Law Times

Law Times • JuLy 24, 2017 Page 3 www.lawtimesnews.com Judge rules on working notice period BY ALEX ROBINSON Law Times A n Ontario judge has ruled that a working notice period does not apply to an employee who is on disability leave. In McLeod v. 1274458 On- tario, Justice Kenneth Hood of the Ontario Superior Court or- dered a delivery company to pay damages for a working notice period to a long-term employee unable to work during that time because of injuries sustained in a non-work-related car accident. The damages represented the salary he would have earned had he worked during the notice pe- riod. Lawyers say the decision con- firms that employers cannot give working notice to employees in- capable of working. "The whole point is to give that person a cushion in terms of money and time so that it can soften the blow of the transition between jobs," says Stan Fainzil- berg, a lawyer with Samfiru Tu- markin LLP, who represented the employee. "And he wasn't given that op- portunity because they weren't going to pay him during that time." The employee, Keith McLeod, obtained a certificate from his doctor in January 2016 that said he was unable to return to work until March of that year. He later provided a letter from a second doctor that he was still suffering from pain and could not return until further notice. At the end of January 2016, the employer issued him a notice of termination, as the company decided to shut down operations entirely at the end of July 2016. McLeod returned to work for two shifts in July before the busi- ness closed. He then got a new job at Pu- rolator for a comparable salary at the end of October 2016. At issue in the dispute was whether the plaintiff was incap- able of returning to work during the notice period. The defendants claimed that the plaintiff had shopped around to find a doctor who would write letters in support of his claim that he was unable to work, but the judge found there was no evidence of this. The employer argued that the plaintiff was not entitled to dam- ages as he was able to return to work but refused and had failed to apply for another job. The em- ployer also said that a mini-trial should be used because of incon- sistencies in McLeod's evidence, but Hood disagreed, granting the plaintiff 's summary judg- ment motion. Hood awarded McLeod nine months base salary, minus the pay for shifts he worked in July and an amount paid by the em- ployer to its obligations under the Employment Standards Act. Landon Young, a partner with Stringer LLP, who was not involved in the case, says the employer should have simply terminated the employee with- out working notice. Then it would have owed him only three months worth of pay in damag- es, as notice would have started on the day he was terminated and lasted until he found a new job, he says. "The employer got burned because they gave this employee working notice while he was on his disability leave," Young says. Fainzilberg says the decision also serves as a reminder that employees can rely on a doctor's advice even when the employer disputes it. "What this decision shows is you are allowed to listen to a doctor," he says. "At the end of the day, a lay- person such as my client doesn't know if he can go back or not. That's for a doctor with a medic- al degree to decide." The employer had also argued that the employee had failed to mitigate, saying there were thousands of similar job opportunities available as dis- closed on an online job search engine. But Hood found that McLeod could not be expected to under- take a serious job search until he was able to return to work. "The plaintiff 's mitigation efforts need only be reasonable," he said. "The bar is not set too high. The onus to show that the plain- tiff failed to properly mitigate lies with the defendant." Dorian Persaud, the lawyer representing the employer, said the decision sets an extremely low bar for mitigation. He added that it undermines the basis of awarding damages in a wrong- ful dismissal case and encour- ages employees to sit on their damages. He said that what makes the decision problematic is the fact that the plaintiff submitted medical information from his own family doctor indicating he was able to return to modified duties. "If an employer cannot rely on the medical opinion of an employee's physician, then em- ployers are handicapped when it comes to making good faith ef- forts to accommodate a disabled employee," he said in an email. "At a minimum, employees should be required to attend work and attempt the modified duties offered if those duties are consistent with the physician's assessment of the employee's limitations." Persaud added that the judge erred by mistakenly putting weight on the fact that the em- ployer did not terminate the em- ployee after he refused to attend work. "The fact that an employer is generous with an employee is not a basis to infer acceptance of the employee's misconduct," he said. Persaud said he is still waiting for instructions from his client on whether he will seek leave to appeal the decision. LT NEWS Stan Fainzilberg says the decision is a reminder that employees can rely on their doctor's