Exam 13: Employee Rights and Discipline

In British Columbia, members of the provincial parliament (MPPs) voted to implement new anti-bullying rules for workplaces. What type of employment law does this represent?

What is a key objective for employers in using a peer-review process in disciplinary cases with employees?

Tammy Faye, a university student, is doing research on cases decided by the Supreme Court on employee dismissals for theft. Which of the following regimes of employment law is Tammy researching?

Bob Parker's employer has moved him to a job that is three to four levels below his previous position; it also pays much less. He has been advised by his lawyer that he can challenge this decision in the courts. What do you think Bob will claim happened to him?

Whatever the reason for dismissal, it should be done with primary concern for the organization.

Two different legal regimes govern the employment relationship: common law and statutory law.

Under the employment-at-will concept, who can terminate the employment relationship?

In an organizational setting, discipline should be viewed as an educational process rather than a punishment.

A peer-review system, also called a "complaint committee," is composed only of people whose jobs are similar to the person appearing before the board.

An ombudsperson helps management by providing a check on itself.

After an investigation by the relevant bodies, it was found that Darren, who works in a unionized organization, was dismissed without just cause. Who can order reinstatement after an investigation?

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is a relatively recent development utilized in non-union workplaces.

In a typical progressive discipline program, what step immediately precedes the termination of the employee?

An ombudsperson solves problems through negotiation and mediation activities between supervisors and subordinates.

Organizations are required by law to comply with ethical guidelines.

Scenario 13.1 The Beer Pitt Inc. is a Canadian brewery that distributes premium lager beers across the country. Over the years, the company has been having problems with employees drinking on the job, resulting in arguments, fights, and back-ups on the production line. Because employees are unionized, it has always been difficult to determine that drinking on the job is the cause of the problems the company is experiencing since these problems have been occurring for decades. Recently, however, an employee was injured. The HR department wants to develop and implement new sets of disciplinary policies and procedures to help curb these problems. -Refer to Scenario 13.1. The Beer Pitt must document all misconduct. Which of the following is NOT true about the completeness of the information?

Positive discipline requires a cooperative environment.

What is another term for positive discipline?

An example of a statutory right is an employee right to a safe workplace.

Scenario 13.2 Woodbridge Group Inc. (WG), a Canadian consultancy firm, is having a hard time keeping all its employees as a result of the last recession. Most of its clients are based in the United States, and tighter restrictions there have led to some clients severing business ties with WG. With the loss of business, the company claims it cannot afford to continue paying employees even though the company is still profitable. Management is planning to let some of them go, and plans to give them four weeks' pay in lieu of notice. While these employees are not unionized, they do have contracts that entitle them to fixed numbers of weeks worked for each year they have been with WG. -Refer to Scenario 13.2. If WG terminates the contracts as planned and employees sue for wrongful dismissal, which of the following does NOT play a role in the judge's decision to award reasonable notice?