Google fires employees over participation in protests: Employment lawyer on 640 Toronto

Interview Summary

Google has decided to terminate more employees due to their participation in protests regarding supplying the Israeli government with technology. What can employers do to discipline employees for conduct outside of the workplace? Can employees pursue compensation despite terminations for cause?

Dan Balkaran, a Vancouver employment lawyer and Senior Associate at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP joined John Oakley on 640 Toronto to discuss the dismissals and takeaways for employees unsure of their rights.

Interview Notes

• Google’s right to terminate employees: Balkaran reiterated that an employer can let an employee go for any reason at any time, without cause. “Without cause simply means that if you’re terminated that day, you must be provided with severance.”
• “Just cause” for termination: Balkaran went on to question whether Google had the right to terminate their employees for cause. “Just cause simply means that there is a valid reason for employers to discharge those employees with no severance.”
• Justifiable terminations for cause: As terminations “for cause” are difficult to justify, employers have to be able to prove employee misconduct. “Number one, is the misconduct serious? Or does the misconduct seriously harm the employer’s reputation?” Balkaran emphasized that the conduct exhibited by the former Google employees would lead to “for cause” terminations due to the inflammatory language used.
• Protections for B.C. employees: Balkaran differentiated the rights of employees in British Columbia regarding protected beliefs.”In B.C. political beliefs are protected under the Human Rights Code for individual employees.” Balkaran believed that if these terminations had occurred in B.C. employees would be owed injury to dignity damages.
• Advice for employees: Employees should be aware of their workplace dynamics and their obligations. “Employees are required to act in their employer’s best interests,” Balkaran stated. “The structure of employment is such that if an employee crosses certain red lines they will be in danger of losing their position and receiving nothing in terms of compensation.”

Related Resources

For further insights and discussions related to terminations, explore the following resources:

• Terminations for cause in Ontario
• Severance pay for Google employees