Temporary layoffs under scrutiny • No reason to appeal EI rulings
Temporary layoffs under scrutiny
Alberta employers that take advantage of a section of the Employment Standards Code that allows the temporary layoff of a worker for up to 60 days could find themselves on the losing end of a wrongful dismissal battle.
The Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench said a temporary layoff means the worker’s life, economically and legally, is on hold while the employer decides whether or not to bring the employee back.
It awarded a travel worker, laid off in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, 11 months’ wages in lieu of notice. It said a worker’s common-law right to treat a layoff as a termination trumped an employer’s ability to temporarily suspend her employment.
The court said that if it is wrong in its opinion, then the legislature may have to step in to clarify layoff provisions in the code.
No reason to appeal EI rulings
Employers facing a wrongful dismissal suit from an employee fired for cause might panic to learn the worker was awarded Employment Insurance.
After all, if the employee’s misconduct wasn’t severe enough to warrant a denial of benefits under the Employment Insurance Act, it doesn’t seem too far a stretch to assume a court would take that into account.
But Stuart Rudner, an employment lawyer with Miller Thomson in Toronto, said courts don’t put much stock in EI decisions. An Ontario court ruled the issue of just cause involves a “much broader investigation and analysis” and that it shouldn’t be bound by an EI finding that narrowly considered the issue of misconduct. An employer has the option to appeal an EI ruling, but Rudner said it’s usually not worth it.
Alberta employers that take advantage of a section of the Employment Standards Code that allows the temporary layoff of a worker for up to 60 days could find themselves on the losing end of a wrongful dismissal battle.
The Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench said a temporary layoff means the worker’s life, economically and legally, is on hold while the employer decides whether or not to bring the employee back.
It awarded a travel worker, laid off in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, 11 months’ wages in lieu of notice. It said a worker’s common-law right to treat a layoff as a termination trumped an employer’s ability to temporarily suspend her employment.
The court said that if it is wrong in its opinion, then the legislature may have to step in to clarify layoff provisions in the code.
No reason to appeal EI rulings
Employers facing a wrongful dismissal suit from an employee fired for cause might panic to learn the worker was awarded Employment Insurance.
After all, if the employee’s misconduct wasn’t severe enough to warrant a denial of benefits under the Employment Insurance Act, it doesn’t seem too far a stretch to assume a court would take that into account.
But Stuart Rudner, an employment lawyer with Miller Thomson in Toronto, said courts don’t put much stock in EI decisions. An Ontario court ruled the issue of just cause involves a “much broader investigation and analysis” and that it shouldn’t be bound by an EI finding that narrowly considered the issue of misconduct. An employer has the option to appeal an EI ruling, but Rudner said it’s usually not worth it.
