Our employer client acquired a lumber mill where the plaintiff had worked for nearly 36 years. In 2011, our client laid off the plaintiff. When the plaintiff was recalled to work approximately six weeks later, he refused to return, alleged termination and sued our client for wrongful dismissal. At trial, the plaintiff asked for an award of 24 months severance and related damages. Our client succeeded in limiting the plaintiff’s entitlement to 18 months and, more importantly, convinced the court to further reduce the plaintiff’s damages to 9 months on the basis that the plaintiff failed to mitigate his damages by returning to work on recall.
Hooge v. Gillwood Remanufacturing Inc., 2014 BCSC 11
Cases,January 8, 2014
More employment law insights
