Employment Law Quiz - Chapter 6 onwards Flashcards
Ontario’s Pay Equity Act applies to all provincially regulated private sector employers that have:
10 or more employees
Ontario’s “equal pay for equal work” requirements are found in the:
Employment Standards Act
Generally speaking, under Ontario’s Pay Equity Act, a job class is considered “female-dominated” when at least
60% of the incumbents are female
Which one of the following is NOT true of jobs that are part of the same female job class
the jobs have only female incumbents
“Job rate” is defined as:
the highest rate of pay
Which one of the following statements is not true concerning the job evaluation process under the Pay Equity Act?
employees in both male and female job classes can file a complaint under the PEA that their work is undervalued
The process of achieving pay equity involves a number of steps. What is the step that immediately follows after the employer places jobs into job classes?
the step of determining the gender predominance of each job class
Under the job evaluation method called “the point factor system”, the employer decides on a total number of points and then attributes points to each factor and sub-factor chosen, based on the weight given to it. For example, if the total number of points is 1,000, and skill is weighted at 30% of total value (e.g. 10% interpersonal skills, 8% knowledge, and 12% problem-solving), the factor of “knowledge” would be worth
80 points
Under Ontario’s Pay Equity Act, different pay levels are permitted between comparable male and female-dominated jobs if the pay differential results from one of a list of acceptable factors. Which one of the following is NOT one of those acceptable factors?
a senior executive exception
Ontario’s Pay Equity Act is aimed specifically at addressing the historic undervaluation of work performed mainly by
women
In 2015 the Ontario Minister of Labour appointed special advisors to review and update the ESA, especially as it relates to protecting workers in precarious jobs. (see pg. 239) This eventually resulted in the passage of Bill 148 which made massive changes t:o the ESA, including providing greater scheduling protections and equal pay for equal work regardless of employment status. However, these changes were repealed (reversed) about a year later by:
Bill 47
TRUE OR FALSE: If a worker is an independent contractor, rather than an employee, that worker is not covered by the protections of the Employment Standards Act.
TRUE
The key purpose of Ontario’s Employment Standards Act is to establish:
minimum terms of employment in provincially-regulated workplaces throughout Ontario
TRUE OR FALSE: Enforcement of the ESA is a complaint-based process. (p. 239) In other words, employees who think they have not received what they’re entitled to under the Act, file a complaint with the Ministry of Labour. (Unionized employees generally file a grievance as set out in their collective agreement.)
FALSE
Bert works at a bank in Toronto and wants to know what his basic statutory rights are in terms of vacation time, overtime pay, etc. He should look at: (See pg. 240)
the Canada Labour Code
According to Ontario’s ESA,most employee records generally have to be kept at least: (p. 241)
3 years
Under Ontario’s ESA, employers must provide every employee with a copy of : (p. 241)
a Ministry of Labour poster in English that summarizes basic employment standards
When employment ends, all outstanding wages, including vacation pay, must be paid no later than: (see pg. 241)
7 days after employment ends or on the employee’s next regular payday, whichever occurs later
An employer is prohibited from withholding or deducting any wages payable to an employee unless the employer is
obliged to do so by statute (e.g. EI premiums);
obliged to do so by a court order (e.g. garnished wages); or
is authorized by the employee to do so. (see pg. 243)
In this last case the authorization must be ……
in writing and include specific information concerning the amount of money to be deducted and the method of calculating it
One day Bert, a waiter at a high end restaurant, accidentally broke several expensive plates. Bert’s employer is now telling him that their cost will be deducted from his wages because he had previously signed a written authorization allowing such a deduction. Which one of the following is true? (Ch. 243-4)
This deduction does not comply with Ontario’s ESA because the signed authorization is not effective where the loss is based on faulty workmanship.
