Ontario Court Finds RSU Rights Forfeited Even During Statutory Notice Period
There's a recent decision gathering some attention, Wigdor v. Facebook . A couple of interesting issues in that decision, including enforceability of termination language in a written employment agreement, but one major issue dealt with his restricted stock units (RSUs) which would have vested during his statutory and/or common law notice period. Weirdly, the decision doesn't refer to Matthews v. Ocean Nutrition at all, which is a curious choice, because it's clearly trying to operate in the framework crafted by Matthews . Legal Backdrop and Principles Most employees, upon dismissal, are entitled to some amount of notice, pursuant to various statutes and/or contractual terms. Commonly, as in this case (as the court found), employees may be entitled to 'reasonable' notice. Where somebody is entitled to reasonable notice, and they're dismissed without notice, they are typically entitled to 'pay in lieu of notice' - that is, compensation for what they woul...