Publications

By Patrick James and Niiti Simmonds[note] Patrick James is a Partner and Niiti Simmonds is an Associate at the law firm Pinto Wray James LLP, which specializes in employment law, labour law, human rights, administrative law and civil litigation.[/note]

The effective and timely management of employee harassment claims is critical to maintaining workplace morale and productivity. Long-standing unresolved harassment claims and investigations can divert the attention of your workforce and result in diminished outcomes for the employer, as well as those employees who are involved in the harassment issue. For this reason, it is important to be up to speed on the substantive and procedural law regarding workplace harassment as this will help ensure that the process of investigating and resolving workplace harassment issues is as timely and effective as possible. Any internal workplace investigation or dispute resolution mechanism is always conducted against the backdrop of a possible formal legal procedure, and so it is important to understand the formal legal procedures available. more »

By Niiti Simmonds

In 2008, legislative amendments to the Ontario Human Rights Code (“Code”) removed the right of parties to appeal decisions of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“HRTO” or “Tribunal”) to the courts. With the removal of appeal rights, decisions of the HRTO can now only be revisited by way of a judicial review before the Divisional Court of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

Although the 2008 legislative changes intended to narrow the circumstances in which HRTO decisions can be reviewed by the courts, decisions of the HRTO are often perceived as vulnerable to review, compared to other administrative decision-makers.

This paper provides an overview of HRTO cases that have come under review by the Divisional Court and the Ontario Court of Appeal since 2008. Key judicial review cases are surveyed in order to analyze and identify aspects of human rights decision-making that attract judicial intervention. more »

By Andrew Wray, Christian Vernon and Niiti Simmonds

The case comments and tables below represent our survey of recent cases that have considered the standards of review applicable to Ontario administrative decision-makers, and other current issues in administrative law.

We have done five successive updates of the case comments and tables, covering the periods from March 2008 to March 2011.  Within each update, we reviewed all of the recent Ontario court decisions at the time that had considered and applied the Supreme Court’s reasons in Dunsmuir and the “standard of review analysis” formulated in that decision.

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By Andrew Pinto and Niiti Simmonds

In this age of WikiLeaks, social networking and The Millennium Trilogy, the issue of disclosure is both front page news and bedside reading. At its best, disclosure can separate truth from fiction; at its worst, disclosure can simply bury the truth with fiction, and kill more trees. The right to disclosure is a vital component of procedural fairness in administrative proceedings, and originates in the principle audi alteram partem. more »

By Andrew Pinto and Niiti Simmonds

As a result of Bill 168, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, (the “OHSA” or “Act”) now imposes obligations on employers to maintain policies and programs with respect to preventing both workplace violence and harassment. While the requirement to maintain such policies and programs is well established, what is less certain is what remedies will be available to an employee who brings a complaint regarding workplace violence or harassment. more »

By Andrew Pinto and Christian Vernon

As the Human Rights Tribunal’s processes are becoming more developed and widely understood, the opportunities for using these processes strategically are increasing. For both Applicants and Respondents there are particular junctures in the Part IV Application process where a strategic advantage may be gained or lost. more »

By Christian Vernon

Human Rights Protections Only Extend to “Enumerated Groups”
1. In our practice we often encounter people who believe that their human rights were violated because someone has treated them badly, shouted at them, fired them from their jobs, spread rumours about them, overcharged them for something, etc.  Whether we are acting for Respondents (Defendants), or for Applicants (Plaintiffs), we always test the evidence to determine if there is a nexus between the conduct that is being complained of and the specific protections offered by the Human Rights Code. more »

By Andrew Wray and Christian Vernon

The case comments and tables below represent our survey of recent cases that have considered the standard of review applicable to Ontario administrative decision-makers, and other current issues in administrative law. more »

By Andrew Pinto and Christian Vernon

When an employer has grounds to believe that one or more of its employees are engaged in activity that is contrary to the company policy and/or contrary to law, there are a number of important issues to consider when deciding how to proceed. more »

By Andrew Wray

On January 2010, significant amendments to the Rules of Civil Procedure will come into effect. This paper will highlight the strategic considerations that lawyers should have when litigating employment law matters and how to use the new amendments to their strategic advantage. more »

By Andrew Pinto

The primary strategy in dealing with wrongful dismissal files in the early stages involves making judgment calls about which key issues will make a significant difference to a satisfactory settlement or litigation result in the case. While that may be true of any legal matter, wrongful dismissal advocacy is particularly amenable to early settlement or, failing that, adjudication based on a few choice issues. more »

By Patrick James and Christian Vernon

The Ontario Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19 (“Code”) underwent a major overhaul with the full coming into force of the Human Rights Amendment Act, S.O. 2006, c. 30, on June 30, 2008. Among other changes, these significant reforms have created a new human rights process which permits Applicants (formerly known as “Complainants”) to file their Applications directly with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“HRTO” or “Tribunal”). more »