Scenario Y Flashcards
Morgan has been employed by Consigna Inc. for the past 12 years as director of business development. Although she is generally happy at Consigna, she was recently passed over for a promotion she believes she deserved and is considering leaving Consigna to pursue another opportunity. Morgan receives a call from Tom, senior vice president of manufacturing for Green Thumb Organics, a manufacturer and distributor of health products. Green Thumb is a large organization with offices throughout the world; it is seeking a director of business development. Morgan meets Tom to discuss the potential position. Tom explains that Green Thumb has secured a $15 million investment from a firm in the United States to launch a new product and that Morgan would be in charge of the entire marketing campaign. Morgan accepts the position with Green Thumb and Tom asks her to start work in 2 weeks. They verbally agree on the job duties and salary and shake hands. Morgan gives 2 weeks’ notice at Consigna. Shortly after Morgan starts working at Green Thumb, she receives an email from Tom. He explains that he should have asked Morgan to sign a contract. He sends her a contract that outlines the conditions of employment they had discussed. It also contains a provision that limits Morgan’s entitlement on termination without just cause to the minimum amounts and entitlements set out in the Employment Standards Act, 2000. Morgan signs it. Three months after she started, Morgan is told she will be terminated without cause. When she asks for an explanation, she is told that the new product is being cancelled. When Morgan asks Tom what happened to the investors, he says they had told him a few days before he hired her that they were not certain about signing the agreement and they “would be looking into other options.” Which of the following accurately describes Morgan’s termination entitlement? a. Morgan’s entitlement is limited to the minimum amounts and terms set out in the Employment Standards Act, 2000, because her written contract provides only the minimum entitlements. b. Morgan’s entitlement is limited to the minimum amounts and terms set out in the Employment Standards Act, 2000, regardless of the contract she signed. c. Morgan is entitled to reasonable notice of termination under common law.
Correct answer is C: Morgan is entitled to reasonable notice of termination under common law. The employer must provide fresh consideration to alter the terms of the employment contract. There is no fresh consideration being provided to Morgan on the facts of this scenario. Therefore the oral employment contract would govern (a contract which was silent on her benefits under the ESA which entitles her to benefits available at common law).
Morgan has been employed by Consigna Inc. for the past 12 years as director of business development. Although she is generally happy at Consigna, she was recently passed over for a promotion she believes she deserved and is considering leaving Consigna to pursue another opportunity. Morgan receives a call from Tom, senior vice president of manufacturing for Green Thumb Organics, a manufacturer and distributor of health products. Green Thumb is a large organization with offices throughout the world; it is seeking a director of business development. Morgan meets Tom to discuss the potential position. Tom explains that Green Thumb has secured a $15 million investment from a firm in the United States to launch a new product and that Morgan would be in charge of the entire marketing campaign. Morgan accepts the position with Green Thumb and Tom asks her to start work in 2 weeks. They verbally agree on the job duties and salary and shake hands. Morgan gives 2 weeks’ notice at Consigna. Shortly after Morgan starts working at Green Thumb, she receives an email from Tom. He explains that he should have asked Morgan to sign a contract. He sends her a contract that outlines the conditions of employment they had discussed. It also contains a provision that limits Morgan’s entitlement on termination without just cause to the minimum amounts and entitlements set out in the Employment Standards Act, 2000. Morgan signs it. Three months after she started, Morgan is told she will be terminated without cause. When she asks for an explanation, she is told that the new product is being cancelled. When Morgan asks Tom what happened to the investors, he says they had told him a few days before he hired her that they were not certain about signing the agreement and they “would be looking into other options.” Morgan is angry that Tom had implied that the investment funding had been finalized. She consults a lawyer to determine whether she has a right to legal action. Which of the following claims would be most appropriate in Morgan’s situation? a. Inducement b. Constructive dismissal c. Negligent misrepresentation
Correct answer is C: Negligent misrepresentation The facts outline in the question support the five (5) elements that are necessary to prove a claim of negligent misrepresentation. Five general requirements: (1) there must be a duty of care based on a “special relationship” between the representor and the representee; (2) the representation in question must be untrue, inaccurate, or misleading; (3) the representor must have acted negligently in making said misrepresentation; (4) the representee must have relied, in a reasonable manner, on said negligent misrepresentation; and (5) the reliance must have been detrimental to the representee in the sense that damages resulted.
Morgan has been employed by Consigna Inc. for the past 12 years as director of business development. Although she is generally happy at Consigna, she was recently passed over for a promotion she believes she deserved and is considering leaving Consigna to pursue another opportunity. Morgan receives a call from Tom, senior vice president of manufacturing for Green Thumb Organics, a manufacturer and distributor of health products. Green Thumb is a large organization with offices throughout the world; it is seeking a director of business development. Morgan meets Tom to discuss the potential position. Tom explains that Green Thumb has secured a $15 million investment from a firm in the United States to launch a new product and that Morgan would be in charge of the entire marketing campaign. Morgan accepts the position with Green Thumb and Tom asks her to start work in 2 weeks. They verbally agree on the job duties and salary and shake hands. Morgan gives 2 weeks’ notice at Consigna. Shortly after Morgan starts working at Green Thumb, she receives an email from Tom. He explains that he should have asked Morgan to sign a contract. He sends her a contract that outlines the conditions of employment they had discussed. It also contains a provision that limits Morgan’s entitlement on termination without just cause to the minimum amounts and entitlements set out in the Employment Standards Act, 2000. Morgan signs it. Three months after she started, Morgan is told she will be terminated without cause. When she asks for an explanation, she is told that the new product is being cancelled. When Morgan asks Tom what happened to the investors, he says they had told him a few days before he hired her that they were not certain about signing the agreement and they “would be looking into other options.” Morgan informs the vice president of HR, Natalie, during the termination meeting that one of her co-workers sexually harassed her. Morgan said she did not report it sooner because she was new to Green Thumb and was worried she would be fired. What should Natalie do first? a. Since the complaint was first raised in the termination meeting, Natalie should put the complaint in a file and refer to it if any current employee of Green Thumb makes a similar complaint against the co-worker. b. Obtain further information from Morgan about her allegations and then investigate whether the sexual harassment took place. c. Immediately put the accused co-worker on probation for 3 months and inform him that this is because of an interpersonal conflict he had with a co-worker that was recently brought to the company’s attention.
