Labor & Employment Law

Sometimes unionized employees will sue their employer instead of pursuing the complaint as a grievance under the collective agreement.  After considering the claims advanced and the collective agreement in issue, the employer will often bring a motion to strike out the claim on the basis that the Court has no jurisdiction to hear the case.  The leading case is Weber v. Ontario Hydro decided by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1995 and applied in countless subsequent decisions. 

The most recent case to discuss the Weber doctrine is Kohlhammer v. Modern Railings & Metalcraft Ltd. where the court considered a number of claims brought by a unionized employee, applied the Weber principles and concluded that it was without jurisdiction to hear the matters.

The Court also discussed the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act and whether "assaults" fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Tribunal.  The Court held, in obiter, that:

The second submission addresses the claim for assault which is clearly a workplace injury within the ?exclusive jurisdiction? of the statutory scheme for such injuries established by ss.26 and 118 of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act 1997.  Even deliberate assaults fall within the extended definition of an ?accident? in s.2 of the Act.  The Court has no jurisdiction to hear this matter and it must be heard by the regulatory tribunal established under the legislation.

It's an interesting case in a long line of cases.