Wee Widgets makes widgets. Their factory in Pickering is open 7 days a week 24 hours a day. Wee Widgets employs 1000 people including Judy, Malik, Andy, Nathan and Faria. Their roles and start dates are as follows:

• Judy Chief Operating Officer September 15, 2011
• Malik VP Operations January 15, 2010
• Andy Floor Supervisor April 15, 2018
• Nathan Widget Builder May 15, 2014
• Faria Widget Builder October 15, 2018

Andy, Nathan and Faria typically work Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm. Nathan and Faria earn minimum wage and Andy makes $22.00 per hour. They do not have a written employment contract. Judy and Malik are salaried employees earning $150,000.00 and $110,000.00 per year. Their employment contract is written and provides for reasonable notice upon termination.

Andy, Nathan and Faria were not provided any written documents before or upon starting work.

Nathan showed Faria around when she first started working. When he took her into the lunchroom, Nathan pointed out that on the employee bulletin board was a copy of a 10 year old 3 version ago Ministry of Labour poster. Faria asked how come the poster was so old and was told that the HR manager left in January 2014 and no one has bothered to do any of the HR work since.

On Labour Day 2019, they both decided to work their regular hours since Wee Widgets said they would pay them extra for it.

In October 2019, Malik announced that Wee Widgets had landed a multi-million dollar contract. As a result, Malik was looking for volunteers to work extra hours until additional staff could be hired. From Monday, November 4 until Sunday, December 15, 2019 Faria worked 6 days a week 10 hours a day. During that same period, Nathan and Andy continued to work Monday through Friday but worked 10 hours a day.

In early January 2020, Nathan sent an email to Malik asking to take all of his vacation in one go as he was planning on going to Africa. Malik tells him that he would prefer that Nathan split his vacation into two blocks but if Nathan insisted than he could not go away in the months of April and May.

Andy and his spouse, Ahmed adopted twin boys. They brought the twins home from the hospital on January 10, 2020, having been born two days earlier. Ahmed also works at Wee Widgets but started in July 2009. As long-term employees, they both received extended health care benefits, including prescription and dental coverage.

Two months before bringing the twins home from the hospital, Andy and Ahmed advised Wee Widgets of the adoption and requested leave. They asked Malik the following:

• how long they were entitled to take off
• whether their vacation time continued to accrue during their leaves and if so when did they have to take their vacation
• whether their extended health care benefits continued while they were on leave

Ultimately, Malik advised Andy and Ahmed that the company would meet its obligations under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (hereinafter the ESA). Not a particularly helpful answer for Andy and Ahmed as they did not know what they were and were not entitled to under the ESA.

QUESTIONS FOR ESA ASSIGNMENT (41 MARKS)

1. Can an employer and employee agree to contract out of the minimum standards of the Employment Standards Act, 2000? Identify which section says that. (1 mark)
2. Is Labour Day a public holiday? Which section in the ESA says that? (1 mark)
3. For working Labour Day 2019, identify two ways Wee Widgets can pay Faria (describe in your own words the two ways she is paid)? Please identify all relevant sections of the ESA. (3 marks)
4. For working Labour Day 2019, how much money should Faria be paid? Your answer should address only monetary compensation. You do NOT need to deduct time for breaks or add in vacation pay. (10 marks)
5. If Wee Widgets paid Faria and Nathan in accordance with the ESA, what would each have earned ($$) per week between Monday, November 4 and Sunday December 15, 2019? Please identify the sections of the ESA that apply. (17 marks)
6. As adoptive parents, are Andy and Ahmed entitled to pregnancy leave? Which section of the ESA addresses this? (1 mark)
7. As adoptive parents, are they entitled to parental leave? Which section of the ESA addresses this? (1 mark)
8. How many weeks of parental leave are they entitled to take pursuant to the ESA? Which section of the ESA says this? (1 mark)
9. What five specific and different protections does the ESA provide for those returning from parental leave? Which sections of the ESA speak to this? (5 marks)
10. If Andy or Ahmed take an unpaid leave of absence, not a statutory leave, are they still entitled to the protections identified in question 9? How do you know this to be true? (1 mark)