“When I think of contractual relationships, I immediately think of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, which is an implied duty in all contracts and which, at a minimum, imposes a duty…not to lie or mislead error, in the performance of the contract and a duty to exercise contractual discretion reasonably and not to be unduly insensitive.

“As a result, I believe this decision has broadened our traditional notion of the relationship between a volunteer and this organization and imbued it with serious legal principles.

Hannan’s efforts were not simply passive volunteering, as in a social club or religious congregation, and required a continuing and significant commitment on his part, similar to an individual’s commitment to an employer, Buchanan explains.

“So I think the door has at least been opened there, and I think it will be interesting to see how this decision is applied in the future, and whether or not it will allow for the expansion of employee rights in the field of volunteering. .”

Drawing the line between employees and volunteers

As a board member, it was good to see that there was a very clear decision that these people were not employees – but there was a breach of contract, said Sheryl Johnson, Partner, Employment and Labor Law at Sullivan Mahoney. in Niagara Falls, “especially when they’re very regulated, and you have all your bylaws and your rules of conduct and your selection and your applications every year…they’ve created a process, and it’s that process that creates the contract.”