Updated
Updated · HRD America · Jul 29
Ontario Court Awards 33 Months' Pay in Dismissal Case, Adding 14 Months for Bad Faith
Updated
Updated · HRD America · Jul 29

Ontario Court Awards 33 Months' Pay in Dismissal Case, Adding 14 Months for Bad Faith

1 articles · Updated · HRD America · Jul 29

Summary

  • A former Ontario night shift supervisor won 33 months of pay in lieu of notice after the Superior Court found no just cause and added 14 months because of the employer’s bad-faith dismissal process.
  • The court said the alleged “time theft” involved a longstanding practice of topping up workers’ hours, was not isolated to the employee, and did not personally enrich him.
  • The 14-month increase turned on the employer’s investigation: other supervisors were not properly examined, the employee faced a one-sided meeting, and dismissal documents accused him of fraud and theft, hurting EI access and his job search.
  • The ruling in Wilsher v. Olympic Wholesale revives a Wallace-style notice extension rather than separate bad-faith damages, signaling that flawed cause allegations can sharply raise termination liability.

Insights

Why did an Ontario court punish an employer for a nineteen-year-old timekeeping secret that everyone knew about?
Could firing an employee for following an unwritten workplace rule cost your company three years of severance pay?
Will this controversial thirty-three-month payout survive an appeal after seemingly ignoring modern Supreme Court rules?