I was an employee for 5 years. My employer made me sign a drug and alcohol policy under duress. This all originated from hear say by another individual. I was subjected to a random test the other day and I did have alcohol in my system first thing in the morning. It was a significant amount. I am aware of my problem that I have. I was terminated today for cause. No severance was issued. Am I entitled?

You are more likely than not entitled to severance. The company will need to prove that it had cause to terminate your employment, and the standard is extremely high. Ultimately, whether the company had cause will depend on a number of factors, including whether you had warnings, the nature of your position, whether it affected your job, and how it affected the company.

In addition, if you have been suffering from an alcohol addiction and the company knew about this problem, they would be guilty of discrimination on the grounds of disability or perceived disability. This would entitle you to additional compensation for breach of your human rights.

All of these questions would be best addressed during a consultation. At that point, we can assess whether the company had cause to terminate your employment. To find out how much you could be owed, please have a look at our Ontario Free Severance Calculator (http://www.severancepaycalculator.com/). Then, I would strongly recommend that you call us at the number below so we can discuss what your entitlements are and how we can help you obtain them.