For years, a food distributor's night shift staff could go home early when their work was finished. Supervisors continued recording employees' hours to reflect the workweek guaranteed by the collective agreement. When the employer investigated the practice and fired supervisor Terry Wilsher for alleged fraud and time theft, the central question became whether he had broken a genuine rule or merely followed how the workplace had long operated.
In Wilsher v. Olympic Wholesale, 2026 ONSC 3620, the Ontario Superior Court heard evidence from other workers that the payroll adjustments were longstanding, openly recorded and part of the supervisor's training. Wilsher had worked for the company for 17 years, had no previous reprimands and hadn't tried to conceal his entries. The judge found that the employer failed to establish just cause for his dismissal.
The court also criticized the employer's investigation and its treatment of Wilsher at termination. He had been accused of fraud, taken through an intimidating interview and dismissed without a meaningful examination of whether other supervisors had made similar entries. The court fixed ordinary notice at 19 months and awarded another 14 months by extending the notice period for bad faith, bringing the trial award to 33 months. It ordered a correction of his Record of Employment but didn't award separate aggravated or punitive damages.
There is a significant legal qualification to the remedy. The Supreme Court's later ruling in Honda Canada Inc. v. Keays, 2008 SCC 39, changed the historic Wallace approach that extended notice periods for bad faith dismissal. The additional notice component in Wilsher therefore warrants care and shouldn't be presented as an uncontested modern rule. The judgment is a trial decision, and its treatment in any appeal would matter.
The practical lesson is less controversial. Before alleging time theft, an employer needs to understand the actual rules, training and payroll practices across the workplace. An investigation that focuses on one individual while overlooking institutional conduct can undermine both the just cause allegation and the employer's position on damages.
Source: Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Wilsher v. Olympic Wholesale, 2026 ONSC 3620, full reasons at https://www.minicounsel.ca/scj/2026/3620