Kelly McDougald, the ex CEO of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp has reportedly settled her wrongful dismissal case against the Ontario Government for approximately $750,000.00, according to a Toronto Star article on Saturday. 

The deal is being criticized by opposition parties first, because the details were released over the holidays in an effort to downplay the payout and second, because it's approximately $400,000 more than what the Star reported McDougald would have taken in a settlement when she was first fired.

McDougald was fired during the OLG expense scandal earlier this year and argued that she was made a scapegoat by the Ontario Government.  The Government alleged it had "cause" for McDougald's termination, which if correct, would mean that she wouldn't be entitled to any severance pay at all.

Cause for dismissal is typically very difficult for an employer to demonstrate.  It must show that the conduct it complains of can actually be proven and that a lesser of form of punishment was not appropriate or available. 

It appears that McDougald may have had a severance clause in her contract which would have required the Government to pay her a year's salary if dismissed without cause.  Therefore, the additional damages (almost $400,000) could be made up from her claims that the OLG's treatment and publicity following her termination would effectively prevent her from obtaining other work quickly or at all.

Daniel Lublin is an employment lawyer at the law firm Whitten & Lublin LLP, which focusses on the law of dismissal.  Daniel can be reached at dan@toronto-employmentlawyer.com or through his website www.toronto-employmentlawyer.com. 

A canadian woman working as a top executive at a London, England company is suing her boss for 8 million dollars in a UK Employment Tribunal for allegations that he brought prostitutes to meetings and repeatedly called her a "stupid blonde" before she was fired, as reported in a National Post article here. 

In Canada it is an implied term in every employment relationship that employees be treated with decency and civility, the breach of which can lead to damages for termination, commonly known as a "constructive dismissal."  An example of a constructive dismissal case can be read here.   

In addition, Canadian legislation prohibits discrimination or harassment based on grounds such as gender or race.  

Daniel Lublin is a lawyer with Whitten & Lublin which is an employment law firm in Toronto, Ontario assisting employees and employers with workplace legal matters.  

A lawsuit and Human Rights complaint alleging gender discrimination has been filed by two women previously employed by Bell Canada.

Fran Boutilier and Alison Green were recruited and hired on as vice-presidents in 2004. Their positions included managing over 1,000 employees (Boutilier) and the responsibility for a $350 million budget (Green). At the time of their hiring, the women were a small portion of the 25% of staff population that were women. By 2006, that number had dropped nearly 8%.

The women claim that Bell discriminated against them on the basis of gender. The claim points to several allegations in support, including pub nights that were virtually male only, and culminated in a 2005  war-themed retreat with  martial arts training that included full body contact.

Bell has responded by denying the allegations wholly and maintains that they do not tolerate discrimination in the workplace based on sex. They further went on to defend the retreat in question, stating that it was organized by a woman and included creative, non-contact activities such as poster painting. Bell is also relying on the fact that they gave both women severance packages which included 8 months pay in lieu of notice and an offer for career transition services (which was declined) for Boutilier, and 12 months pay and the removal of a non-competition clause for Green which would allow her to work for a competitor.

Currently, there is no black and white method to calculate the amount of severance for an employee dismissed "without cause". That being said, courts do tend to look at certain factors when evaluating wrongful dismissal disputes like Green and Boutilier’s. These factors include the terminated employee’s age, tenure, type of position, and ability to find similar employment.  In respect of the claims of discrimination, given the current state of the law, the ladies may argue that proven discrimination justifies additional punitive or aggravated damages – usually reserved for the most serious of conduct. 

Daniel A. Lublin is a Toronto Employment Lawyer specializing in the law of wrongful dismissal.  He can be reached at dan@toronto-employmentlawyer.com or visit www.toronto-employmentlawyer.com

Scotiabank has become the latest big Canadian bank to defend a class action lawsuit.

A claim of $350 million against Scotiabank was announced in a press conference yesterday morning. It claims employees were routinely given more work that could be completed during regular work day hours and that they were required or permitted to work overtime to complete their work. This resulted in billable overtime work that, as the litigants claim, they were not compensated for.

This is the second such action against a major Canadian bank in the past year. It was in June of this year that CIBC was hit with a $600 million claim from employees who were not paid for overtime work.

In a news release issued yesterday by Scotiabank, the company stated "We are confident that the Bank’s employee policies have been applied fairly and consistently". Addressing the issue of unpaid overtime work, Scotiabank said that "the Bank’s policy is based on the Canada Labour Code".

If you’re an employee of a large bank which has yet to be named in a class action, don’t expect the gravy train to be stopping at your station today. There are numerous legal hurdles for plaintiffs claiming unpaid overtime. For more information on the law governing these claims, see my September 12, 2007 post: Workers should be paid for overtime.

It will take some time for both cases to traverse through the courts. I will routinely post items on this story as it develops so keep checking in. In the mean time, you can read more about the matter by visiting the following links:

The Globe & Mail – Scotiabank hit with overtime lawsuit

The Financial Post – Scotiabank latest hit in OT class action barrage

The Toronto Star – Scotiabank second to face suit over overtime.

Daniel A. Lublin is a Toronto Employment Lawyer specializing in the law of wrongful dismissal.  He can be reached at dan@toronto-employmentlawyer.com or visit www.toronto-employmentlawyer.com