Garneau, Jonathan | Langlois Lawyers

Key practice areas

Labour and Employment Law, Education Law, Labour Relations, Strategic HR Advice, Employment Law

Québec Bar 2017

Québec City

Jonathan Garneau focuses his practice on labour and employment law. He is also certified by the Barreau du Québec as a lawyer who handles workplace psychological harassment investigations.

He intervenes as an attorney in various areas of labour law, including labour relations, occupational health and safety, education law, labour standards, psychological harassment and human rights. He also intervenes in administrative reviews and applications for judicial review against decisions rendered by an administrative tribunal.

Jonathan advises and represents public-, parapublic- and private-sector employers before administrative and grievance arbitration tribunals and civil courts.

He is also actively engaged in the legal community. He currently serves on the Administrative Justice Committee of the Bar of Québec City.

Jonathan has been involved in both prevention and litigation in a wide variety of cases, particularly in the following areas:

Workplace psychological harassment investigations

He acts as an external investigator for complaints of psychological or sexual harassment and workplace incivility.

Occupational health and safety

He has been representing school service centres for a number of years in cases involving employment injuries and the imputation of the cost of benefits related to employment injuries.

Labour relations

He has served multiple public and parapublic bodies in connection with grievance arbitrations related to disciplinary and administrative measures, the employer’s right to manage and direct its workers, complaints relating to psychological harassment, and terminations of employment and administrative suspensions, as well as human rights and freedoms.

Judicial review

He has intervened in various applications for judicial review against decisions of administrative and grievance arbitration tribunals.

Staff and human resources management

He has supported and advised multiple clients regarding staff and human resources management, drafting and enforcing employment contracts and workplace policies, as well as working conditions, non-competition and non-solicitation.

Order of certified human resources professionals (CHRP), Member, since 2020
Young Bar of Québec City, Member, since 2017
Bar of Québec City, Member of the Administrative Justice Committee, since 2022
CPE Les Loupiots, Member of the Board of Directors, since 2023

Co-author: “Absentéisme et invalidité : une nouvelle loi change les règles” [Absenteeism and disability: A new law changes the rules], Carrefour RH, Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agréés, November 20, 2024.
Co-author: “Employers and insurers: New rules on absence and disability management on the horizon”, November 11, 2024.
Co-author: “Commentaire sur le Projet de loi 9 – La protection de l’élève sort de la cour des écoles” [Commentary on Bill 9 – Student protection beyond the schoolyard], Repères, Éditions Yvon Blais, September 2022, EYB2022REP3498.
Co-author: “Occupational health and safety: preparing for the interim regime”, March 15, 2022.
Co-author: “L’après-Kativik : les effets de l’arrêt de la Cour d’appel et son application par les tribunaux” [After Kativik: The impact of the Court of Appeal judgment and its application by the courts], Développements récents en droit du travail en éducation, Barreau du Québec, Service de la formation continue, Vol. 513, Montréal, Éditions Yvon Blais, 2022, p. 51-77.
Co-author: “Quebec’s 2022 Immigration Plan: Welcome flexibility for employers in the manufacturing sector”, December 22, 2021.
Co-author: “The coming into force of An Act to modernize the occupational health and safety regime: What you need to know”, November 4, 2021.
Co-author: “Des plages d’Honolulu au chalet en Estrie : le télétravail est-il un droit ou un privilège?” [From a beach in Honolulu to the cottage in Estrie: Is working from home a right or a privilege?], Proforma, Vol. 91, June 2021, p. 17.
Co-author: “Introduction of Bill 59, An Act to modernize the occupational health and safety regime: Major changes expected”, November 5, 2020.
Co-author: “COVID-19 – April 28, 2020 update: gradual reopening of certain economic sectors”, April 29, 2020.
Co-author: “Personnel placement agencies and temporary foreign worker recruitment agencies: a new regulation changes the game, be prepared”, December 4, 2019.
Co-author: “Is Confidential Information in Your Municipal Archives Provided by Contractors Actually Available to Anyone?”, July 30, 2019
Co-author: “No Double Compensation During the Summer for Teachers Entitled to Income Replacement Benefits”, June 3, 2019.
Author: “Busboys in a Restaurant Are Employees Who Receive Gratuities or Tips, the Court of Appeal Rules”, April 26, 2019.

