Michael DiRisio

Introduction Employers in Ontario are required to accommodate employees with a protected characteristic under the Human Rights Code, unless the accommodation would constitute undue hardship. This is a difficult area of law to navigate, and the consequences of getting it wrong can be significant. In Rombough v. Exclusive Cooling Ltd., 2026 HRTO 818, the Ontario … Read More

Introduction In Lifemark Health Corp. v. Makram Guirguis (2026 CanLII 25109), the Ontario Labour Relations Board considered two important issues in constructive dismissal cases: (i) what changes are serious enough to amount to constructive dismissal; and (ii) how quickly an employee must resign in response. The Board accepted that the employee had been constructively dismissed, … Read More

An Ontario waste management company was recently fined $130,000 after a workplace flash fire injured four workers. The case is a reminder that employer liability under Ontario’s workplace safety regime can be significant where hazardous processes are not managed with sufficient care. For employers, the practical lesson is straightforward: workplace safety policies and programs must … Read More

In Jiri Pik v. Cure Data Inc., 2025 CanLII 38289 (ON LRB), the Ontario Labour Relations Board addressed a practical question that is increasingly pressing as remote work becomes more common: what employment law applies when an employee works remotely from outside Ontario? The decision is notable for its emphasis on the employee’s actual, physical … Read More

Independent Contractors vs. Employees in Ontario It is common for businesses to treat workers as independent contractors when, in law, they may actually be employees. That distinction matters. In Ontario, adjudicators can look beyond the label used in a contract and decide that a worker who was called a contractor was misclassified and should be … Read More

It is a common misconception that an employee who has worked for a short period of time is entitled to only a modest amount of severance or notice on termination. In Ontario, that is not necessarily the case. Where there is no enforceable employment agreement limiting termination entitlements, an employee may be entitled to substantial … Read More