Canada: Employee Benefits & Compensation

An Oregon Court of Appeals decision clarifies how statutory damages are calculated in wage deduction cases, determining whether employees can recover $200 per paycheck or per violation category. The ruling also addresses when employers can use Oregon's class action cure provision to dismiss collective claims before litigation advances.

The Ontario Court of Appeal recently released its decision in Wigdor v. Facebook Canada Ltd., addressing two significant issues for Ontario employers: the enforceability of termination clauses that purport to limit an employee's entitlements, and the application of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) to equity-based compensation documents such as Restricted Stock Unit (RSU) agreements.

Le 25 août 2026, le gouvernement fédéral a annoncé un important panier de mesures visant à soutenir les entreprises et les travailleurs canadiens affectés par la plus récente vague de droits de douane imposés par les États-Unis, dans la foulée de l'échec des récentes négociations commerciales entre les deux pays.

La Cour d'appel de l'Ontario a récemment statué qu'un employeur ne peut exiger qu'un employé renonce à sa rémunération en actions non acquise lors de la cessation d'emploi, augmentant les dommages-intérêts de 4,7 millions $ US. Cette décision dans l'arrêt Wigdor c. Facebook Canada Ltd.

In many industries, it is common for workers to incorporate and provide their services through their corporation. Oftentimes, workers want to take advantage of the tax benefits that come with incorporation, including a lower corporate tax rate and deductions only available to corporations. In other cases, the worker may feel incorporation is necessary to obtain work. Although personal incorporation is legitimate, workers who do pursue this incorporation should be wary that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) may classify them as a Personal Services Business, a tax classification that effectively strips away the tax benefits a corporation can normally take advantage of.

Une décision récente de la Cour supérieure du Québec démontre les risques importants auxquels s’expose un employeur qui tente de qualifier un arrêt de travail pour raisons médicales en démission et qui persiste à soutenir...

Whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor remains one of the most common and expensive classification issues in Canadian tax law.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times—and which side you are on may depend on which case you are reading. On August 6 and 7, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its highly anticipated decisions in Baker v. Van Dolder’s Home Team Inc.1, Li v. Wayfair Canada2, and Daniel Wigdor v. Facebook Canada Ltd. and Meta Platforms, Inc.3.

Employment and Social Development Canada has raised provincial wage thresholds for high-wage versus low-wage Labour Market Impact Assessment streams, creating new challenges for employers seeking to hire temporary foreign workers. The department warns that simply increasing wages to meet high-wage thresholds may not be sufficient and could result in application refusals.