And Now For Something Completely Different...
As both a lawyer and a writer, I occasionally have the opportunity to write elsewhere, whether for a firm, a corporation, or in this case for the Ontario Bar Association. I was honoured to be a guest...
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Fire Fairly: How Doing It Wrong Can Cost A Pretty Penny (to the tune of $50k)
Believe it or not, there is both a right way, and a wrong way, to fire somebody. The right way does not mean that terminations are easy. In fact, they can be one of the hardest parts of any manager’s...
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Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow, Hired The Day After?
You may have seen this one in the papers last week. The Toronto Star profiled Allan Stokell, who was applying to be a UPS driver after he had retired as a City of Toronto employee, but UPS policy...
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And the envelope (or e-mail) please...
As the end of 2016 draws closer, it can only mean three things: Winter is coming, a difficult year for many will finally be over, and it's time for the Clawbie nominations!For those of you unfamiliar,...
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Exciting News for 2017
A new year is here, and with that comes some incredibly exciting news, both personally and for News From The Break Room. The first is that, starting in January, I will begin my practice as an associate...
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Everything Was Fine Until...
Most employment lawyers can probably finish this sentence even before their clients can. The basic refrain from a large number of employees in challenge, when describing their troubles at work, is...
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It's #BellLetsTalk Day, So Let's Start Talking
A well-liked coworker announces they have just been diagnosed with cancer. They had been feeling unwell, and trying to work through the symptoms, but finally after much coaxing sought medical...
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#DressLikeAWoman. Or...you know...don't...
The reports stemming from White House sources as of late are so disorienting, it has become difficult, and at times impossible thanks to the President’s own social media contributions, to separate fact...
View ArticleHonoured to be among The Lucky Few
Earlier this month, I was privileged to sit down with Aaron Parker, founder of The Lucky Few and host of The Lucky Few podcast. Aaron is on a mission to support young professionals in meeting their...
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ONCA's Wood is Lovely, Dark, and Deep
Employment contracts can be a tricky business. They can be beneficial both for employers and employees because they set out the terms of the employment relationship, and each party’s obligations to...
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The New Baby Bump: What An Extended Maternity Leave Might Look Like
For some parents who take parental leave, a year may feel like an awfully long time. While parenthood and newborn bonding can be a life-changing experience, raising an infant is not without numerous...
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If you can't say anything nice...
In a famous 1996 episode of Seinfeld, Elaine Benes sneaks a peek at her medical records and notices that she’s been noted as a ‘difficult patient’ for a minor incident that happened several years...
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Cutting Your Losses: How far do employees have to go to mitigate?
Employment, like most things in life, is a two-way street. Throughout the working relationship, employers and employees each have rights and responsibilities to make work run smoothly. Employees are...
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Chicken Soup for the Province
Years ago, the restaurant chain Jack Astors had their servers wear outfits with funny one-liners on them, including one that read “I used up all my sick days so I called in dead.”While it was always...
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Idle Hands? You may have options after all
If you thought your relationship with work was complicated while you were employed, it can be far more so after you’ve been wrongfully dismissed. Stay with me, because it gets a little tricky, but I...
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So, Can You Fire a Terrorist?
Throughout the terrible events in Charlottesville, one of the recurring themes on social media has actually surprised me at how often it gets re-posted. It appears that a number of the protesters in...
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Who Runs The World? Well...
Canada is indisputably one of the most multicultural countries in the world. Toronto alone, based on some recent projects, has pockets of its population whose heritage represents every other country on...
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When 'At Will' Becomes 'We Won't'
As Homer Simpson once sadly put it best, “I’m a white male, ages 18 to 49, everyone listens to me.” While said in jest, the quote belies a sad note of truth. Despite tremendous advances in human rights...
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Why #MeToo Needs To Be A Serious Wake-Up Call To Employers
In the wake of the latest revelations of sexual abuse out of Hollywood, social media has been flooded with men and women revealing their history with sexual abuse and harassment with a simple hashtag:...
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Them, Too: Why Talking About Sexual Harassment Isn't Going Away Quietly
Last month, News From The Break Room covered the #metoo social media campaign, where people from all walks were bravely coming forward with their histories of sexual harassment, frequently from within...
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