Canadian Employment Law Today

PM41261516 Cannabis and the workplace — Random tests still not the answer PG.4 Nearly 3 years into legalization, employers are still trying to figure out how to mitigate the risk of workplace impairment AN ONTARIO executive director's repeated poor judgment and dishonesty over a few months justified her dismissal, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has found. Sybil Goruk, 82, was the executive director for the Barrie Chamber of Commerce, a not-for-profit organization with a membership consisting of businesspeople and professionals in Barrie, Ont. She was originally hired in 1997 as an office man - ager and, after less than a year, she was appointed to the chamber's most senior staff position, in which she was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the chamber. Goruk was viewed as doing a good job in the ex- ecutive director role until June 2012, when a new board of directors was elected. One of the new di- rectors was a chartered accountant and became the chamber's new treasurer. The new treasurer wanted to keep close tabs on financial records, but Goruk — who wasn't used to such a hands-on approach from the board — re - sisted giving her access to the chamber's books and records. This created friction between them. AN ONTARIO worker is entitled to a commission for fees that came in after his termination and a small bump in his reasonable notice period because of the effects of the global pandemic, a court has ruled. Steven Kraft was hired in 2014 as a research analyst by Firepower Financial Corp., an invest - ment and financial advisory firm in Toronto. Kraft eventually assumed the role of a commis- sioned salesperson in the investment banking field, specializing in mergers and acquisitions. His job duties included looking for and present- ing new business opportunities for Firepower, receiving a base salary plus commissions and incentive payments. Kraft's commissions were based on any fees that the company received as a result of his sourcing and presenting opportunities, called September 8, 2021 Long-term, successful salesperson gets 21 months' notice PG.3 Worker was in his 60s with 23 years of service; high pay and onset of pandemic made it unlikely he could find similar employment EMPLOYEE'S on page 7 » CREDIT: IRIDVAN_CELIK iSTOCK UNCERTAINTY on page 6 » with Tim Mitchell Executive director fired after displaying poor judgment and dishonesty Chamber of commerce in Barrie, Ont. city relied on employee for day-to-day operations, but she breached trust and fiduciary duty Ask an Expert PG. 2 Unauthorized overtime Fired worker entitled to late commission, notice increase due to pandemic Ontario worker entitled to commission on transaction for which he did the work and for which employer was paid after he was fired BY JEFFREY R. SMITH BY JEFFREY R. SMITH

• Cover