Ontario
2 lawyers whose firms cover employment work in Kitchener-Waterloo. Each lawyer was checked on their provincial law society's public directory before being listed — check again before you hire, as people move firms. Browsing Lawvoo is free.
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Raman De Souza · Family Lawyer · Employment · Kitchener-Waterloo
31 Union Street East, Waterloo, ON N2J 1B8
Practises only family law litigation, including parenting disputes, support claims, property division and complex financial issues, and has appeared before the Ontario Court of Justice, the Superior Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal for Ontario. The firm also covers employment law, residential real estate, wills and estates, and personal injury.
Jorden P. Gregory · Partner · Employment · Kitchener-Waterloo
101 Randall Drive, Unit A, Waterloo, ON N2V 1C5
Partner whose practice areas are wills, trusts and estates, real estate law and corporate and commercial work. He began his career at the firm in 2016 and returned after working as in-house counsel and at another Waterloo firm. The firm also covers family law, employment law and personal injury.
Wrongful dismissal and severance, unpaid wages, workplace harassment and human rights at work. Most Ontario workers are covered by the Employment Standards Act, 2000; banks, airlines, telecoms and other federally regulated employers come under the Canada Labour Code instead.
An Employment Standards Act claim to the Ministry of Labour must generally be filed within two years. In most cases a court claim can't be filed more than two years after the dismissal. A human rights application must be filed within one year of the last incident. If your employer is federally regulated (a bank, airline or telecom company, for example), an unjust dismissal complaint under the Canada Labour Code must be filed within 90 days.
You have to choose: you can't file a claim with the Ministry and also sue in court over the same issue, and if you file a claim and change your mind you have two weeks to withdraw it. The Ministry enforces the minimums in the Employment Standards Act. A court can award 'reasonable notice', which is often more — so get advice before you file or sign a release.
The Employment Standards Act sets minimums: notice of termination of one to eight weeks depending on your length of service, plus severance pay if you have five or more years' service and your employer's payroll is at least $2.5 million. Unless your contract validly limits you to those minimums, a court may award more based on your age, role, length of service and how long it should take to find similar work.
Ministry of Labour claims and Human Rights Tribunal applications are filed online. Lawsuits go to the Superior Court of Justice, or to its Small Claims Court branch for claims up to $50,000 — for Kitchener-Waterloo, see the court list on our Kitchener-Waterloo page.
To practise law in Ontario a lawyer must be licensed by the Law Society of Ontario, which also licenses paralegals. You can look up anyone in the Law Society's public Lawyer and Paralegal Directory, which shows their status and any discipline history. Each lawyer on these pages was checked in that directory before being listed, but people move firms, so check again before you hire. Complaints about a lawyer go to the Law Society.
Listings are provided for information only and are not legal advice or a recommendation. Always check a lawyer in the Law Society of Ontario's Lawyer and Paralegal Directory before hiring them. Looking for a different area? Browse all practice areas.