Wrongful Dismissal
Chief did not have actual or ostensible authority to bind Indian band to wrongful dismissal settlement agreement
In Clayton v. Lower Nicola Indian Band, 2013 BCSC 162, the BC Supreme Court found, by way of a summary trial, that the then chief of the Lower Nicola Indian Band did not have actual or ostensible authority to bind the band to a wrongful dismissal settlement agreement with its former executive director.
In a previous reported decision involving these parties - Clayton v. Lower Nicola Indian Band, 2011 BCSC 525 - it was disclosed that the settlement agreement provided for a $100,000 payment to the former executive director, who had been in her position for just under two years (January 14, 2008 to January 8, 2010).
Jury awards mill manager $573,000 in punitive damages, reported to be largest award in Canada of its kind
The Vancouver Sun reported on July 27, 2012 that a Prince George jury awarded a former mill manager $573,000 in punitive damages, the largest punitive damages award in Canada in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit.
You can read the story here:"Burns Lake sawmill manager wins major wrongful dismissal suit".
Court sets aside release signed by employee after employment terminated on basis it was unconscionable
Rubin v. Home Depot Canada Inc., 2012 ONSC 3053
A case summary by Landon Young & Jeremy Schwartz, at the firm of Stringer, can be found here: "Court Strikes Down Release Signed on Termination of Employment".
Gender bias in severance settlements, says UVIC professor Dr. Ken Thornicroft
Ken Thornicroft is a well known labour and employment law academic and adjudicator in BC.
He is currently a professor at the University of Victoria, Gustavson School of Business and a member of the BC Employment Standards Tribunal.
Recently he has been studying the issue of gender bias in negotiated and wrongful dismissal severance awards, and presented a paper that touched on this topic at the CLEBC Employment Law Conference in 2011. That paper can be found here: "Appellate Review of "Reasonable Notice" Awards in Canada: 2000-2010".
On June 4, 2012, UVIC issued this news release concerning his research:
Gender Bias In Severance Settlements read more »
"After Acquired Cause"
This is not a new paper but is a new addition to my WebSource. Michael A. Watt, of Alexander, Holburn, Beaudin & Lang, wrote a paper on "After Acquired Cause" for the Employment Law Conference (Continuing Legal Education Society of BC) in May 2005.
The paper addresses the following issues:
