Partner
Cell: 416.540.4485
24 Hour: 416.420.0738
Queen’s University, Juris Doctor
Simon Fraser University, Bachelor of Science
Giovanna Di Sauro
Partner
Named One to Watch by Best Lawyers®, Giovanna advises clients in all areas of employment and labour law. She provides strategic and practical advice to both unionized and non-unionized employers. She is bilingual – English/Italian.
Giovanna routinely drafts and reviews employment contracts and policies, assists clients in responding to and managing discrimination claims and complex accommodation, and advises clients in their handling of workplace harassment complaints and investigations. She also assists unionized clients with the negotiation and administration of collective agreements.
Giovanna has appeared before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, Ontario Labour Relations Board, Ontario Superior Court of Justice (including Divisional Court) and Court of Appeal for Ontario. She has also successfully opposed a leave to appeal application to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Giovanna is actively involved in the legal community and regularly speaks at, moderates, or chairs seminars and workshops with a focus on human rights, employment law, and related issues.
Areas of Focus:
- Administrative Law
- Advising Multinational and Multi-Jurisdictional Employers
- Attendance Management
- Civil Litigation
- Collective Agreement Administration
- Collective Bargaining
- Employee Relations
- Employment Contracts (including Independent Contractor Agreements)
- Employment Screening and Hiring
- Employment Standards
- Employment and Labour Issues in Corporate Restructuring and Transactions
- Executive Employment Agreements and Compensation
- Grievance Arbitration
- Human Rights and Accommodation
- Injunctive Court Proceedings and Judicial Review
- Labour Relations and Industrial Relations Board Proceedings
- Management Training
- Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Outsourcing
- Pay Equity
- Pensions and Benefits
- Policy Development and Implementation
- Sale or Closure
- Workplace Investigations
- Wrongful and Constructive Dismissal Litigation
Publications & Media
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Bill 149 presents further challenges for employers around hiring, compensation
December 7, 2023
Canadian HR Reporter
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What’s in a Pronoun? Two human rights tribunals find that misgendering in the workplace amounts to discrimination in employment
November 14, 2021
Ontario Bar Association
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Disciplinary Issues in the Time of COVID-19
January 23, 2021
Canadian HR Reporter
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Staving Off Duplicative And Statute-Barred Proceedings: Guidance From The HRTO And WSIAT
November 2019
Mondaq
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Dismissal following lengthy unauthorized absence not discriminatory
August 30, 2019
Canadian Employment Law Today
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Ontario Pay Transparency Update
March 28, 2019
Mondaq
Speaking Engagements
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Managing the Hearing Room: Setting the Stage, Interactions with Counsel, Witnesses, the Public and Staff”, Foundations in Adjudicative Tribunal Competencies
March 09, 2025
Ontario Bar Association
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Hot Topics in Human Rights Panel
September 22, 2023
20th Annual Conference of the Canadian Association of Counsel to Employers
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The Eight-Minute Labour Lawyer 2023
June 22, 2023
Law Society of Ontario
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“Case law update: Treatment of trans, two-spirit, and non-binary adults and youth”
May 13, 2023
Program Co-Chair
The Canadian Bar Association
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Addressing Systemic Wage Discrimination in the Workplace, Annual Update on Human Rights Law
May 25, 2022
Ontario Bar Association
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Managing the Hearing Room: Setting the Stage, Interactions with Counsel, Witnesses, the Public and Staff”, Foundations in Adjudicative Tribunal Competencies
May 11, 2022
Ontario Bar Association
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HR Roundtable
May 05, 2022
Ontario Mutual Insurance Association
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Building New Competencies,Annual Update on Human Rights
March 26, 2021
Ontario Bar Association
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Managing the Hearing Room: Setting the Stage, Interactions with Counsel, Witnesses, the Public and Staff”, Foundations in Adjudicative Tribunal Competencies
July 21, 2021
Ontario Bar Association