Ontario employment law has drastically shifted following the Waksdale and 2025 Baker decisions. Learn how the strict legal distinction between vacation time and pay impacts termination clauses. Discover why poorly drafted forfeiture policies can void employment contracts and trigger devastating common law severance liabilities. Protect your business today by auditing your employment architecture for 2026.

In corporate terminations, base salary is just the tip of the iceberg. The real battleground is variable compensation—cash bonuses, stock options, and RSUs earned under Performance Incentive Plans (PIPs). Employers often use dense contracts and "active employment" clauses to deny this pay. Let’s take a forensic look at how these equity grants hold up in Ontario courts and why the active employment clause is often a multi-million-dollar legal myth during your severance period.

Discover the legal trap Ontario employers face with commission-based employees in 2026. This guide covers ESA exemptions, WFH route salesperson liabilities, Waksdale contract annihilation, and minimum wage draw rules. Learn how misclassifying sales staff or enforcing illegal vacation policies leads to devastating retroactive penalties and Ministry of Labour audits. Ensure your business is protected by auditing your pay structures today.

Naval Vessels Civilian Workers employment rights differ from those of active-duty military. While sailors are governed by the Uniform Code of Military Justice, civilian workers are governed by federal civil service regulations. Civilian worker employment rights can be complex, but they are crucial to understand due to their unique working conditions, historical workplace risks, and legal protections. In this article we will first discuss the USA perspective followed by the Ca

Demand letters are a crucial tool used in various situations, to request payment and action to settle an employment law dispute. A well-drafted demand letter must be clear and actionable. Sending a demand letter is the first step that afflicted parties take before beginning the litigation against the recipient.  Drafting a demand letter used to take a lot of time, legal research, and efforts. Now, with the help of technology, the process of has become faster, smarter, and mor

Severance pay is compensation for services rendered, given to an employee in case of involuntary termination of employment, apart from their regular wages earned through the last day of work. While many companies offer severance agreements, the legal requirements vary significantly across jurisdictions. Let’s talk more about how severance entitlements are handled in Florida vs Ontario, so both employers and employees can protect their interests.

Correctly classifying salespeople for overtime exemption is critical. It hinges on job duties and location, not titles or commission. Key differences: California demands a strict ">50% outside" time test. The US federal standard is a more flexible "primary duty" analysis. Ontario & Alberta use an interpretive "normally made away from" test, often making remote staff non-exempt due to the "home office trap." Misclassification carries severe financial risks from back pay, fines

Fired in Canada? Your rights are stronger than in U.S. at-will systems. Wrongful dismissal isn't about why you were fired; it's about receiving fair severance. Employers often offer statutory minimums, but Common Law may entitle you to much more based on age and tenure. Forced to quit by major negative changes? That's constructive dismissal. Before signing anything, document your termination and consult an employment lawyer to secure your full compensation. Read on to learn m

Ontario and Alberta's employment laws are increasingly diverging. Ontario is adopting proactive, prescriptive regulations (e.g., pay transparency, electronic monitoring, gig worker rights), while Alberta maintains a more flexible, market-oriented framework. This creates complex compliance challenges for multi-jurisdictional employers, making a "one-size-fits-all" national employment policy unfeasible. Read on to learn more about the similarities and differences.