Chapter 13: Employee Rights and Disciplines

Question 1

What are the three regimes of employment law?

Answer 1

1. Common law of employment
2. Statutory employment regulation
3. Collective bargaining and arbitration law

Question 2

What is the common law of employment?

Answer 2

The body of case law where courts interpret employment contracts and the legal principles taken from those cases

Question 3

What are implied contract terms?

Answer 3

Terms judges read into employment contracts when the written contract does not expressly deal with the matter

Question 4

What are some items included under statutory employment regulation?

Answer 4

Employment equity legislation, pay equity legislation, employment standards legislation

Question 5

What is a collective agreement?

Answer 5

An employment contract between an employer and a union that sets out the terms of employment of a group of employees

Question 6

What is a labour arbitrator?

Answer 6

A person assigned to interpret and decide disputes about the meaning, interpretation, and application of a collective agreement governing employees

Question 7

What is constructive dismissal?

Answer 7

When an employer commits a fundamental breach of the contract, such as by unilaterally changing a key term of the contract, the employee can treat the breach as a termination

Question 8

What is summary dismissal?

Answer 8

When a nonunion employer terminates an employee without notice because the employee has committed a serious breach of contract

Question 9

What is wrongful dismissal?

Answer 9

A lawsuit filed in a court by an employee alleging that they were dismissed without proper contractual or reasonable notice

Question 10

What type of employer does not require a reason to dismiss an employee?

Answer 10

Any nonunion employer

Question 11

When can an employer take action in response to an employee’s online conduct?

Answer 11

When the employer can establish that the off-duty conduct adversely impacts the economic interests of the employer such as business reputation or the employee’s ability to perform their job

Question 12

What are the general steps of a disciplinary model?

Answer 12

1. Develop organizational discipline policy
2. Define discipline
3. Violation of organizational rules
4. Investigation of employee offence
5. Disciplinary interview
6. Progressive discipline
7. Due process
8. Just cause
9. Discharge

Question 13

What happens if an employer fails to take action against employee misconduct?

Answer 13

It implies that the performance of the employee has been satisfactory so it may be difficult to use it as a cause of dismissal later on

Question 14

What is progressive discipline?

Answer 14

The application of corrective measures by increasing degrees

Question 15

What is positive discipline?

Answer 15

A system of discipline that focuses on early correction of employee misconduct with the employee taking total responsibility for correcting the problem

Question 16

How should a manager go about informing an employee of their termination?

Answer 16

1. Rehearse the termination meeting with peers
2. Come to the point in the first two or three minutes and list in a logical order all reasons for the termination
3. Make the discussion private, businesslike, and fairly brief
4. Provide information concerning severance and the status of benefits
5. If the employee becomes agitated the meeting should be stopped immediately
6. When terminated employees are escorted off the premises the removal must not serve to defame the employee

Question 17

What are some alternative dispute resolution procedures?

Answer 17

1. Step-review system
2. Peer-review system
3. Open-door policy
4. Ombudsperson
5. Mediation
6. Arbitration

Question 18

What is a step-review system?

Answer 18

A system for reviewing employee complaints and disputes by successively higher levels of management

Question 19

What is a peer-review system?

Answer 19

A system for reviewing employee complaints that uses a group composed of equal numbers of employee representatives and management appointees which functions as a jury because its members weigh evidence, consider arguments, and vote independently to render a decision

Question 20

What is an open-door policy?

Answer 20

A policy of settling grievances that identifies various levels of management above the immediate supervisor for employee contact

Question 21

What is a ombudsperson?

Answer 21

A designated individual from whom employees may seek counsel for resolution of their complaints. They have no authority to finalize a solution to the problem

Question 22

What is mediation?

Answer 22

The use of an impartial third party called a mediator to reach a compromise decision in employment disputes. The mediator has no power to force either side toward an agreement

Question 23

What is arbitration?

Answer 23

The employee and employer present their cases to an arbitrator who then makes a decision that parties have agreed to be bound by

Question 24

What is ethics?

Answer 24

A set of standards of conduct and moral judgements that help determine right and wrong behaviour