| David Harris - Canadian Employment Law |
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David Galbraith was employed by Acres International Limited and Acres Incorporated from 1988 to December
15, 1997. Mr. Galbraith was employed in the position of Chief Financial Officer, although this title was not the official
title given to him. The company made a decision to reduce Mr. Galbraith's responsibilities. It was asserted by Mr. Galbraith
that he was offered a lesser position, one in fact being offered responsibilities that were assigned to one of his
subordinates. The Court determined that Mr. Galbraith was expected to perform duties for which he felt unqualified and which were previously performed by his subordinates. He was to be put on a fixed term contract and have his salary frozen. Although he was to retain a position as an executive, it was obvious with the removal of the Chief Financial Officer functions, that his authority and influence were effectively removed. The Court determined that these actions constructively dismissed Mr. Galbraith's position. The Court also believed that Acres was motivated to replace him with a younger person. The parties had agreed that the relevant notice period was 15 months. The Court however found that the actions taken by the Company were done in bad faith due to Mr. Galbraith's age and awarded an increase in the award from 15 to 18 months. The company appealed the decision. The appeal was dismissed on September 17, 2002 in a unanimous decision. The total sum owing on the conclusion of the appeal, with costs, totaled over $400,000.
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