University of Toronto professor fired by Facebook Canada wins significant legal victory

A University of Toronto professor fired by Facebook Canada has won a significant legal victory at the Ontario Court of Appeal, with a ruling that could have wide-reaching implications for how tech companies structure equity compensation in employment agreements.

In a decision released Aug. 7, the court ordered Facebook Canada and its parent company Meta Platforms to pay Daniel Wigdor US$4.7 million in restricted stock units (RSUs) that would have vested during his wrongful dismissal notice period — compensation that Meta had argued it was not required to pay.

Wigdor, a tenured computer science professor specializing in human-computer interaction, founded a technology consulting firm called Chatham Inc. in 2011. By 2018, he was managing roughly 150 members of Meta's "Reality Labs" team through his company.

Minimum statutory entitlements

In 2020, Meta purchased Chatham in a deal specifically designed to bring Wigdor and his team in-house. As part of the arrangement, Wigdor became director of research science at Facebook Canada at a base salary of $232,000 (later raised to $253,100).

A central feature of his compensation was a grant of 43,380 RSUs in Meta, valued at US$7.5 million, vesting over four years.

Facebook Canada terminated Wigdor's employment on Dec. 4, 2023, effective Dec. 8. He was offered minimum statutory entitlements plus additional severance in exchange for signing a...

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