Co-speaker: Droit scolaire – Revue de la jurisprudence récente et pertinente [Education Law – Review of recent and relevant case law], Langlois Knowledge, webinar, April 24, 2025.
Co-speaker: Immigration 101 : meilleures pratiques pour les employeurs et obligations de conformité [Immigration 101: Best practices for employers and compliance obligations], Langlois Knowledge, webinar, March 21, 2024.
Co-speaker: L’après-Kativik : les effets de l’arrêt de la Cour d’appel et son application par les tribunaux [The after Kativik: The impact of the Court of Appeal judgment and its application by the courts], Développements récents en droit du travail en éducation, Barreau du Québec, May 19, 2022.
Co-speaker: L’année en rafale – droit scolaire, [Education Law – Review of the 2021 Case Law], Langlois Knowledge, webinar, April 26, 2022.
Co-speaker: La rareté de la main-d’œuvre et la rétention du personnel âgé : défis, réflexions et bonnes pratiques [Workforce shortage and retaining mature staff: challenges, considerations and best practice], webinar, February 11, 2021.
Co-speaker: Training recognized by the Order of Certified Human Resources Professionals (CHRP), presented to Table RH Montmagny-L’Islet, 2021.
Co-speaker: L’année en rafale – droit scolaire [Education Law – Review of the 2019 Case Law], webinar, November 20, 2020.
Co-speaker: Développements récents en droit du travail [Recent developments in labour law], conference to the members of the Human Resources Working Committee of the Association minière du Québec, webinar, October 7, 2020.
Co-speaker: Droit scolaire – Revue jurisprudentielle 2018 [Education Law – Review of the 2018 Case Law], Langlois Knowledge, April 5, 2019.
Co-speaker: Développements récents et nouveautés législatives en 2018 [Recent developments and new legislation in 2018], Droit du travail et de l’emploi : composer avec des personnalités atypiques, Langlois Knowledge, Québec City, February 27, 2019.

Quoted: “Parler de votre cancer à votre boss, bonne ou mauvaise idée?” [Speaking about your cancer to your boss: Is it a good or a bad idea?], Les Affaires, article by Olivier Schmouker, August 3, 2023.

Investigator certified by the Barreau du Québec for matters of psychological harassment, since 2024

MBA, Université Laval, 2021

LL.B., Université Laval, 2016

B.A., International Studies and Modern Languages, Université Laval, 2014

Featured Articles

Publications

November 11th, 2024

Employers and insurers: New rules on absence and disability management on the horizon

Bill 68, An Act mainly to reduce the administrative burden of physicians (the “Act”), which is primarily aimed at reducing non-value-added medical appointments, was assented to by the Lieutenant Governor on October 9. The Act introduces amendments to the Act to promote access to family medicine and specialized medicine services and the Act respecting labour standards (the “ALS”), which will significantly change the way both employers and insurers manage absence and disability. Some provisions will come into force on January 1, 2025, while others will come into force on a date to be determined. This article outlines the key changes introduced by the Act.

Workshops and conferences

December 1st, 2022

Education Law – Review of the 2021 Case Law

On April 26, the Education Law team at Langlois Lawyers would like to invite you to its annual case law review for the year 2021. During this seminar, members of our team will present the most significant decisions rendered in the education sector over the past year. The decisions discussed will cover various topics of […]

Publications

March 15th, 2022

Occupational health and safety: preparing for the interim regime

The implementation of changes and developments in occupational health and safety, which began with the coming into force of the Act to modernize the occupational health and safety regime1 (the “Act”) on October 6, 2021, will be carried out in phases over the next few years. It will be finalized no later than October 6, 2025. […]

Publications

December 22nd, 2021

Quebec’s 2022 Immigration Plan: Welcome flexibility for employers in the manufacturing sector

This article first appeared in French in the December 2021 issue of the Journal des Parcs industriels of the Corporation des parcs industriels du Québec (the Quebec Industrial Parks Corporation). The pandemic has not made recruiting either local or international workers easy for companies in the region.1 Many employers who initially relied on temporary foreign workers to […]

Publications

November 4th, 2021

The coming into force of An Act to modernize the occupational health and safety regime: What you need to know

Bill 59, An Act to modernize the occupational health and safety regime (the “Bill”), was passed on September 30 and assented to on October 6. This is the first major revision in this field in decades. The Bill makes significant amendments to both the Act respecting occupational health and safety (hereafter the “OHSA”) (R.S.Q., c. […]

Workshops and conferences

February 11th, 2021

Workforce shortage and retaining mature staff: challenges, considerations and best practice

On February 11th, Langlois labour and employment lawyer Jonathan Garneau, CHRP and partner Sarto Veilleux, presented a webinar on Québec businesses’ labour shortages. They suggested possible solutions include retaining mature staff. Organizational agility, the legal outcomes of adapting managerial style and overseeing disciplinary matters of a workforce over 50 were some of the topics presented. […]

Workshops and conferences

November 20th, 2020

Education Law – Review of the 2019 Case Law

Lawyers Yann Bernard, Catherine Galardo, Jonathan Garneau, Pierre-Olivier Lessard, René Paquette, Geneviève Plante and Paule Veilleux presented a webinar on November 20, in which they reviewed this year’s case law and legislation to an audience of education professionals. The Web conference aimed to raise awareness in terms of common trends and key factors affecting the […]

Publications

November 5th, 2020

Introduction of Bill 59, An Act to modernize the occupational health and safety regime: Major changes expected

On October 27, 2020, Quebec’s Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity, Jean Boulet, introduced Bill 59, An Act to modernize the occupational health and safety regime (“Bill 59”). The main purpose of this bill, which has been awaited by stakeholders in the field for several years, is to modernize the occupational health and safety […]

Publications

April 29th, 2020

COVID-19 – April 28, 2020 update: gradual reopening of certain economic sectors

During his press briefing on April 28, 2020, Premier François Legault announced the gradual resumption of activities in certain economic sectors during the month of May. With this announcement, the Premier confirmed that three major types of businesses will be able to reopen as early as next month, according to the following schedule: retail: stores […]