July 2025 Workplace Recap - July 31, 2025
Enjoy our latest edition of Workplace Recap for Canadian employers.
Legislation Updates
- Get ready now for the Ontario job postings requirements effective Jan 2026.
- Ontario’s latest labour bill targets safety, skills, and scams.
- New rights for Uber, Lyft and other platform workers take effect July 1.
HR News
- Manitoba hotel owner charged after workers report threats, withheld pay, and ID.
- The AI talent war just got more expensive.
- Surge in use of AI bots that interview your candidates.
- Boomerang employees make up 35% of new hires.
Case Law Round Up
- Ontario court rules temporary lay-offs aren’t terminations.
- Ontario. $300k+ awarded for Constructive Dismissal after Maternity Leave.
- Ontario Court backs termination of 13-yr employee with no notice for time theft.
- BC Court upholds contractor status as dependent contractor, awarded 10 months.
- Court upholds decision to invalidate 24 month’s notice for failure to mitigate.
- Vancouver nurse fired over gender views. Files Human Rights Complaints.
Legislation Updates
Get ready now for the Ontario job postings requirements effective Jan 2026.
Starting January 1, 2026, Ontario employers with 25+ staff will face new ESA job posting requirements. Public ads must now include compensation (or a range under $50K wide), disclose use of AI, state if there’s an actual vacancy, and ban “Canadian experience” as a requirement. Plus, if you interview someone, you have 45 days to let them know where they stand. Oh, and keep all records for three years.
Ontario’s latest labour bill targets safety, skills, and scams.
The Working for Workers Seven Act is Ontario’s latest push to modernize labour laws. The 18 proposed measures include mandatory AEDs on construction sites, stronger protections against job scams, faster access to training funds, and extended support for laid-off workers. The bill also aims to shield Ontario’s workforce from U.S. tariff fallout while cutting red tape in hiring and procurement. If passed, it’s a clear sign: the province is betting big on a safer, more future-ready labour market.
New rights for Uber, Lyft and other platform workers take effect July 1.
Ontario’s Digital Platform Workers' Rights Act is now in effect, promising basic protections like minimum wage—for active time only. Critics say that still leaves gig workers without key rights like paid sick days, EI, or holiday pay. And the catch? Waiting around for orders doesn’t count as work. Enforcement measures and fines are in place, but advocates argue the law is more optics than impact.
HR News
Manitoba hotel owner charged after workers report threats, withheld pay, and ID.
A hotel owner in Manitoba is facing serious human trafficking charges after four foreign workers said they were paid half the minimum wage, forced to work 15-hour days, and threatened with deportation. In this CBC report, RCMP said the employees were recruited with promises of legal work and fair pay through Canada’s federal Labour Market Impact Assessment system. The employer allegedly failed to follow through, with one worker never even receiving the required documentation. Despite the allegations, the owner has been released on bail with strict conditions.
The AI talent war just got more expensive.
A $100 million signing bonus? Not quite. Despite OpenAI CEO Sam Altman claiming Meta was dangling absurd pay packages to poach talent, one departing researcher set the record straight: “fake news.” Three key OpenAI engineers from its Zurich team are joining Meta—but not for lottery-style payouts. This drama highlights the escalating AI talent war, with Meta aggressively recruiting to shake its "AI laggard" image.
Surge in use of AI bots that interview your candidates.
AI bots are stepping into HR’s interview seat, and not everyone’s loving it. Some candidates are impressed by the convenience and smart followup questions, while others feel ghosted and disconnected. Companies say bots streamline hiring and free up recruiters, but job seekers are left wondering how their answers are judged—or if anyone’s even listening. As one candidate put it: “It can be done well... but this wasn’t it.”
Boomerang employees make up 35% of new hires.
Boomerang hires are making serious waves in 2025, with ADP reporting that 35% of new hires in March were former employees—up from 31% a year earlier. In Ontario’s high‑skill sectors like tech and finance, returnees made up nearly two‑thirds of new hires. These rehires cost less to onboard, hit the ground running, and bring refreshed perspectives. But it’s not for every organization—past issues, team dynamics, or role mismatches may mean a former employee isn’t always the best choice.
Case Law Round Up
Ontario court rules temporary lay-offs aren’t terminations.
In a refreshing win for employers, the Ontario Superior Court confirmed that a temporary lay-off clause is not a termination clause—even if it's buried in the “Termination” section of the contract. In Taylor v. Salytics Inc., the employee argued his lay-off was a constructive dismissal. The Court disagreed. The existence of a clear lay-off clause was enough to shut down that argument. Placement of the clause didn’t matter. What mattered was that the agreement gave the employer the right to lay off temporarily.
