Hired Under False Pretenses

[fstevens]

Hey All,

I am in Ontario, Canada. My wife had a long term job as a professional (10+ years) and was solicited by another business to occupy the same role at their new business. Within 2 months they proposed bringing in someone else to take over her position and demote her. They have now tried again to bring someone in and demote her, in order to drive her from her job. They say they don't want to fire her, in part because they know what they are doing is suspect, and they want her to take over roles that any unskilled worker could do.

Does she have any recourse?

 

[cbg]

Ontario, California, or Ontario, Canada?

US law and Canadian law are not the same. We have only one Canadian expert on these forums.

 

[fstevens]

Canada - I edited the original post to reflect that as well.

 

[cbg]

This is primarily a US law site. As indicated, we have only one person with any knowledge of Canadian law. I'm sure she will answer when she comes by, but you might have to wait a bit for an answer since there's only one of her.

 

[eerelations]

Here I am!!!

Does your wife have any recourse?

Yes she does. In Canada, what's happening to her is called "constructive dismissal" with a little "inducement" thrown in.

Basically what I think happened is your wife's current employer induced her away from her previous long-term position. They then decided that for whatever reason, they wanted to let her go. And letting her go is perfectly legal, as long as they pay her the amount of money required by employment standards statutes and common law.

And this is where it gets sticky for your wife's employer. Normally, for a two-month employee, the amount to be paid out would be two to four weeks' pay (not terribly sticky), depending on the employee's level in the company. However, in your wife's case, the required amount is far larger (extremely sticky) because it has to be based not only on your wife's service with her current employer, but her service with her previous employer as well. This is because they induced her to leave her previous employer.

So your wife's current employer is trying to save a large amount of termination and severance pay by trying to make your wife resign...not realizing that this is illegal too! (This is the constructive dismissal part.)

I recommend that you and your wife consult with a lawyer that specializes in employment law. While I can't recommend any to you here, I can say:

1. I don't recommend the two Canadian employment lawyers that advertise on this site; and
2. You can find good lawyers by accessing the Ontario Law Society website listings.

Please note that the statements and opinions I've given here are based strictly on the information you've provided in your post. Additional information may change things, however I recommend that if such information exists, you provide it to your employment lawyer.

Good luck.