Year: 2017
B.C. Court of Appeal clarifies standard for award of aggravated damages based on mental distress in wrongful dismissal cases
The B.C. Court of Appeal recently reversed a lower court decision and ruled that the “ordinary psychological impact” one experiences upon being terminated from a job is not compensable as aggravated damages. The plaintiff, Mr. Lau, brought a wrongful dismissal action against Royal Bank of Canada and sought to recover aggravated damages for mental distress […] Read more
New Amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations
The Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (“OHSR”) under the Workers Compensation Act, (the “Act”) has been amended to add new provisions requiring an annual written evaluation by the employer of joint health and safety committees, minimum training requirements for new joint committee members and worker health and safety representatives and participation in investigations by a […] Read more
Alberta Court of Appeal Overturns Trial Court Decision on Good Faith Requirement when Dismissing an Employee without Cause
The Alberta Court of Appeal has rolled back a controversial trial court decision which had applied recent developments in the law to award damages to a dismissed employee for the lost opportunity to earn a payment under a long-term incentive plans (LTIP). We had previously written about the Albert Court’s ruling in Styles v. Albert […] Read more
No Resignation + No Failure to Mitigate = Damages
An employee who emailed his manager that he “will not be returning” did not quit, according to a recent BC Supreme Court decision. Mark Bishop was a 61 year old buyer for an electrical products retailer, Rexel Canada Electrical, with more than 27 years’ service. He felt overloaded with work. When his manager, King, sent […] Read more
