CHAUDHRI: Ontario court awards 24 months pay to executive-level employee

Published Sep 07, 2024  •  3 minute read

Recently, Ontario courts have been more readily accepting wrongful dismissal cases to be heard by way of summary judgment motions, a condensed hearing of the issues. Photo by hirun / iStock /Getty Images

Michael Glazier, a senior director within the Chief Strategy Office at Ciena Canada, was terminated in early 2022 after 22 years of service. He was 58 years old.

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An engineer by trade, Glazier filled technical roles at Ciena, including that of principal architect prior to becoming a director. Despite his long tenure, he was presented with only one employment contract during his 22 years of service, dating back to 1999.

Glazier was highly paid, earning $229,163.26 annually. He earned an annual bonus, received pension matching and was enrolled in the company’s benefit plan.

On his termination, Glazier was provided with 12 weeks working notice and was provided 26 weeks of pay. He sued for wrongful dismissal damages. The case was heard by way of summary judgment, a half day hearing, instead of a full blown trial. This was despite Ciena’s initial protestations that the case could not be resolved at a half day hearing.

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At the summary judgment motion, the court noted Glazier applied for 120 jobs but was unable to find comparable employment. This was despite the fact that Glazier took online courses to increase his marketability. Ultimately, Justice Mew of the Superior Court awarded Glazier 24 months of notice of his salary and the bonus he would likely earn over the 24 month period. He was awarded an additional $50,000 for loss of benefits.

There are a lot of good takeaways from this case and it is an obvious one to rely on by executives and long term employees that have been terminated.

To me, the real lesson from this case is that defendant employers in litigation routinely insist that cases must be heard by way of trial. This is tactical of course, as trials are notoriously hard to book within a 12-18 month timeframe and are prohibitively expensive for plaintiffs to pursue.

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The good news for employees is that Ontario courts are more readily accepting wrongful dismissal cases to be heard by way of summary judgment motions, a condensed hearing of the issues. This is so, even for very highly paid executive employees where the quantum of damages could be much higher than the average employee.

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Summary judgment motions can be booked very early in litigation with hearing dates that are much earlier than trial dates. These motions require strict timetabling for defendants to adhere to for the months leading up to the hearing. A court imposed timetable limits opportunities for delay tactics, and litigation manoeuvring. It creates many opportunities for settlement before a summary judgment motion is even heard. After all, it is inconvenient if not extremely difficult for an employer to keep up with the rigours of litigation month to month.

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While our court system has shouldered heaps of criticism for lack of resources and long delays, my experience throughout 2024 is that judges have shown a high degree of engagement on wrongful dismissal cases, working to have cases timetabled and heard relatively expeditiously. Most wrongful dismissal actions are straightforward with limited evidence required to determine all of the issues.

Judicial engagement, by way of short case conferences, are often made available to the parties prior to summary judgment motions and usually gets the parties talking earlier, increasing the chances of facilitating resolutions before litigation goes too far.

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As an active litigator, I can see the system is working. The wheels in our courthouses are turning. Employers should expect litigation in employment cases to speed up and not slow down. The time for lengthy trials and litigation in employment cases may well be behind us.

Have a workplace issue? Maybe I can help! Email me at [email protected] and your question could be featured in a future column.

The content of this article is general information only and is not legal advice.

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