Law Times

March 21, 2011

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Law TiMes • March 21, 2011 Constructive dismissal nets worker $40K more BY MICHAEL McKIERNAN Law Times over a major pay cut has received a further $40,000 after a judge ruled in his favour late last year. Lorenzo Russo re- A ceived nearly $82,000 in damages to cover the diff erence between his old earnings and his pay under a new wage struc- ture at Kerr Bros. Ltd., a candy manufacturer in Toronto. Th e additional $40,000 settled the fi nal four months of his notice period after he left the company following the judgment in November. Th e fi nancially troubled manu- man who opted to continue working for his employer during a dispute K.C. Wysynski rep- resented Lorenzo Russo. company cut his remuneration to $60,000 per year, but he continued to work while taking the position that it had constructively dismissed him. On Nov. 2, Ontario Superior Court Justice Douglas Gray decided Russo was able to mitigate his dam- ages by continuing his employment at the low- er rate of pay but only until the completion of the period of reasonable notice. Continuing be- yond that time would constitute an acceptance of the new terms and conditions, Gray wrote. Gray, setting the no- tice period at 22 months, facturer brought in a consultant to help reduce costs in April 2009 who recommended 10-per-cent pay cuts for workers. Russo was one of four employees identifi ed for additional concessions. Th e 53-year-old had quit school at 16 to work for the company full time and made his way up to the position of warehouse man- ager to earn $115,000 per year. Th e ordered the $82,000 payment to cover the 18 months up until he heard the case. Th e judgment in Russo's favour sped settlement ne- gotiations along, according to his lawyer, K.C. Wysynski of Evans Law Firm in Burlington, Ont. "Mr. Russo was told his services were no longer required almost im- mediately after the decision was is- sued and he was paid for the entire notice period based on the damages calculation used by Justice Gray," she says. Campaign shows increase in use of social media BY OLIVIA D'ORAZIO For Law Times S ocial media and an online presence are playing an increasingly impor- tant role in elections, including for lawyers seeking positions as benchers with the Law Society of Upper Canada. During the last elections in 2007, less than 10 candidates made use of a social networking tool or had any kind of online presence. Today, that number has more than tripled. In addition to personal and professional web sites, many lawyers are using blogs, Facebook accounts, Twitter feeds, and YouTube channels to spread their ideas to the legal community. Omar Ha-Redeye, articling student and founder of the Law Is Cool blog, be- lieves the shift to an electronic ballot will entice more voters to seek information online. "Lawyers will be looking to learn more about candidates immediately prior to voting if they are voting online," he says. "Having a social media pres- ence provides that information that these lawyers would be looking for." Getting such a presence is relatively easy. Most social networking sites al- low users to start a page or feed free of charge. Bencher candidates like Mitch Kowalski, Dorette Pollard, and Basil Alexander have begun Facebook pages dedicated to their campaigns. Th omas Conway has a Twitter feed promoting his campaign, while Emir Aly Crowne has a blog devoted to the election. Monica Goyal has left a particularly large footprint over the web with a Facebook page, Twitter feed, and YouTube channel. "Each of these media off er a diff erent demographic and allow for a diff er- ent message," Goyal says. "For example, LinkedIn is very much a professional forum, so I've focused on advertisements, whereas Twitter is more interactive, so I try to engage people." Many other candidates have created new personal web sites or updated existing ones. Constance Backhouse, Julian Falconer, Robert Wadden, Wil- liam McDowell, Christopher Bredt, Malcolm Mercer, Steven Benmor, and Linda Rothstein have all opted for the slightly pricier option of a personal web site. Th e cost of domain names and server hosting is still much less than the $18,000 the law society estimates each candidate spent on campaigning in 2007, mainly due to mailing costs. Social media will be especially helpful to those running in areas outside of Toronto. "We do still tend to be clustered around urban areas," Ha-Redeye points out. "Social media allows those outside of urban areas to have a stron- ger presence." Ha-Redeye adds that those who have previously established a presence on- line, whether through blog or other social media, are at an advantage. "Th e campaign period for the bencher elections is very short, only a few months. It's very diffi cult to create an Internet presence in that amount of time." www.lawtimesnews.com Untitled-2 1 3/15/11 7:50:16 AM For more about Bill Burden please visit www.casselsbrock.com/People/Bill_Burden You can also find out more about Bill Burden by scanning the QR code on the right with your smart phone. NEWS PAGE 3 BURDEN FOR BENCHER » Bill Burden's background gives him the perspective to see the issues. » Bill Burden's experience gives him the judgment to see the solutions. » Bill Burden has practised both inside and outside of Toronto, in both small and large firms. Vote for Bill Burden.

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