In Teljeur v Aurora Hotel Group, 2023 ONSC 1324, a wrongful dismissal case, the court awarded the plaintiff-employee seven months’ damages for reasonable notice, and $15,000 in moral damages due to the employer’s bad-faith conduct in the manner of dismissal. The court denied the employer’s claim that it was entitled to a discount of the reasonable notice period because the employee failed to make reasonable efforts to mitigate his damages.
Background
The general manager (employee) of a resort in Ontario (employer) was advised in December 2021 that his employment was being terminated without cause because the employer intended to retain an outside management company to manage the resort. The 56-year-old employee was first employed by the resort from May 2015 to September 2016, and then resumed his employment in the fall of 2018. The employee surreptitiously recorded the termination meeting.
The employer argued, among other things, that the employee did not make reasonable efforts to mitigate his damages by seeking alternative employment, and the employee sought an award of $20,000 in moral damages based on an allegation of bad faith by the employer.
Decision
Mitigation
The court reviewed the caselaw on mitigation and noted that it provides that the onus is on the employer to establish that the employee failed to mitigate by (a) determining whether they took reasonable steps to mitigate; and (b) whether, if such steps had been taken, the employee would have been likely to...
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