Wrongful Dismissal And Mitigation: Can A Fired Worker Start His Own Business?

The recent case of Leeming v. IBM Canada Ltd. includes a useful review of the law relating to mitigation of damages in the context of wrongful dismissal. It provides some particularly useful insights into the issue that arises when the fired employee, unable to find comparable employment, starts his or her own business.

In this case, the plaintiff was wrongfully dismissed from IBM from her position as a Senior Managing Consultant. In that position, she had been responsible for various project management duties including project scheduling, tracking budgets and interfacing with clients to ensure deliverables were met.

After eight years of employment at IBM, IBM decided to eliminate her position and terminated her employment. At that time, she was 60 years old.