Do Employers Have to Provide Reference Letters? The Legal Lowdown
Ah, reference letters, those elusive pieces of paper that can make or break a job seeker’s dreams. But here’s the deal: employers are not an employee’s personal fan club. They don’t have an obligation to shower employees with praise in the form of reference letters.
Before employers start feeling like kings on a throne, let’s explore the legal and strategic considerations surrounding reference letters and how they can impact an employer’s business.
No Obligation, No Problem
Let’s start with the undeniable truth: employers are under no legal obligation to hand employees a glittering reference letter, as affirmed by the Ontario Court of Appeal (2007 ONCA 573). So employers can rest easy, knowing that you’re not compelled to write letters of recommendation for every departing employee.
So you’ve finally settled a dispute with a former employee who had alleged a wrongful dismissal or discrimination. You’ve drawn up the papers to confirm the fact that the matter is settled. Now, all you need are signatures on the dotted lines. Whose signatures exactly?
When it comes to employment law, there’s no shortage of information out there. From blogs to TikToks to YouTube videos, there’s a wealth of knowledge available at your fingertips. And let’s not forget about the government guides – they’re a great resource for staying up-to-date on the latest employment laws and regulations. While there’s a ton of information that can help employers navigate employment issues DIY, there are still situations where you really need an employment lawyer. 
So you’ve decided that you’d like to hire an employment/labour law firm. What about legal fees? You’ve seen the ads on TV and online where lawyers promise not to take a cut of anything until you win. Other lawyers’ services seem to cost an arm and a leg. How do you navigate the world of legal fees? This can be tricky, so below we’ve outlined some of the most common fee structures for employment lawyers.
This past Monday marked the three-year anniversary of the date the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Since that fateful day in 2020, a lot has changed. Though there remain areas where transmission rates are still high, increased vaccination rates, higher immunity, and public health measures have helped curtail the spread of the virus and significantly decreased the rate of new infections in Canada. 
Post #MeToo we have more and more dialogue about sexual harassment and sexual assault. There has been significant discussion in the areas of what constitutes consent and the power imbalances that exist in the workplace. For those reasons, some employers prohibit intimate contact between employees. Employers take this stance, because they know they could be liable for the sexual misconduct of an employee, whether the misconduct was perpetrated against another employee, a client, or otherwise. 
