Jarda Law

Jarda Law Jarda Law is an Ottawa-based law firm specializing in employment law, personal injury law, civil litigation, workplace investigations, and culture assessments.

Jarda Law is a boutique litigation law firm based in Ottawa, Ontario. We are dedicated to proving strategic and compassionate legal representation in employment law, personal injury law, and civil litigation. We are committed to delivering cost-effective, practical, and results-driven legal solutions. Why Choose Us

Our client-centered approach: We prioritize clear communication, strategic advocac

y, and achieving the best outcome for our clients. Our experience: With 12 years of legal experience, we have in-depth knowledge in employment law, personal injury law, and civil litigation. Our community-focused approach: We actively support diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, we promote access to justice, and we engage in professional mentorship and community activities. We are based in Ottawa, and we provide services to clients in English and French across Ontario. Looking for trusted legal guidance? Contact us today at [email protected].

08/27/2026

Most people don't think twice about resting an arm out the window on a long drive. At highway speeds, contact with another vehicle, a guardrail, or even road debris can cause serious and permanent injuries in a fraction of a second.

If you've been injured in or around a moving vehicle in Ontario, the circumstances matter more than you might think for determining what compensation you're entitled to.

📩 Book a consultation at jardalaw.ca

Yes, you can negotiate your severance package in Ontario. Most people don't realize that, but employers know it.The more...
08/24/2026

Yes, you can negotiate your severance package in Ontario. Most people don't realize that, but employers know it.

The more useful question is whether the number you were handed reflects what you're actually owed under the law.

Ontario has two separate frameworks for severance:

1. The Employment Standards Act sets a statutory minimum of one week per year of service, capped at eight weeks. Employers routinely offer the ESA minimum and wait to see if you sign.

2. Common law reasonable notice, calculated by courts based on your age, length of service, seniority, and how long it would realistically take you to find comparable work, frequently results in a significantly higher amount.

If severance is structured as salary continuance rather than a lump sum, check whether there's a mitigation clause. If you find new work during the continuance period, that clause can reduce or eliminate what you're still owed. A number that looks reasonable on paper can be worth considerably less in practice.

Once you sign the release, your right to claim more is generally gone. That's not a technicality but the entire point of the release, from the employer's perspective.

Getting a legal review of your offer before you respond costs far less than what most people leave on the table by signing too quickly.

At Jarda Law, we review severance offers and help employees understand what they're actually entitled to.

📩 Book a consultation at jardalaw.ca.

Posting on your personal account, on your own time, doesn't automatically put your content outside your employer's reach...
08/20/2026

Posting on your personal account, on your own time, doesn't automatically put your content outside your employer's reach in Ontario.

Courts have found that social media posts carry no objective reasonable expectation of privacy, even when accounts are set to private or restricted to friends. Once something is shared digitally, the assumption that it stays separate from your professional life is legally fragile.

That said, an employer's ability to discipline or terminate over a social media post isn't unlimited. The conduct has to connect to a real workplace impact.

Posts that have supported discipline or termination in Ontario include content that discloses confidential business information, posts that harass or threaten a colleague or manager, public statements that damage the employer's reputation and can be tied to the employment relationship, and content that contradicts a claim the employee has made such as posting vacation photos while on a medical leave.

Venting about a bad day at work generally won't meet the threshold for just cause. Sharing client information or making threats against a coworker is a different matter entirely.

If you've been disciplined or terminated over something you posted, the proportionality of the employer's response matters. A post that caused no real harm to the business is unlikely to justify termination.

At Jarda Law, we help employees understand whether their employer's response was legally defensible. Reach out today for more information.

📩 Book a consultation at jardalaw.ca.

September comes fast. Ottawa school zones go from quiet to chaotic almost overnight, and the first few weeks are statist...
08/13/2026

September comes fast. Ottawa school zones go from quiet to chaotic almost overnight, and the first few weeks are statistically the most dangerous for young pedestrians who are still learning new routes and routines.

A few things worth knowing before the school year starts:

✅ In Ontario, when a driver injures a pedestrian or cyclist, the burden shifts and the driver must prove they were not negligent. That's a higher standard than most people realize, and it applies in school zones too.

✅ Passing a stopped school bus with its lights flashing is illegal in both directions. Stop-arm cameras are now active across many Ontario municipalities, and fines go to the registered owner of the vehicle.

✅ School zone speed limits are enforceable whether or not children are visibly present. Reduced speed applies during posted hours regardless.

Safety tips for families getting ready for September: Walk the route with your kids before the first day. Identify the crosswalks, the crossing guards, and where to wait for the bus. Kids who know the route make better decisions on it.

If your child is injured near a school by a vehicle, on school property, or on a bus, acting fast and understanding the legal options is important because notice periods for personal injury claims can be shorter than you think.

At Jarda Law, we handle personal injury claims for Ontario families.

📩 Book a consultation at jardalaw.ca.

Constructive dismissal is one of the more misunderstood concepts in Ontario employment law. Most people associate termin...
08/11/2026

Constructive dismissal is one of the more misunderstood concepts in Ontario employment law. Most people associate termination with a formal notice, a meeting, a letter. Constructive dismissal is none of those things and that's exactly what makes it easy to miss.

It happens when an employer makes a significant, unilateral change to a fundamental term of employment without the employee's consent. The job technically still exists, and the employee is still showing up. But the terms have shifted enough that the law treats it as a termination.

