Skip to content

Atlantic Employers’ Counsel – Winter 2013

REASONABLE PEOPLE DOING QUESTIONABLE THINGS: CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND JUST CAUSE

Can a unionized employee moonlight in his off hours to earn some extra money by doing the same work he does for his daytime employer at cut rates? Can a high level executive take kickbacks for directing contract work to a friend? In both unionized and non-unionized environments, an employee who engages in a conflict of interest can lead to a just cause termination.

Read more

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: DEALING WITH FRAUDULENT MISREPRESENTATION OF QUALIFICATIONS OR CREDENTIALS IN THE WORKPLACE

It happens often. A potential candidate arrives at a job interview with a stellar curriculum vitae. She shares with you that she’s got a stable and secure job but might be interested in contributing to the success of your organization. Without hesitation or question, you decide that this is the person you’re looking for and an employment relationship is formed. Who didn’t hear about Yahoo’s situation with recent hire Scott Thompson when it was disclosed six months after the hiring that Thompson may not have had the qualifications set forth on this curriculum vitae.

Read more

DUMB AND DUMBER: GET SMART ABOUT SERIOUS INCOMPETENCE

Every employer has a movie or two in the making based on the outrageous tales of its most incompetent employees.

Maybe the employee harmed a patient, lost a million dollars, angered a valued client, missed a critical deadline, or did something so dumb it put the company’s reputation at risk. Once an employee has demonstrated such incompetence, the employer usually loses confidence in the employee’s ability to do the job and is keen to terminate employment.

Read more

WHOEVER SAID ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER? THINGS TO CONSIDER ABOUT INNOCENT ABSENTEEISM BEFORE TERMINATION

One of the most frustrating, costly and challenging issues facing employers is chronic absence of employees. Culpable absenteeism, or absenteeism within the employee’s control, may very well constitute cause for dismissal, but this article focuses on termination of employees for innocent absenteeism, particularly caused by illness, disability, or other protected grounds under human rights legislation.

Read more

LIAR, LIAR: DEALING WITH DISHONEST EMPLOYEES

Clarence Darrow is an unlikely inspiration for an employer-focused article about dishonest employees. However, Darrow captures a key truth about the employment relationship: the difference between honest and dishonest behaviour in the workplace isn’t easily discernible and can seriously impact your business.

Read more

IT’S ALL IN THE ATTITUDE: INSOLENCE & INSUBORDINATION

One of the most challenging issues in the workplace is dealing with bad attitude and employees refusing to perform the work for which they were hired. Disruptive behaviour can take on many forms: outright refusal to carry out work, manifest non-performance, inappropriate comments, persistent complaints and non-verbal communication expressions of dissatisfaction (i.e., eye rolling, sighing, etc.). Employers dealing with employees who have a negative and disruptive attitude often consider dismissal for insubordination and insolence. What exactly are those two concepts?

Read more

JUST CAUSE, DUTY OF FIDELITY AND BREACH OF TRUST

Every employee, at every level, owes a duty of fidelity to their employer. Although the extent of this duty depends on the particular circumstances of the employment relationship, all employees have a duty to act in a manner consistent with the employer’s interests (i.e. duty of loyalty). Where the conduct of an employee is dishonest and inconsistent with the employer’s interests, the trust in the employment relationship can be compromised and can amount to just cause for dismissal.

Read more

TERMS OF “ENDEARMENT”: SEXUAL HARASSMENT AS JUST CAUSE FOR DISMISSAL – SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE COURTS

Sexual harassment is prohibited under all human rights legislation in Canada and employers have a duty to protect employees against sexual harassment in the workplace. This may, in certain circumstances, require dismissing an offending employee. Failing to protect an employee against sexual harassment by a co-worker may also lead to a constructive dismissal claim against the employer. For the purpose of this article, we look specifically at the issue of when an employee can be terminated for just cause when there is proven sexual harassment.

Read more

SHARE

Archive

Search Archive


 
 

Newfoundland and Labrador adopts virtual Alternate Witnessing of Documents Act – for good this time!

June 1, 2023

By Joe Thorne and Megan Kieley Background During the COVID-19 public health emergency order in Newfoundland and Labrador, the government passed the Temporary Alternate Witnessing of Documents Act, which (as the name implies) temporarily permitted…

Read More

The great IP debate in Canada

May 31, 2023

By Daniela Bassan, K.C. Daniela Bassan, K.C. is a Partner and Practice Group Chair at the law firm of Stewart McKelvey (Canada) where she focuses on intellectual property and complex, multi-jurisdictional dispute resolution. The premise…

Read More

New Brunswick introduces prompt payment and adjudication legislation

May 24, 2023

By Conor O’Neil and Maria Cummings On May 9, 2023, two bills were introduced in the New Brunswick Legislature that could have material affects on the construction industry. Bills 41 and 42, of the current…

Read More

10 LMIA recruitment and advertising tips for employers looking to hire foreign workers

May 24, 2023

Author Sara Espinal Henao, an Immigration Lawyer in our Halifax office, will be speaking on a related panel, Labour Market Impact Assessments Overview and Current Trends, at the upcoming CBA Immigration Law Conference in Ottawa,…

Read More

Hiring internationally in the film & television industry: 5 things you should know

May 23, 2023

Author Brendan Sheridan, an Immigration Lawyer in our Halifax Office, will be running a related webinar on May 30, 2023, Avoiding immigration bloopers: A webinar for the film & television industry, in partnership with Screen…

Read More

Whose information is it anyway? Implications of the York University decision on public and private sector privacy and confidentiality

May 19, 2023

Included in Discovery: Atlantic Education & the Law – Issue 12 By Charlotte Henderson Privacy and confidentiality requirements are some of the most important responsibilities of organizations today. An organization’s ability to properly manage information,…

Read More

Are Non-Disclosure Agreements on their way out?

May 15, 2023

Included in Discovery: Atlantic Education & the Law – Issue 12 By Hilary Newman & Jacob Zelman A non-disclosure agreement, or “NDA”, is a legal contract in which two or more persons agree to keep the…

Read More

The General Anti-Avoidance Rule: more changes coming in 2023

May 12, 2023

By Graham Haynes & Isaac McLellan  Introduction The Canadian federal budget was unveiled on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 (“Budget 2023”)1 , and proposes significant changes to the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (the “GAAR”) in Canadian tax…

Read More

When closed doors make sense: Court dismisses challenge to university board’s procedure for in camera discussions

May 11, 2023

Included in Discovery: Atlantic Education & the Law – Issue 12 By Scott Campbell, Jennifer Taylor, Folu Adesanya A long-standing dispute over governance practices at the Cape Breton University Board of Governors was recently resolved…

Read More

When Facebook goes faceless: unmasking anonymous online defamation

May 9, 2023

Included in Discovery: Atlantic Education & the Law – Issue 12 By Jon O’Kane & Emma Douglas These days it seems no one is immune from the threat of anonymous keyboard warriors posting untrue and…

Read More

Search Archive


Scroll To Top