Employment Update

Court of Appeal Upholds That There Was Valid Consideration for New Contract

When providing new contracts for their current employees to sign, employers must provide fresh consideration, such as a signing bonus, pay increase, increased paid vacation time, or some other benefit, for the new contract to be valid and its terms legally binding. Whether a second employment contract was valid was the key issue in the wrongful dismissal appeal of Giacomodonato v. PearTree Securities Inc., published June 3, 2024. The Ontario Court of Appeal (the "court") upheld the trial judge's decision to award the employee plaintiff and appellant, Davide Giacomodonato (the "Employee"), $671,765 in compensatory and punitive damages, along with legal costs in the amount of $830,761.75, against his former employer, PearTree Securities Inc. (the "Employer"). The key issue for the Employee's appeal was whether the trial judge had erred in finding the second employment contract valid and