Scenario G Flashcards
Alberta has just started as a junior HR officer at the Toronto Shoe Heritage Museum. So far she has been fortunate and has not had to deal with any terminations. However, when she comes to work one Monday morning, she is informed that Janice, a long-time cashier in the museum gift shop, has been caught stealing. Footage from the gift shop’s security camera shows Janice removing cash from the till and pocketing it. When the gift shop manager confronted Janice about it, however, Janice denied taking the money. Janice has been a good employee and has a clean disciplinary record. The gift shop manager asks Alberta for her assistance in determining the most appropriate course of action. As this is Alberta’s first time dealing with the potential termination of an employee, she wants to make sure she gets everything right and decides to look to the established jurisprudence for help. What legal principles should Alberta consider when determining whether there is just cause to terminate Janice? a) Justification, context, and restitution. b) Proportionality, context, and prior progressive discipline. c) Prior history, context, and remorse.
The answer is b. Proportionality, context, and prior progressive discipline. Functional Area: A1 Rationale(s): A is incorrect. These are not legal principles in this context. B is correct. Proportionality and context must be used to determine whether there is just cause for dismissal on the basis of dishonesty, but where the just cause is for theft, progressive discipline should also be considered. C is incorrect. Although these factors would be considered, they would not be the legal principles used to determine whether an employer has just cause to terminate for dishonesty. Reference(s) McKinley v. BC Tel, 2001 SCC 38.
Alberta has just started as a junior HR officer at the Toronto Shoe Heritage Museum. So far she has been fortunate and has not had to deal with any terminations. However, when she comes to work one Monday morning, she is informed that Janice, a long-time cashier in the museum gift shop, has been caught stealing. Footage from the gift shop’s security camera shows Janice removing cash from the till and pocketing it. When the gift shop manager confronted Janice about it, however, Janice denied taking the money. Janice has been a good employee and has a clean disciplinary record. The gift shop manager asks Alberta for her assistance in determining the most appropriate course of action. As this is Alberta’s first time dealing with the potential termination of an employee, she wants to make sure she gets everything right and decides to look to the established jurisprudence for help. Alberta remembers a landmark case dealing with dishonesty that discusses the relevant legal principles. Which of the following is that landmark case? a) McKinley v. BC Tel b) Bardal v. The Globe and Mail c) Kilpatrick v. Peterborough Civic Hospital
The answer is a. McKinley v. BC Tel Functional Area: A1 Rationale(s): A is correct. This is the case that lays out proportionality and context. B is incorrect. This case deals with factors that influence the amount of notice a terminated employee is entitled to. C is incorrect. This case deals with inducement and the effect it has on notice of termination. Reference(s) McKinley v. BC Tel, 2001 SCC 38.
Alberta has just started as a junior HR officer at the Toronto Shoe Heritage Museum. So far she has been fortunate and has not had to deal with any terminations. However, when she comes to work one Monday morning, she is informed that Janice, a long-time cashier in the museum gift shop, has been caught stealing. Footage from the gift shop’s security camera shows Janice removing cash from the till and pocketing it. When the gift shop manager confronted Janice about it, however, Janice denied taking the money. Janice has been a good employee and has a clean disciplinary record. The gift shop manager asks Alberta for her assistance in determining the most appropriate course of action. As this is Alberta’s first time dealing with the potential termination of an employee, she wants to make sure she gets everything right and decides to look to the established jurisprudence for help. Although the camera footage is clear, Janice continues to deny stealing from the cash register and claims it was another employee. After considering the legal principles and the evidence, what action should Alberta recommend? a) Since this is the first incident on Janice’s record, Alberta should recommend progressive discipline. b) Since Janice has not admitted to taking the money, Alberta should recommend termination without cause. c) Since the incident is a significant breach of trust, Alberta should recommend termination with cause.
The answer is c. Since the incident is a significant breach of trust, Alberta should recommend termination with cause. Functional Area: B2 Rationale(s): A is incorrect. Stealing from the till as a cashier and lying about it when confronted is likely to be considered a fundamental breach of the employment contract and a breach of the trust that must exist between employer and employee. Progressive discipline would likely not be appropriate, or enough to restore this lost trust, especially since factors that would militate against termination with cause (such as acknowledgement by the employee of their wrongful activities) are absent here. B is incorrect. Given the breach of trust and breach of contract that has occurred the museum likely has justifiable cause to terminate Janice. C is correct. There is a fundamental breach of the employment contract, which damages the trust that must exist between employer and employee, especially as Janice’s continued lie indicates a lack of remorse. Given this, her employer can likely terminate Janice with cause. Reference(s) McKinley v. BC Tel, 2001 SCC 38.
