A Refresher On An Employee's Duty To Mitigate

The British Columbia Court of Appeal in Steinebach v. Clean Energy Compression Corp. provided an excellent refresher on the principles surrounding an employee's duty to mitigate damages after termination.¹ The BC Court of Appeal emphasized that the notice period and damages for wrongful dismissal claims should be assessed in two separate steps. First, the court should determine the notice period. Second, if the court finds that an employee has failed to mitigate, the notice period should remain the same and any damages resulting to the employee within that period should be reduced or in some cases, eliminated.

Steinebach v. Clean Energy Compression Corp. is also instructive on what employers must demonstrate in order to prove that an employee has failed to mitigate. The BC Court of Appeal outlined the following key points: