Andrew is the CEO of a robot manufacturing company located in Burnaby, BC, called RoboTan. He has been searching for a software programmer to help his technical team overcome some complex technical issues related to their new product, a robot that disinfects solid surfaces through application of UV light. Andrew found Leila on LinkedIn and noticed that she seemed to have over 10 years of software programming experience as an independent consultant, having worked with a couple of major players in the industry. Andrew got excited and invited her to visit RoboTan’s office for further talks.

 After Leila’s brief visit, she agreed to help Andrew and his team at RoboTan by working directly under the supervision of the head of engineering department. They signed a simple one-page agreement, which stated the followings:

• Leila will mainly work remotely from home due to the Covid-19 restrictions, but may attend in-person if necessary.
• Leila will use her own computer and technical equipment in completing her job.
• The project will take 4 months to complete, after which both parties will decide whether to continue.
• Leila will receive $5,000 in advance, plus $15,000 upon completion of the project in 4 months.
• Leila will also receive $4,000 worth of the company’s options, allocated to her in $1,000 monthly instalments.
• Leila will keep the company’s information confidential and upon completion of the project will not work for any robotics company for at least 3 years. 

 

Leila started working for RoboTan on September 1, 2020. In the following three months, she conducted several simulation tests and made various software debugging and upgrade iterations. She missed a couple of her project deliverables. However, she did not receive any major complaints from the engineering team, and was able to ultimately complete those tasks despite some delays. There was one incident where she had a minor argument with the head of the engineering team, whom had asked her to attend the office in-person for a product test. Leila refused to go, reasoning that in light of the rising number of Covid cases in the province and the newly imposed restrictions by the government she did not feel safe in the office as workers were placed too close to each other. She also reasoned that she was able to do the job with the same quality while working remotely, a point that was verbally contested by the head engineer. 

 Eventually, on December 1, 2020 Leila gave the green light that in her opinion the product was ready for launch. RoboTan’s engineering team whom had already been under pressure from the sales team to deploy the product quickly, fearing that a Covid vaccine could diminish the attractiveness of a disinfecting device, welcomed Leila’s approval and also gave the final confirmation to proceed with deployment of the robot at Vancouver International Airport on December 3, 2020.

 Unfortunately, on December 4, as the robot was disinfecting an Airline Lounge area, the electric motor compartment got over-heated because of a software related technical issue. This caused the robot to catch on fire, damaging some of the Lounge’s fixtures. Subsequently, on December 5, airport authorities unilaterally cancelled their purchase agreement with RoboTan, calling their product unsafe and unpredictable. To make matters worse, the incident found its way to the local news. The negative news piece significantly damaged RoboTan’s reputation as a high-tech innovative company.

 In the morning of December 6, Andrew arrived at the office in a highly agitated state, after having completed an early morning Zoom call with the company’s Board of Directors. He called an emergency meeting with the Chief Engineer, shouting and pounding on the table. The chief engineer kept insisting that their initial assessment indicated that the software issue was due to Leila’s fault. The engineer informed Andrew about Leila’s previous refusal to complete some important product tests in-person at the office, which in his opinion partly caused the product failure down the line. The engineer whom never saw eye to eye with Leila, also told Andrew that he and some of his team members had reason to believe that Leila was under the influence of drugs while conducting some of the latest rounds of product tests. 

 Andrew picked up the phone right away, called Leila and told her that she was fired. He accused her of being incompetent, disobedient, and a junky. She was later informed by HR that she would not receive any more payments; and that the $4,000 shares already issued to her will be revoked. Andrew also threatened Leila that RoboTan will sue her for damages that she had caused to the company’s revenue as well as its reputation.

 Leila is really worried. She has contacted you for legal advice. Write a memo to Leila and discuss her rights and potential liabilities.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

I would advise Leila not to get worried anxious nervous in this situation but face the situation with a calm mind and think of the possible options sh... View the full answer