Key Take-Aways for Employers
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In Ontario, lay-off clauses are valid if properly written
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A temporary lay-off is not a termination if the contract allows it
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Bad termination language won’t always drag the whole agreement down
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Contracts should be reviewed regularly to stay compliant with evolving case law
Ontario. $300k+ awarded for Constructive Dismissal after Maternity Leave.
A recent Ontario court decision in McFarlane v. King Ursa Inc. found that an executive was constructively dismissed after being offered a demotion and $90,000 pay cut upon returning from maternity leave. The court awarded her 12 months’ notice and $40,000 in moral damages for what it deemed “unduly insensitive conduct”. In Canada, unilateral demotions—especially those stripping status and salary—can legally amount to a breach of contract, entitling employees to severance and emotional compensation. Employers should seek written agreement before altering core job terms and handle leave returns thoughtfully to avoid legal and reputational risks.
Key Take-Aways for Employers
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Demotions after protected leave are risky
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Pay cuts signal breach of contract
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Insensitive treatment may lead to aggravated damages
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Plan ahead and document everything
Ontario Court backs termination of 13-yr employee with no notice for time theft.
An Ontario court recently sided with an employer who fired a worker for time theft, even though the worker didn’t actively falsify records. The issue? Silence. The employee didn’t correct inaccurate timecard entries that showed she was working when she wasn’t—and the court ruled that was dishonest enough. The court emphasized that employees have a duty to speak up when they know payroll records are wrong. The case sets a clear precedent: inaction can be just as damaging as fraud. See Abbasbayli v. Fiera Foods Company, 2025 ONSC 3240.
Key Take-Aways for Employers
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Employees are expected to correct known payroll inaccuracies
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Silence in the face of timecard errors can amount to dishonesty
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Termination for cause may be upheld, even without outright fraud
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Documentation and timekeeping systems should make accountability easy
BC Court upholds contractor status as dependent contractor, awarded 10 months.
In Ursic v Country Lumber Ltd., the Supreme Court of British Columbia confirmed that workers aren’t automatically independent contractors just because they're structured as such. Borly Holdings—providing exclusive trucking services to a single company for 14 years—was ruled a dependent contractor, not independent, entitling it to reasonable termination notice even absent a written agreement. The court emphasized that notice periods must reflect where a working relationship lies on the continuum from independent contractor to employee, and there's no presumption of reduced notice just because someone is labeled a contractor. This ruling reshapes expectations for long‑term exclusive contractor relationships.
Key Take-Aways for Employers
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Dependent contractors may have the same right to reasonable notice as employees
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Exclusivity, economic reliance, integration into the business, and duration are key factors
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There’s no automatic discount in notice length just because someone is a contractor
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Clearly drafted, written agreements, multiple-client freedom, and operational independence help distinguish contractors
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Include clear termination clauses to manage entitlements and reduce wrongful‑termination exposure
Court upholds decision to invalidate 24 month’s notice for failure to mitigate.
The Manitoba Court of Appeal confirmed that employees must seriously consider comparable job offers—even from successor employers—before claiming wrongful dismissal damages. In Brown v. General Electric Canada., a long-serving executive turned down an offer from the buyer of his division that kept everything the same—title, compensation, benefits, and reporting lines—except for a missing retention bonus. That refusal cost him: the Court found he failed to mitigate, and denied him a common law notice award. The offer, although made before his dismissal, still counted.
Key Take-Aways for Employers
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In Manitoba, mitigation can include job offers made before termination
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Employees must accept comparable roles or risk losing severance
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Courts will look at whether a reasonable person would accept the offer
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Employers can reduce liability by offering similar roles with clear terms
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Keep records of the offer, especially if made through a successor organization
Vancouver nurse fired over gender views. Files Human Rights Complaints.
A B.C. nurse is suing Vancouver Coastal Health and the BC College of Nurses, alleging she was suspended and investigated not for her professional conduct, but because of her political views and peaceful activism. Her lawsuit claims a violation of her Charter rights, saying her suspension was the result of expressing dissenting opinions about government policies while off-duty.
Key Take-Aways for Employers
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Employee conduct outside of work, especially political speech, can raise complex legal issues
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Charter rights may apply in some cases, even in employment contexts
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Public employers need to tread carefully when disciplining for off-duty expression
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Review your policies on off-duty conduct, especially for roles under professional regulation
Melina Laird is Operations Coordinator for ConnectsUs HR, a company that provides tools & resources to quickly set up a Human Resources department.
You can contact her here.
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