Wrongful Dismissal In Ontario: What You Should Know

[The information on this page applies only to non-unionized employees in Ontario, working in provincially regulated industries. It is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice, which cannot be given without consideration of your individual circumstances.] What is wrongful dismissal? Many employees may believe that wrongful dismissal is when an employer dismisses them for the wrong reasons. However, generally, an employer can terminate an employee for any reason... Read More

Constructive Dismissal In Ontario: What You Need To Know

[The information on this page applies only to non-unionized employees in Ontario, working in provincially regulated industries. It is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice, which cannot be given without consideration of your individual circumstances.] What is constructive dismissal? Constructive dismissal is when your employer has not formally terminated your employment, but has seriously changed or breached the terms of your employment contract, to the point that... Read More

Employer’s bad faith conduct may invalidate termination clause in employment contract

By Amanda Montague-Reinholdt If your employment has been terminated without cause, one of the first questions an employment lawyer will ask you is whether you have a written employment contract. If you do, the employment lawyer will review it to determine if the contract sets out your entitlements when your employment is terminated without cause. Many employment contracts state that employees will only receive the minimum notice and severance entitlements... Read More

Is My Non-Complete Clause Void?

By Simcha Walfish In Fall 2021, the Government of Ontario introduced the Working for Workers Act, which included a new prohibition on non-compete clauses. The Minister of Labour provided the following rationale:  While these agreements are almost never legally enforceable, employers often use them to intimidate their workers. These agreements generally say that a worker can’t seek opportunities at other companies in the same field for a period of time... Read More

No Free Work

RavenLaw supports liveable wages for all employees, including articling students. As employees, articling students are entitled to compensation for the valuable work they perform in law firms, organizations, and public employers across Ontario. We have written to the LSO Benchers to express our firm’s position that articling students should be provided with a liveable wage for their work and, in the alternative, no less than the bare minimum pay outlined... Read More

Raphaëlle Laframboise-Carignan to Present on Accommodation and Disability Benefits

On March 22, 2022, Raphaëlle Laframboise-Carignan will present as part of a speakers’ night series being held by Mood Disorders Ottawa. Raphaëlle will be discussing workplace accommodations, long-term disability (LTD) benefits, and other disability benefits available when a person cannot work due to injury or illness. For more information on this upcoming presentation, please visit the event website. Read More

RavenLaw Attends UOttawa Career Connections Events

During the week of March 14, 2022, RavenLaw represented the firm at the 2022 uOttawa Career Connections event, held virtually. Morgan Rowe, Zachary Rodgers, Claire Michela, and Simcha Walfish participated in panels, roundtables, and meet and greet events with law students and particularly spoke about their work representing unions and employees. Thank you to the organizers for putting on this great event, and thank you to the uOttawa students for your engagement and enthusiasm!... Read More

Raphaelle Laframboise-Carignan Presents on COVID-19 Employment Law and Policies

On December 21, 2021, Raphaëlle Laframboise-Carignan presented to l’Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario (AJEFO) on employment laws and policies related to COVID-19. Raphaëlle discussed the effects of these types of policies on the workplace, accommodation issues, exemption requests, and the potential consequences where employees do not comply with COVID-19 policies. Read More

Will new pay transparency rules help to eliminate the wage gap?

[RavenLaw gratefully acknowledges the contribution of this post by articling student Kundera Provost-Yombo] In January 2021, the Government of Canada implemented amendments to the Employment Equity Regulations that imposed disclosure obligations to on federally regulated private sector workplaces. These new measures will make salaries publicly available, and help to identify wage gaps experienced by women, indigenous people, members of visible minorities, and people with disabilities. The key question is –... Read More

Congratulations to David Yazbeck on his new role at PIPSC!

As many of our friends and colleagues in the labour community may already know, David Yazbeck has left private practice at RavenLaw to work within the labour movement as the Director, National Labour Relations, at PIPSC. David has a long history representing PIPSC and its members, championing human rights and whistleblower protections in numerous precedent-setting cases on the union’s behalf. This is an exciting opportunity for David to continue to... Read More