Paul Lewis

The respondent requested that the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario defer consideration of the applicant's human rights application pending the determination of his Employment Standards Act (ESA) claim for termination pay.

The applicant opposed the deferral, arguing the ESA proceeding would only deal with termination pay.

The Tribunal denied the deferral request, finding a lack of significant overlap between the issues raised in the human rights application and the ESA claim, and concluding that the risk of inconsistent results was minimal.

The plaintiff, a 68-year-old captive sales agent, brought an action for constructive dismissal after his employer proposed changes to his commission structure and requested he sign an updated employment agreement.

The plaintiff resigned, claiming a toxic work environment and a fundamental change to his employment terms, despite the employer offering 18 months of working notice on his existing terms.

The court dismissed the action, finding no constructive dismissal as the employer's conduct did not amount to a repudiation of the contract.

Furthermore, the court held that even if constructive dismissal had occurred, the plaintiff failed to mitigate his damages by refusing the reasonable opportunity to work out the notice period.

The respondent requested that the Tribunal defer consideration of the human rights application pending the conclusion of a parallel civil action filed by the applicant in the Superior Court of Justice.

The Tribunal denied the request, finding that the Statement of Claim did not allege human rights infringements or seek remedies for such infringements.

The Tribunal directed the matter to proceed to mediation.