Lawson Lundell Insight Featured in LexisNexis Canada's Employment and Labour Law Reporter Newsletter

Lawson Lundell is pleased to announce that an article co-authored by partner Nicole Skuggedal and articling student Tristan Kimball has been featured in the latest issue of LexisNexis Canada’s Employment and Labour Law Reporter newsletter.

The featured piece, titled "Over $600,000 in Damages: BCCA Confirms Bias Can Undermine Misconduct-Based Terminations," examined a B.C. Court of Appeal decision which upheld a Human Rights Tribunal award of damages against an employer. 

In Nanaimo (City) v. Mema, 2026 BCCA 203 (“Mema”), the British Columbia Court of Appeal upheld a Human Rights Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) award of damages exceeding $600,000 due to a dismissal being based, in part, on racial bias.  The decision is an important reminder to employers that even where employee misconduct exists, if any part of the decision to dismiss an employee is based on a prohibited ground in the BC Human Rights Code (the “Code”), that constitutes a prima facie case of discrimination.

The Employment and Labour Law Reporter is a subscription-based national monthly newsletter written from the perspectives of both management and labour.  It provides timely and relevant articles on topical issues and new developments in employment and labour law.

You can read Nicole and Tristan's original insight on the Lawson Lundell website here.