Employee Management

Question 1

Common law of employment

Answer 1

The body of case law in which courts interpret employment contracts and the legal principles taken from those cases that guide the interpretation of employment contracts

Question 2

Implied contract terms

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Collective agreement

Answer 3

An employment contract between an employer and a union that sets out the terms of employment for a group of the employer’s employees represented by the union

Question 4

Labour arbitrator

Answer 4

A person assigned to decide disputes (grievances) about the meaning, interpretation, and application of a collective agreement governing employees in a unionized workplace

Question 5

Constructive dismissal

Answer 5

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 6

Summary dismissal

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Wrongful dismissal

Answer 7

A lawsuit filed in a court by an employee alleging that he or she was dismissed without proper contractual or reasonable notice

Question 8

Statutory rights

Answer 8

Legal entitlements that derive from government legislation

Question 9

Progressive discipline

Answer 9

Application of corrective measures by increasing degrees

Question 10

Positive, or nonpunitive, discipline

Answer 10

A system of discipline that focuses on early correction of employee misconduct, with the employee taking total responsibility for correcting the problem; Based on the concept that employees must assume responsibility for their personal conduct and job performance

Question 11

4 Typical Steps of Progressive Discipline

Answer 11

1) Verbal warning; 2) Written Warning; 3) Suspension with pay; 4) Discharge

Question 12

3 Steps of Positive Discipline

Answer 12

1) Conference to find a solution to the problem (supervisor should refrain from reprimanding employee); 2) If not resolved, a second conference to determine why the first solution did not work; accompanied by a written reminder; 3) If second conference failed to change outcome, third step is to give the employee a one-day decision-making leave (paid leave); employee must decide whether to remedy the problem or to depart the organization

Question 13

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)

Answer 13

A term applied to different types of employee complaint or dispute resolution procedures

Question 14

Step-review system

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Stages of Step-Review Appeal Procedure

Answer 15

Employee to Supervisor to Department Head to HR - to Top Management

Question 16

Peer-review system (Complaint committee)

Answer 16

A system for reviewing employee complaints that utilizes 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, after deliberation, vote independently to render a final decision

Question 17

Open door policy

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Ombudsperson

Answer 18

A designated individual from whom employees may seek counsel for resolution of their complaints

Question 19

Mediation

Answer 19

The use of a neutral third-party to reach a compromise decision in employment disputes

Question 20

Mediator

Answer 20

A third party in an employment dispute who meets with one party and then the other to suggest compromise solutions or to recommend concessions from each side that will lead to an agreement

Question 21

Ethics

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Labour relations process

Answer 22

A logical sequence of four events: 1) Workers desire collective representation; 2) The union begins its organizing campaign; 3) Collective negotiations lead to a contract; 4) The contract is administered

Question 23

Industrial Relations Disputes and Investigations Act

Answer 23

Specified the right of workers to join unions, allowed unions to be certified as bargaining agents by LRBs, required management to recognize a certified union as an exclusive bargaining agent, required both parties to negotiate in good faith, outlined unfair labour practices, and created a mandatory two-stage compulsory conciliation process

Question 24

Union shop

Answer 24

Provision of collective agreement that requires employees to join the union as a condition of their employment

Question 25

Authorization Card

Answer 25

A statement signed by an employee authorizing a union to act as his/her representative for the purposes of collective bargaining

Question 26

6 Steps of Organizing Process

Answer 26

1. Employee/union contact; 2. Initial organizing meeting; 3. Formation of an in-house organizing committee; 4. Application to a labour relations board; 5. Issuance of a certificate by a labour relations board; 6. Election of a bargaining committee and contract negotiations

Question 27

Card-Check

Answer 27

A method where the union is certified to represent workers if the union submits to the LRB authorization cards on behalf of a majority of workers (e.g. 55%) in an appropriate bargaining unit

Question 28

Mandatory Ballot (Two-step)

Answer 28

A method where the union is certified to represent workers if the union obtains authorization cards from a certain number of workers (40% in Ontario) to obtain a vote, then the LRB orders a vote of the employees in the bargaining unit, which the union must win. Not-casting a vote doesn’t harm the union here.

Question 29

Bargaining unit

Answer 29

Group of two or more employees who share common employment interest and conditions and may reasonably be grouped together for the purposes of collective bargaining

Question 30

Unfair Labour Practices

Answer 30

Specific employer and union illegal practices that deny employees their rights and benefits under the federal and provincial labour law (e.g. altering working conditions, intimidation/coercion/threats, strike breakers; for unions; striking, threatening workers; not fairly representing employees)

Question 31

Management rights

Answer 31

Decisions regarding organizational operations which management claims exclusive rights

Question 32

Craft unions

Answer 32

Unions that represent skilled craft workers

Question 33

Industrial unions

Answer 33

Unions that represent all workers - skilled, semiskilled, unskilled - employed along industry lines

Question 34

Employee associations

Answer 34

Labour organizations that represent various groups of professional and white-collar employees in labour-management relations

Question 35

Union (shop) steward (aka Equity Deputy)

Answer 35

Employee who as a nonpaid union official represents the interests of the members in their relations with management; usually elected by members in their own department; “a person in the middle”

Question 36

Business Agent

Answer 36

Normally a paid labour official responsible for negotiating and administering the collective agreement and working to resolve union members’ problems

Question 37

Compulsory binding arbitration

Answer 37

Binding method of resolving collective bargaining deadlocks by a neutral third party; most common for police officers, firefighters, and other jobs in which strikes cannot be tolerated

Question 38

Final offer arbitration

Answer 38

Method of resolving collective arbitration disputes whereby the arbitrator has no power to compromise but must select one or another of the final offers (Baseball arb)

Question 39

Collective bargaining process

Answer 39

Process of negotiating a collective agreement, including the use of economic pressures by both parties

Question 40

Bargaining Zone

Answer 40

The area within which the union and the employer are willing to concede when bargaining

Question 41

Attitudinal structuring

Answer 41

Tactics to change the attitudes of the parties towards each other, often with the objective of persuading one party to accept the other side’s demands

Question 42

Interest-based bargaining (IBB)

Answer 42

Problem-solving bargaining based on a win-win philosophy and the development of a positive long-term relationship

Question 43

Bargaining power

Answer 43

The power of labour and management to achieve their goals through economic, social, or political influence

Question 44

Interest arbitrator (interests of two parties)

Answer 44

Third-party neutral who resolves a labour dispute by issuing a final decision in the disagreement

Question 45

Grievance procedure

Answer 45

Formal procedure that provides for the union to represent members and nonmembers in processing a grievance

Question 46

Rights arbitration (rights under the CB)

Answer 46

Arbitration over interpretation of the meaning of contract terms or employee work grievances

Question 47

Arbitration awards

Answer 47

Final and binding award issued by an arbitrator in a labour-management dispute