Instructions:

• Please read the 3 cases and the question sets below them. Then choose 2 of the cases/question sets to answer. (Optional: you may answer all 3 cases, but it is not required; if you do, the best 2 will be counted.)
• Review Working in BC (guide to the Employment Standards Act), and Employment Law Video Lectures/Slides pt. 1 & 2 carefully before completing the assignment. Take your information from these sources and do not include information about other laws that are not relevant.
• Write 1+ paragraph(s) per case, fully answering the questions, in your own words, totalling 100-150 words per case.
• Do not recopy the Background or Questions; just answer the questions fully.
• Quotations are not required, but if you include any quotations from the ESA, keep them brief (maximum 2 sentences total per assignment) and include quotation marks, followed by the citation: (ESA)
• Proofread and correct spelling/grammar errors using Grammarly app and/or your word processor's spelling and grammar checkers. Also use your own eyes to check for and correct any errors the app(s) did not find. (You are recommended to proofread using a computer screen, or by printing the assignment on paper, if possible.)
• Submit your Case Report to the Schoology link provided before the deadline. (E-mail submissions NOT accepted.)

Plagiarism Warning:

• You must write the assignment using your own words and using your own original thinking or analysis.
• If you use any secondary sources (work published by an author on websites, or in books, journals or magazines) they should be there to support your own original words and thoughts, not to replace them
• If you use secondary sources you must use the 3-step process of citation:

1) put quotation marks ( ) around the text that is from another source

2) put in-text references in brackets following the citation and using the APA citation style

3) put a Reference List at the end of your assignment giving a detailed and alphabetized description of your secondary sources listed according to APA style requirements

• You must take these steps to protect your own work:

1. Do not share your assignment with anyone! If you give a classmate your work to look at even if you have not given them the permission to copy, you have participated in plagiarism and will be charged for it!
2. Change your Schoology password so that it does not match your Hanson Student ID number. If you fail to do so and someone gets access to your Schoology account and copies your work, you will still earn a plagiarism/cheating charge for enabling it to happen.
3. Protect your digital devices: if you share a computer/tablet with others, make sure that you have a separate login just for yourself and/or store your work on an external memory device like a usb. If you do not do so and someone copies your work, you will still earn a plagiarism/cheating charge for enabling it to happen.

Case ABackground:

Dr. Laura Wildcat, a 61-year old Marketing Professor from Cornell University, was hired by Bull Enterprises on October 1, 2017. She worked for the company as the Marketing Director, and reported directly to the Chief Executive Officer, Bob Stanford. Laura received a bonus every year for her exceptional performance and won the Best Executive Award in the fall of 2020. However, Bull Enterprises experienced financial losses during the economic downturn caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 1, 2021, Bob called Laura in to his office. He told her that she was a good employee, and thanked her for her services, but told her that her contract was being terminated, effective immediately, because of a restructuring triggered by the companys financial losses in the last four quarters. Bob gave her a cheque covering her work up until and including April 1st, and promised to send her another cheque by mail for the minimum number of weeks of notice required under the Employment Standards Act, but stated that he could not offer any further compensation, due to the companys recent financial losses.

Bob asked Laura to sign a printed agreement stating that Bull Enterprises would pay her for two extra weeks salary, in exchange for her promise not to sue for any other damages for termination. He stated that two weeks was all that he owed her under the Employment Standards Act. Laura refused to sign the statement.

Bob angrily replied that she was lucky to have had any work at all during the pandemic, and urged her to sign the agreement, threatening to withhold her remaining pay if she did not. Laura replied, I dont think that this is sufficient compensation. I was planning to retire next year. Id like to run this by my lawyer first. Bob suddenly stood up and ripped up the agreement, shouting, Ive changed my mind. Im firing you right now for insubordination. You wont get another dollar from me. He called security, who escorted Laura from the building.

Laura came to see you, an employment lawyer. You start a lawsuit against Bull Enterprises for wrongful dismissal. In court, Bulls lawyer states that Lauras poor performance caused the company to experience financial loss, and therefore she was terminated with just cause, and is not entitled to any pay under the Employment Standards Act, or the common law. Consider your response to the judge.

Case AQuestions:

• Discuss the law surrounding wrongful dismissal, considering Bob and the lawyers statements about the reason for Lauras termination: Did the company have any just cause to fire her? Is there any evidence in Lauras record that her poor performance caused the companys losses, or that she was insubordinate?
• According to the Employment Standards Act (ESA), how many weeks of notice must the company give Laura, if there is no just cause?
• Furthermore, discuss whether the company will be required to pay Laura any additional notice based on common law factors, beyond the amount required by the ESA.
• Explain your answers to the questions above using the information from Working in BC (a guide to the ESA) and Employment Law Video Lecture Video Lectures pt. 1 & 2.

Case BBackground:

Harpreet, the owner of a new studio called Pottery Palace, verbally offered Ravi a full-time contract. Harpreet planned to manage the business affairs of the studio, while employing two workers: Sam, who answered the telephone and sold pottery in the shop, and Ravi, who would work in the studio behind the shop, designing and making all of the pottery that would be sold in the shop. Ravi would use the kiln, clay, dyes, and other tools provided by Harpreet, working at the studio every day from 8:30 am-4:30 pm, according to the schedule Harpreet provided him.

Ravi worked for five weeks without receiving any pay. One day he asked Harpreet when she would pay him. She paused for a moment, and said, Give me a moment. Ten minutes later, she gave Ravi a cheque with a typed pay stub showing the gross pay, but no deductions for Income Tax, Employment Insurance, or Canada Pension Plan contributions. He asked Harpreet about this, and she stated that this was because Ravi was a contractor, and not an employee. Ravi was surprised as he had been under the impression since hiring that he was an employee.

Ravi decides to consult you, an employment lawyer, to see whether he is an employee or an independent contractor, and what rights he has under the law.

Case BQuestions:

• According to the law, is Ravi an independent contractor or an employee? Explain by applying both the Four-Part Test and the Organization Test, as described in Employment Law Video Lecture Video Lecture pt. 1.
• Is Pottery Palace required to follow the Employment Standards Act (ESA) when paying Ravi? Explain whether Pottery Palace has broken any laws regarding paying Ravi on time.
• Is Pottery Palace required by law to deduct Ravis Income Tax, Employment Insurance, and Canada Pension Plan contributions from his paycheque? Why or why not?
• Explain your answers to the questions above using the information from Working in BC (a guide to the ESA) and Employment Law Video Lecture Video Lectures pt. 1 & 2.