, and entitled to the highest level of deference.

The moving party sought an extension of time to file a Notice of Appeal in the Divisional Court from a trial judgment dismissing her wrongful dismissal action.

The moving party had initially filed her appeal in the Court of Appeal, which quashed it for lack of jurisdiction after a seven-month delay during which her counsel ignored warnings about the jurisdictional error.

The Divisional Court applied the four-factor test for extending time and found no bona fide intention to appeal, no reasonable explanation for the excessive delay, and no merit to the proposed appeal.

The motion was dismissed.

The applicant applied for judicial review of an arbitrator's decision ordering the disclosure of contested documents.

The applicant argued it was denied procedural fairness because the arbitrator misunderstood its concession regarding the independence of a third party and failed to hold a hearing on the third party's neutrality.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding no denial of procedural fairness as the distinction between neutrality and independence was mere wordsmithing.

The Court also upheld the arbitrator's jurisdiction to order disclosure, finding her interpretation of the grievance reasonable.

The applicant employer sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision certifying a union as the exclusive bargaining agent for a construction industry bargaining unit.

The core issue was whether two employees performed construction industry work on the application date.

The Divisional Court found the Board's conclusion that disconnecting a pump for off-site repair constituted construction work 'at the site' to be unreasonable.

However, the Court upheld the Board's finding that replacing a thermal sensor constituted repair work, as it was a reasonable, fact-driven conclusion owed deference.

Consequently, the application for judicial review was dismissed.

The defendant appealed a trial judgment finding him liable for defamation and awarding the plaintiff $20,000 in damages.

The trial judge had held that while the defendant's statements in a union charge document were protected by qualified privilege, the privilege was defeated by malice.

On appeal, the Divisional Court found that the trial judge made a palpable and overriding error in finding malice.

The evidence demonstrated the defendant had an honest belief in the truth of the statements, and his conduct did not amount to recklessness or a personal vendetta.

The appeal was allowed and the defamation claim was dismissed.

The appellant appealed a decision of the Financial Services Tribunal dismissing his claim for a pension from his former employer.

The appellant argued that the pension plan's locking-in provision was clear and entitled him to a pension, or alternatively, that the ambiguous provision should be interpreted in his favour using the contra proferentem rule.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, finding the Tribunal's interpretation of the ambiguous provision was reasonable and consistent with the legislative context, and that the Tribunal made no error in declining to apply the contra proferentem principle.

The applicant sought judicial review of an arbitral award that dismissed a professor for just cause.

The underlying dismissal occurred in 2001, and the arbitral award was issued in 2002.

Due to various procedural steps, adjournments, and a late intervention by the dismissed professor raising jurisdictional arguments, the application did not proceed to a hearing until 2014.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application for extreme delay, finding that relitigating a workplace dispute over a decade later would cause prejudice and bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

The applicant Union sought judicial review of an arbitrator's decision dismissing a grievance concerning the discharge of a disabled worker.

The Union argued it was denied natural justice because the arbitrator refused its counsel access to the employer's plant to observe jobs, and refused to admit Physical Demands Analysis documents as exhibits.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding the arbitrator's discretionary rulings were reasonable, caused no prejudice, and did not result in procedural unfairness.

The applicant sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision dismissing his complaint that the union breached its duty of fair representation under s. 74 of the Labour Relations Act.

The applicant alleged procedural unfairness during the consultation process and substantive errors in the Board's assessment of the union's investigation into a contracting-out grievance.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding no breach of natural justice and holding that the Board reasonably concluded the union's actions were not arbitrary, discriminatory, or in bad faith.

The applicant, a former NHL referee, sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision which dismissed his complaint that his termination was tainted by anti-union animus.

The applicant argued the Board applied the wrong legal standard of proof and made several evidentiary errors.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding the Board's decision was reasonable, applied the correct legal test, and was based on a thorough assessment of the evidence.