Changes that can cross that line:
✅ A substantial pay cut or reduction in compensation
✅ A demotion or significant reduction in responsibilities
✅ A forced relocation to a different city
✅ A reduction in benefits without agreement
✅ A hostile work environment created or tolerated by the employer

Two things employees often don't know:

First, continuing to work under the new terms without objecting can be read as acceptance. Courts have found that employees who wait too long to act have effectively condoned the change, which can eliminate the claim entirely.

Second, you don't have to resign immediately. Getting legal advice before you do anything is the right move.

At Jarda Law, we help employees understand whether what's happened to them meets the legal threshold and what their options are from there.

📩 Book a consultation at jardalaw.ca.

08/10/2026

That "assumption of risk" disclaimer on the back of your ticket doesn't mean what most people think it means.

In Ontario, buying a ticket doesn't sign away your right to compensation when an organizer's negligence causes your injury. Wet surfaces, unstable structures, inadequate crowd management... those are the organizer's responsibility to address, and a printed disclaimer doesn't erase that duty.

If you were hurt at a festival this summer, it's worth a conversation before you assume you have no options.

📩 Book a free consultation at jardalaw.ca.

Under Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act, workplace harassment is defined as a course of vexatious comment or ...
08/07/2026

Under Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act, workplace harassment is defined as a course of vexatious comment or conduct. This means that the law is looking for a pattern, not a single bad interaction.

A manager who snaps at you once, assigns you an unwanted project, or gives critical feedback you disagree with generally doesn't meet the legal threshold. What the law is concerned with is repeated, unwelcome conduct that a reasonable person would recognize as hostile or demeaning, and that the employer knew or should have known was unwelcome.

A few distinctions worth understanding:

✅ Reasonable management action ilke performance reviews, discipline, restructuring are not harassment, even when it feels unfair.

✅ Conduct tied to a protected ground under the Human Rights Code (race, gender, disability, age) can be harassment even without a long pattern, depending on severity.

✅ An employer who receives a complaint and fails to investigate properly takes on their own liability, separate from the original conduct.

At Jarda Law, we can help you assess whether what you're experiencing crosses the legal line.

📩 Book a consultation at jardalaw.ca.

Summer socials, team retreats, and end-of-quarter celebrations are still workplace events, legally speaking.In Ontario, ...
07/24/2026

Summer socials, team retreats, and end-of-quarter celebrations are still workplace events, legally speaking.

In Ontario, when an employer organizes, endorses, or pays for a gathering, their obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Human Rights Code come with it.

That means harassment, discrimination, and alcohol-related incidents at a company event can all result in employer liability, regardless of the venue or the hour.

For employees: conduct that would be unacceptable at the office is unacceptable at the rooftop patio too.

If something happens at a work event that crosses a line, you have the same rights and the same reporting options you would have at work.

For employers: the party doesn't suspend your duty of care. It extends it.

Questions about a workplace incident? Book a consultation at jardalaw.ca.

A bad manager isn't the same as a toxic workplace. A stressful job isn't the same as a poisoned work environment. The di...
07/22/2026

A bad manager isn't the same as a toxic workplace. A stressful job isn't the same as a poisoned work environment. The distinction matters legally.

In Ontario, a workplace becomes a legal problem when the conditions cross into harassment, sustained psychological harm, or conduct that violates the Occupational Health and Safety Act or the Human Rights Code. Difficult isn't the threshold. Targeted, persistent, or discriminatory conduct is.

A few markers that move a situation from unpleasant to legally significant:

✅ Repeated unwanted conduct based on a protected ground (race, gender, disability, age) that creates a hostile environment
✅ Bullying or intimidation that is ongoing and documented, not a single incident
✅ An employer who was made aware of the problem and failed to investigate or act
✅ Conditions so intolerable that staying becomes untenable, which can support a constructive dismissal claim even if you haven't been formally let go

If you've raised concerns internally and nothing has changed, that paper trail matters. So does getting legal advice before you decide whether to stay, resign, or pursue a formal complaint.

At Jarda Law, we help employees figure out where they actually stand.

📩 Book a consultation at jardalaw.ca.

Summer festival season is here, and with it comes crowds, uneven ground, temporary structures, and a lot of moving parts...
07/20/2026

Summer festival season is here, and with it comes crowds, uneven ground, temporary structures, and a lot of moving parts that event organizers are responsible for keeping safe.

Under Ontario's Occupiers' Liability Act, festival organizers and venue operators have a legal duty to keep the premises reasonably safe for attendees. When they fall short of that, and someone gets hurt, there may be a claim.

If you're injured at a festival:
✅ Report it to event staff and get a written incident report before you leave
✅ Take photos of the hazard, your injuries, and the surrounding area
✅ Get the names of any witnesses
✅ Seek medical attention the same day, even if it feels minor
✅ Do not accept any settlement or sign anything without legal advice first

Buying a ticket doesn't mean you've accepted the risk of someone else's negligence.

At Jarda Law, we handle personal injury claims and help clients understand what they're actually entitled to.

📩 Book a consultation at jardalaw.ca.

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150 Elgin Street, 8th Floor
Ottawa, ON
K2P1L4

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Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5am
Thursday 9am - 5am
Friday 9am - 5pm

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