This decision involved the appeal of a wrongful dismissal award, with the employer appealing the Superior Court's award of aggravated damages, decision on mitigation, and decision on the joint and several liability of common employers.
Mr. Krmpotic worked full-time for Thunder Bay Electronic Limited (“TBEL”) and Hill Street Financial Services (“HS”) for almost 30 years. On June 13, 2016, Mr. Krmpotic's employment was terminated by TBEL and HS without notice or cause. At the time of his termination, Mr. Krmpotic had just returned to his employment from a medical leave of absence (recovering from back surgery). Hours after returning, his employment was terminated by TBEL and HS. At trial, Mr. Krmpotics was awarded 24 months as common law notice, plus $50,000 in aggravated/moral damages for the manner in which he was terminated, finding TBEL and HS jointly and severally liable for the damages. TBEL and HS were unsuccessful, on all accounts, with their appeal, with the Ontario Court of Appeal affirming the original decision and awarding costs to Mr. Krmpotic for the appeal. In upholding the award for aggravated/moral damages, the Court of Appeal placed considerable focus on TBEL and HS's misleading and untruthful statements to Mr. Krmpotic surrounding the cause for his dismissal – which included advising Mr. Krmpotic that his dismissal was due to “financial reasons” and was not related to his recent medical leave and subsequent limitations in the workplace. The trial Judge ultimately found this to be untrue, finding that Mr. Krmpotic's condition and subsequent limitations were a factor in the decision to terminate his employment. A lesson to employers when choosing to provide an employee a reason for dismissal in the context of “without cause” terminations.
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