The purpose of agreements to vary is to enhance the flexibility of employment standards by (p. 245-6)
allowing employers and employees to agree to vary four particular standards under Ontario’s ESA
Which of the following is NOT one of the standards that can be modified (under an agreement to vary under Ontario’s ESA? (p. 244-5)
to reduce the applicable minimum wage
Effective Oct. 1, 2022, the general minimum wage in Ontario was increased to (must update through the internet):
$15.50 per hour
Aida, a 17 year old student, works 16 hours a week in a hair salon during the school term. As of Oct. 1, 2022, what is the minimum hourly wage that her employer can pay her? (Must update through the internet)
$14.60
Sal, who is 34 years old, works in a retail clothing store. His pay is based entirely on commission. Last week he worked 40 hours and earned $400. By how much does his employer have to “top up” his wages for that week? (p.249-250, must be updated to reflect current minimum wage)
$220
Under Ontario’s ESA, the general rule (before looking at any exceptions) is that the maximum number of hours that an employee can be required to work is 8 per day (or if the employer has established a regular workday longer than 8 hours, the number of hours in that day), and (P. 252)
48 hours in a week
Under Ontario’s ESA, overtime pay ( at a rate of 1.5 times the employee’s regular hourly rate of pay) is payable after: (pg. 256)
44 hours in a week
Shanez is the manager in a bookshop. When it’s busy (i.e. most lunch hours) Shanez helps out at cash; the rest of the time she performs supervisory and managerial duties only. Shanez regularly works about 50 hours a week. Which one of the following is true, with respect to the overtime pay requirements under Ontario’s ESA? (p. 256 - 8)
Shanez’s employer has to pay her overtime pay because she is performing non-managerial work on a regular (non-exceptional) basis.
Myron works 52 hours in Week 1 and 40 hours in Week 2. With an averaging hours agreement the ER must pay Myron at the overtime rate for: (p. 258)
2 hours each week
George has worked for ABC Co. for over 14 years. According to Ontario’s ESA, ABC Co. must provide George with at least ______ weeks of vacation time this year. (p. 261-2)
3 weeks
Zhou has worked for his employer for 4.5 years. In 2021 Zhou earned $100,000 as a physiotherapist (including $10,000 in overtime pay) Under the ESA, for 2021 Zhou is entitled to receive vacation pay of at least: (p. 262)
$4,000
Which one of the following is NOT one of the 9 statutory public holidays under Ontario’s ESA? (p. 263)
Civic Holiday (first Monday in August)
Bazz works 4 shifts per week. He earned $800 in regular wages in the 4 week pay period immediately preceding the public holiday (i.e. Thanksgiving Monday, 2022). How much is Bazz entitled to be paid for that public holiday? (p. 265)
$40
How many statutory leaves are there now under Ontario’s ESA? (see pg. 268).
14
In most circumstances, under Ontario’s ESA, job-protected pregnancy leave is: (See pg. 268)
17 weeks
Generally-speaking, how many weeks of job-protected statutory parental leave is an adoptive father entitled to receive? (p. 270 -1)
up to 63 weeks
Under amendments to the ESA passed on April 29th, 2021, employees in Ontario are entitled to take up to ____ paid days of “infectious disease emergency leave” (see internet):
3
Domestic or sexual violence leave is given to employees under certain circumstances to, among other things, seek medical attention, procure victim services, or pursue police or legal assistance. The length of this entitlement is: (p. 275)
up to 10 days and 15 weeks per year (the first 5 days of which must be paid for by the employer)
Under the ESA’s Family Medical Leave provisions, an employee may take up to _____ weeks of unpaid leave to care for a gravely ill family member who is at risk of dying within the next 52 weeks. (p. 276)
28 weeks
What is the name of the statutory leave under which employees can take up to 8 weeks of unpaid leave to provide care and support to a family member and certain others who have a “serious medical condition” (p. 277)
family caregiver leave
How long is the unpaid leave that a parent is entitled to receive to tend to their critically ill child if that child is 18 years or older? (p.. 277)
17 weeks
Job-protected, unpaid crime-related child disappearance leave (p. 278) is up to:
104 weeks
Which one of the following job-protected, unpaid statutory leaves under the ESA would apply where a public health emergency (e.g. such as the SARS epidemic) has been declared and an employee is unable to attend work as a result: (see pg. 279)
Declared emergency leave
Job-protected, unpaid Reservist leave applies only to reservists who have worked at least ____ for that employer. (See pg. 279)
6 months
Organ donor leave is up to (See pg. 279)
13 weeks (with a possible extension)
Jacob is returning from a statutory (parental) leave tomorrow and his boss is now telling him that someone else is performing his pre-leave job so he will be returning to another, comparable job. Under Ontario’s ESA, does Jacob’s employer have the right to do this? (p. 280)
No, because Jacob has the right to return to the pre-leave job unless it no longer exists for reasons unrelated to his leave.
