Exam 10: Employment

Mr. Lopez, the owner of the firm, had a large family. His six children were all in their late teens or early twenties and were in school or had jobs. However, in the summer of 2011, two of the six got laid off and the other four were having trouble finding work. Lopez spent ten days reorganizing his firm to find jobs for his family. He decided that the foreman at the plant, Mr. Wedman, who had been with the firm for twelve years, seven as foreman, could go back to being a carpenter and make room for his oldest son, who had management experience. There was no written employment contract with Wedman. On Friday afternoon, Lopez called Wedman into the office and told him that on Monday he would return as a carpenter and that he would be under the direction of his son. Wedman said he didn't want to be a carpenter or under the direction of his son and wouldn't do it. Lopez dismissed him immediately and with no severance pay. Which of the following is true?

What is the significance of determining that an employment relationship exists, aside from the statutory significance, employment insurance benefits, workers' compensation benefits, etc.?

Indicate three obligations of an employee in an employment relationship.

"When one person does work for another, they can be either an agent, an independent contractor, or an employee." Discuss the accuracy of that statement.

Distinguish between a rights dispute and an interest dispute.

Workers' compensation benefits are only available where the employee has been injured because of the fault of the employer.

In Dowling v. Ontario (Workplace Safety and Insurance Board), the Court had to determine whether the employee's dishonest conduct constituted just cause for termination. What did the Court find?

Give three example of unfair labour practices on the part of the employer.

An employer is vicariously liable for the torts committed on the job by employees and independent contractors.

Joe worked for Sam in Sam's Manufacturing Plant as supervisor for five years, and for five years prior to that had been foreman. Because of a reorganization, the position of supervisor was eliminated, and Joe was reassigned to his old job as night foreman. He refused to take it and sued for wrongful dismissal. What would be the outcome?

Distinguish between a strike and a lockout.

Elad starts a brand new job. Lena, his new co-worker, is showing him around. Lena informs Elad that she is a union member, required to pay dues and to maintain her membership. Elad is certain that he was told he did not need to join the union. What arrangement is in place?

To avoid a complaint of gender discrimination, an employer should do all of the following except

There are significant examples of statutes that interfere with the free contractual nature of the employment relationship or otherwise compensate for the inadequacies of the protections given to employees under the common law. Discuss several examples of these statutes in terms of the objectives to be accomplished and whether these objectives have been met.

When an employee is dismissed for just cause, the employer need give the employee only two months' notice or the equivalent pay in lieu of that notice.

Which of the following is an unfair labour practice?

Distinguish between an employee and an independent contractor.

What constitutes "just cause"?

Joe was an insurance broker and one of his clients, Sam, had a house that he wanted to insure. As was his normal practice, Joe got into his car and drove past the house to determine if all was as stated by the client. In the process of doing so, he struck a pedestrian crossing the street in a crosswalk, because he was distracted by his examination of the house. The injured pedestrian sued not only Joe, the insurance broker, but the client as well. Explain the likely outcome.

When an employee leaves the job because of constructive dismissal, his only recourse is to complain to the appropriate human rights tribunal.