An employee had worked for 19 years Desjardins Group, the last six of which with GTD. After being notified her position was abolished and her employment terminated, she filed a complaint under section 124 of the LSA against this measure. In Québec, section 124 of the LSA allows an employee who has at least two years of continuous service with a company and who believes he or she has been dismissed without just and sufficient cause to contest this measure before the Administrative Labour Tribunal.
In support of its request for judicial review, GTD, represented by Fasken, submitted that the Administrative Labour Tribunal had interpreted section 124 of the LSA unreasonably in imposing on it the obligation to take steps to try to reassign the employee to another position and for having failed to explain why the seniority criteria applied by GTD in determining who should be laid off was not an objective and appropriate criteria. The Court agreed with the employer and concluded that in the event of a termination arising from a restructuring, section 124 of the LSA does not create a right to employment for the employee. An employer has no obligation to reassign an employee whose position is being abolished when there is no clear policy or practice in the company to that effect.
A Fasken team lead by Robert Dupont and including Guy Dion represented GTD regarding this matter.