Which of the following is NOT true concerning ESA protections for “agency employees” (i.e. employees who find work through a temporary help agency) (p.283-5)?
agency employees must receive at least one month’s notice or pay in lieu of notice if an assignment that was estimated to last three months or more is terminated before its estimated end date
Calculating Public Holiday Pay using the Ontario Ministry of Labour’s Self-Service Tool at https://www.apps.labour.gov.on.ca/es-self-service-tool/
Find out Jossie’s holiday pay for Victoria Day (May 23, 2022) if she worked that day and did not take a substitute day off.
Assume that Jossie:
earns $20.00 per hour
works 40 hours per week
is over 17
works exclusively as a cashier
Her work week begins on Mondays and she earned $800 in each of the four weeks before the holiday holiday.
When asked “ Was vacation pay paid during the four work weeks before the public holiday?” say “No”
$400.00
An employee must file their claim for unpaid wages within ______ years of the date from when the employer failed to pay those wages. (p. 287)
2
The maximum amount of money that a Ministry of Labour officer can order an employer to pay to an employee for violating ESA minimum standards is: (p. 289)
There is no limit.
Generally speaking, PIPEDA’s requirements do NOT apply to the personal information of __________ held by provincially regulated employers in Ontario.
Employees
Which one of the following provinces has NOT yet passed privacy legislation that covers general personal information?
Ontario
Under PIPEDA, employers are required to respond to employees’ requests for access to personal information being held about them as soon as possible and no later than
30 days after the request is made
In Centre for Addiction and Mental Health v Ontario Public Service Employees Union, the employer decided to conduct surveillance on one of its employees because it wanted to investigate a report that he was working elsewhere while on paid suspension. Upon his return from suspension, the employee claimed that an aversion to water prevented him from performing alternative work in the kitchen (i.e., washing dishes) that the employer offered to him. However, during the video surveillance he had been captured on tape watering his lawn. In the grievance arbitration related to his subsequent dismissal, the arbitrator decided that the videotaped evidence showing him watering his lawn
was inadmissible because the initial reason for the surveillance was not reasonable
In Colwell v Cornerstone Properties Inc., the court found that the Ontario employer’s covert surveillance of its employee
constituted constructive dismissal under the common law
Which one of the following is NOT true?
In Ontario, PIPEDA prohibits an employer from conducting video surveillance of a non-union employee in the workplace without the employee’s written consent.
Section 5(3) of PIPEDA states that “An organization may collect, use or disclose personal information only for purposes that a(n) ______________ person would consider appropriate in the circumstances”.
reasonable
Effective Oct. 11, 2022, Ontario employers that employ ___ or more employees on January 1 of any year must have a written policy on electronic monitoring.. If the employer does monitor its employees electronically, the policy must include:
a description of how, and in what circumstances, the employer may electronically monitor employees
the purposes for which the employer may use the information obtained through electronic monitoring
the date it was prepared and the date any changes were made to the policy
25
Which one of the following individuals would have their personal information, held by these organizations, protected by PIPEDA’s 10 principles?
A member of a fitness club in Hamilton, Ontario
PIPEDA stands for:
Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act
Well-drafted employer policy manuals serve several important purposes. Which one of the following statements related to an employer policy manual is NOT true?
It should assure employees that the steps laid out in the progressive discipline policy will be always followed, without exception.
In Blackberry Limited v Marineau-Mes, a former employee argued that the six-month notice of resignation requirement in his employment contract was unenforceable. The court decided that the requirement was
enforceable because the plaintiff continued to be paid and six months was standard in the industry
The practice of progressive discipline first arose
in unionized workplaces
Despite the significant number of employment-related statutes, the underlying framework of a non-union employment relationship is
the individual employment contract
In non-unionized workplaces, which one of the following steps in the progressive discipline process is often left out because of its possible legal implications?
suspension without pay
Which one of the following is NOT a benefit of conducting an exit interview of a departing employee?
it provides an opportunity for the employee’s direct supervisor to have a final, face-to-face, confidential meeting
Condonation refers to a situation where
an employer is aware of misconduct but takes no disciplinary action within a reasonable time
Vicarious liability refers to a situation where
the employer is held legally responsible for the actions of its employees, even when it was not negligent
To ensure that offering an early retirement incentive package does not constitute age discrimination, an employer should
make sure the eligible employee understands the attractiveness of the offer by, for example, holding a number of meetings to explain it
To establish that it had just cause to dismiss an employee, an employer must show both that the alleged misconduct took place and that the nature or degree of misconduct warranted dismissal, keeping in mind all relevant circumstances. Which one of the following is NOT one of the factors that courts normally consider in deciding whether the employer had just cause to dismiss the employee?
the employer’s size and financial health
In a legal dispute concerning whether or not an employer had just cause to dismiss an employee:
the onus is on the employer to show that, on a balance of probabilities, it had just cause
Which one of the following legal concepts do courts now apply in determining whether an employer had just cause to terminate an employee?
proportionality
Which one of the following was the landmark Supreme Court of Canada decision that established the need to take a contextual approach in determining whether an employee’s dismissal was for just cause?
