Assignment Introduction

Assignment #$1$ is a take home, open book assignment. The assignment must be completed individually. Please regard this as an exam where no communication is allowed. The assignment requires course materials and external resources.

Assignment Value

The assignment is worth $20\%$ of your final grade.

Assignment Instructions

The assignment must be double spaced to a maximum of $6-7$ pages. The title page, reference page and page with a link to every article$/$source are not included in the page count.

Answer the questions found in the scenario below.

Scenario

You recently took a position at a small manufacturing company in Stratford, Ontario. Shortly after taking the position, you now understand that there are a number of legal concerns and liabilities in the workplace. First, the company was classifying some of its workers as independent contractors, rather than employees, aiming to reduce costs associated with statutory benefits and entitlements. This classification raises some legal concerns. Explain these legal concerns in relation to the statutory entitlements including minimum wage, overtime pay, and other employment standards protections mandated by the legislation. How are legal entitlements different for an independent contractor and employee under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, $2000?$

You also discovered that there were concerning discriminatory practices based on human rights violations. Several employees claims that they were subjected to discriminatory behaviour on the grounds of gender and ethnicity. After conducting a thorough investigation, you learn that employees were subject to discrimination. What protections does the Ontario Human Rights Code provide these employees? Can they be terminated based on filing a complaint? What damages are possible for the employees?