advice even when disputed by an employer. JUDICIAL VACANCY ONTARIO COURT OF JUSTICE BRAMPTON The Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee advises the Attorney General of Ontario on the appointment of Judges to the Ontario Court of Justice, and invites applications for a judicial position in Brampton. This appointment involves presiding over criminal law matters and also involves travel within the regional boundaries as assigned by the Regional Senior Justice and/or the Chief Justice. The minimum requirement to apply to be a Judge in the Ontario Court of Justice is ten years completed membership as a barrister and solicitor at the Bar of one of the Provinces or Territories of Canada. All candidates must apply either by submitting 14 copies of the current (July 2017) completed Judicial Candidate Information Form in the first instance or by a short letter (14 copies) if the form has been submitted within the previous 12 months. Should you wish to change any information in your application, you must send in 14 copies of a fully revised Judicial Candidate Information Form. If you wish to apply and need a current Judicial Candidate Information Form, or if you would like further information, please contact: Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee Tel: (416) 326-4060 Fax: (416) 212-7316 Website: www.ontariocourts.ca/ocj/jaac/ All applications, either sent by courier, mail or hand delivery, must be sent to: Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee c/o Ministry of Government Services Mail Delivery 77 Wellesley Street West, Room M2B-88 Macdonald Block, Queen's Park Toronto, Ontario, M7A 1N3 Applications must be on the current prescribed form and must be TYPEWRITTEN or COMPUTER GENERATED and RECEIVED BY 4:30 p.m. on Friday, August 11, 2017. CANDIDATES ARE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE 14 COPIES OF THEIR APPLICATION FORM OR LETTER. A Fax copy will be accepted only if 14 copies of the application or letter are sent concurrently by overnight courier. Applications received after this date WILL NOT be considered. The Judiciary of the Ontario Court of Justice should reasonably reflect the diversity of the population it serves. Applications from members of equality- seeking groups are encouraged. POSTE À POURVOIR AU SEIN DE LA MAGISTRATURE COUR DE JUSTICE DE L'ONTARIO BRAMPTON Le Comité consultatif sur les nominations à la magistrature conseille le Procureur général de l'Ontario sur les nominations de juges à la Cour de justice de l'Ontario et invite les personnes intéressées à présenter leur demande au poste de juge à Brampton. Cette nomination consiste à présider des causes criminelles et nécessite également des déplacements à l'intérieur des limites régionales, selon les assignations du juge principal régional ou du juge en chef. Pour pouvoir poser sa candidature à un poste de juge à la Cour de justice de l'Ontario, il faut, comme condition minimale, avoir été inscrit comme avocat-plaidant et procureur au barreau de l'une des provinces ou de l'un des territoires du Canada pendant au moins dix ans. Tous les candidats et candidates doivent poser leur candidature soit, dans le premier cas, en présentant le Formulaire de renseignements sur le candidat/la candidate à la magistrature courant (juillet 2017), soit en envoyant une courte lettre (en 14 exemplaires) si le formulaire a été présenté au cours des 12 mois précédents. En cas de changements à apporter à un formulaire déjà envoyé, le candidat ou la candidate doit envoyer à nouveau 14 exemplaires du formulaire de renseignements corrigé. Si vous voulez poser votre candidature et que vous avez besoin d'un Formulaire de renseignements sur le candidat/la candidate à la magistrature courant, ou encore si vous souhaitez obtenir de plus amples renseignements, veuillez communiquer avec : Comité consultatif sur les nominations à la magistrature Téléphone : (416) 326-4060 Télécopieur : (416) 212-7316 Site Web : www.ontariocourts.ca/ocj/fr/jaac/ Toutes les demandes envoyées par service de messagerie, par la poste ou en main propre doivent être soumises à l'adresse suivante : Comité consultatif sur les nominations à la magistrature a/s Ministère des Services gouvernementaux - Services de distribution du courrier 77, rue Wellesley Ouest, salle M2B-88 Édifice Macdonald, Queen's Park Toronto (Ontario) M7A 1N3 Les demandes de candidature doivent être déposées par l'entremise du formulaire prescrit courant et DACTYLOGRAPHIÉES ou CRÉÉES PAR ORDINATEUR et reçues au plus tard à 16 h 30 le vendredi 11 août 2017. LES CANDIDATS ET CANDIDATES DOIVENT FOURNIR 14 EXEMPLAIRES DE LEUR FORMULAIRE OU DE LEUR LETTRE DE CANDIDATURE. Une télécopie ne sera acceptée que si 14 exemplaires du formulaire ou de la lettre de candidature sont également envoyés par service de messagerie de 24 heures. On n'accordera AUCUNE considération aux candidatures reçues après cette date. La magistrature provinciale doit refléter raisonnablement la diversité de la population qu'elle sert. Nous encourageons les membres de groupes de promotion de l'égalité à présenter une demande. Untitled-5 1 2017-07-18 2:15 PM

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