McKinley v BC Tel
Which one of the following Canadian jurisdictions does not have legislated “unjust dismissal” provisions (i.e. provisions that provide for reinstatement as a possible remedy for a long service non-union, non-management employee who has been dismissed without just cause?)
Ontario
Which one of the following is true?
In Ontario, in most situations an employer cannot require an employee to retire when they reach a certain age.
The term “statutory severance pay” refers to
A terminated employee’s severance pay entitlements under the ESA
Under Ontario’s ESA, what is the minimum statutory termination notice or pay in lieu of notice required for an employee who has worked for an employer for 4½ years and who is permanently laid off at the same time as 49 other employees?
8 weeks
Under Ontario’s ESA, what is the amount of individual termination notice or pay in lieu of notice required for an employee with 7½ years’ service?
7 weeks
An employee who decides to begin a court action for wrongful dismissal after filing a claim under the ESA must withdraw the statutory claim within:
two weeks of filing the claim
To remain eligible for statutory severance pay, an employee who has received notice of termination and wishes to resign during the notice period must give the employer at least:
two week’s written notice of resignation
Under Ontario’s ESA, to be effective, a notice of termination must:
be in writing and clearly set out the date of termination
What is the minimum termination and severance payment required under Ontario’s ESA for an employee who has worked for an employer for 13½ years and who is terminated without cause? (The employer has a payroll of $4 million.)
8 weeks notice or pay in lieu and 13 1/2 weeks’ statutory severance pay
The purpose of statutory termination notice (or pay in lieu of notice) is to
provide the employee with time to find a comparable job while still receiving income
Under the ESA’s continuity of service rule, employees who continue to work for a new owner of a former employer’s business retain their length of service. However, there is an exception where there is a gap between the employee’s employment with the former employer and the new employer of at least
13 weeks
Under Ontario’s ESA, an order to pay termination or severance pay cannot exceed
there is no monetary cap
An employee who is hired for a fixed term or task is not entitled to ESA termination notice or pay in lieu of notice unless that term or task lasts more than
12 months
Which one of the following is NOT true?
The maximum amount of statutory severance pay payable to a dismissed employee under the ESA is 20 weeks’ pay
Which of the following is NOT one of the factors a court will consider in determining reasonable notice damages under the common law?
the employer’s size and financial health
According to Mifsud v MacMillan Bathurst, an employee who has been constructively dismissed has a duty to mitigate (lessen) damages suffered by accepting the altered job offered by the employer where
the salary and working conditions remain the same and the working relationships are not acrimonious
Wrongful dismissal actions may be heard in Small Claims Court as long as the claim is for
$35,000 or less (choose this one as effective Jan. 1, 2020 this increase to the limit was made. Your textbook still says $25,000)
An employee whose hours of work are unilaterally reduced from 40 hours to 28 hours per week may have a common law claim against the employer based on
constructive dismissal
In Honda Canada Inc. v Keays, the Supreme Court of Canada decided that Wallace damages for an employer’s bad-faith conduct in the manner of dismissal should
reflect actual damages suffered
To determine what the termination notice or payment in lieu of notice period should be for an employee who is dismissed without just cause, the employer needs to look to which three areas?
the employment contract, the Employment Standards Act, and the common law
In determining what constitutes “reasonable notice” of termination under the common law, generally speaking the longer an employee has worked for an employer:
the longer the reasonable notice period
Employers who provide a negative job reference have two possible defences against the tort of defamation. If the statements were true they have the defence of “justification”. If the statements were made without malice or recklessness they have the defence of:
qualified privilege
Which one of the following is NOT true?
The termination clause in Joseph’s employment contract does not provide him with as much termination notice, or pay in lieu of notice, as that required by Ontario’s Employment Standards Act. If Joseph is terminated on a without cause basis, the clause is null and void, and Joseph should go to the Ministry of Labour to enforce his rights under the ESA.
