Irv Kleiner

Irv Kleiner is a partner in Torkin Manes LLP’s Labour & Employment Group in Toronto, Ontario. His practice focuses on Labour and Employment Law, representing management in a broad range of workplace and labour relations matters across both the public and private sectors.

For more than 40 years, Irv has advised and represented employers in the hospitality, manufacturing, transportation, health care, education, automotive and retail sectors. His health care experience includes advising nursing homes, retirement homes, charitable and municipal homes for the aged, and hospitals on complex workplace and labour relations issues.

Irv regularly represents employers before the Ontario Labour Relations Board, Boards of Arbitration, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, the Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal and the courts in judicial review and appeal proceedings. He has acted as lead spokesperson for employers in collective bargaining matters involving a wide range of trade unions and has also served as a management-side nominee in arbitration proceedings within the health care sector.

His practice includes advising employers on union organizing campaigns, certification applications, unfair labour practice complaints, collective bargaining, grievance arbitration, interest arbitration, workplace investigations, human rights matters, employment standards issues and pay equity proceedings. Clients rely on his practical and measured approach when managing workplace disputes, strikes, lockouts and other sensitive labour relations matters.

Irv also assists employers with employment agreements, workplace policies and procedures, employee terminations and wrongful dismissal litigation. In addition, he advises clients on the labour and employment aspects of corporate transactions, including due diligence, successor employer issues and related employer matters.