Correct answer is B: Obtain further information from Morgan about her allegations and then investigate whether the sexual harassment took place. The Tribunal’s jurisprudence has confirmed that employers have a duty to take “reasonable steps” to address and investigate allegations of harassment or discrimination.
Morgan has been employed by Consigna Inc. for the past 12 years as director of business development. Although she is generally happy at Consigna, she was recently passed over for a promotion she believes she deserved and is considering leaving Consigna to pursue another opportunity. Morgan receives a call from Tom, senior vice president of manufacturing for Green Thumb Organics, a manufacturer and distributor of health products. Green Thumb is a large organization with offices throughout the world; it is seeking a director of business development. Morgan meets Tom to discuss the potential position. Tom explains that Green Thumb has secured a $15 million investment from a firm in the United States to launch a new product and that Morgan would be in charge of the entire marketing campaign. Morgan accepts the position with Green Thumb and Tom asks her to start work in 2 weeks. They verbally agree on the job duties and salary and shake hands. Morgan gives 2 weeks’ notice at Consigna. Shortly after Morgan starts working at Green Thumb, she receives an email from Tom. He explains that he should have asked Morgan to sign a contract. He sends her a contract that outlines the conditions of employment they had discussed. It also contains a provision that limits Morgan’s entitlement on termination without just cause to the minimum amounts and entitlements set out in the Employment Standards Act, 2000. Morgan signs it. Three months after she started, Morgan is told she will be terminated without cause. When she asks for an explanation, she is told that the new product is being cancelled. When Morgan asks Tom what happened to the investors, he says they had told him a few days before he hired her that they were not certain about signing the agreement and they “would be looking into other options.” Tom’s manager is not happy with the way Tom handled Morgan’s hiring. Specifically, he is concerned that Morgan was not provided with Green Thumb’s standard employment contract before her first day of work. Which form of discipline presents the least legal risk for Green Thumb? a. Advise Tom that he will not receive his usual annual 15% bonus this year. b. Maintain Tom’s pay and benefits, but demote him to a position of lesser responsibility that has no supervisory duties. c. Send Tom a written warning outlining the company’s concerns, send him to mandatory HR training on policy compliance, and inform him that if he does not show improvement he will be disciplined further.
Correct answer is C: Send Tom a written warning outlining the company’s concerns, send him to mandatory HR training on policy compliance, and inform him that if he does not show improvement he will be disciplined further. This would achieve the objectives of outlining the Company’s performance concerns while continuing Tom in Green Thumbs employ. There would be no legal risk to the Company in this scenario.
Morgan has been employed by Consigna Inc. for the past 12 years as director of business development. Although she is generally happy at Consigna, she was recently passed over for a promotion she believes she deserved and is considering leaving Consigna to pursue another opportunity. Morgan receives a call from Tom, senior vice president of manufacturing for Green Thumb Organics, a manufacturer and distributor of health products. Green Thumb is a large organization with offices throughout the world; it is seeking a director of business development. Morgan meets Tom to discuss the potential position. Tom explains that Green Thumb has secured a $15 million investment from a firm in the United States to launch a new product and that Morgan would be in charge of the entire marketing campaign. Morgan accepts the position with Green Thumb and Tom asks her to start work in 2 weeks. They verbally agree on the job duties and salary and shake hands. Morgan gives 2 weeks’ notice at Consigna. Shortly after Morgan starts working at Green Thumb, she receives an email from Tom. He explains that he should have asked Morgan to sign a contract. He sends her a contract that outlines the conditions of employment they had discussed. It also contains a provision that limits Morgan’s entitlement on termination without just cause to the minimum amounts and entitlements set out in the Employment Standards Act, 2000. Morgan signs it. Three months after she started, Morgan is told she will be terminated without cause. When she asks for an explanation, she is told that the new product is being cancelled. When Morgan asks Tom what happened to the investors, he says they had told him a few days before he hired her that they were not certain about signing the agreement and they “would be looking into other options.” Tom’s manager advises him of the disciplinary measures. Tom does not take the news well. He says that he has been under a lot of stress lately and that the disciplinary actions are unfair. He leaves and returns a few minutes later with a letter of resignation. He packs up his belongings, leaves his keys, and storms out of the office. The next day, Tom calls his manager and apologizes, saying that he discussed the resignation with his spouse and he would like to withdraw his resignation and return to work. Tom’s manager does not wish to accept the withdrawal because he is concerned about Tom’s behaviour. Tom’s manager consults Natalie in HR for advice. What should she advise? a. Tom’s resignation is legally binding. b. Tom’s resignation would likely not be upheld in a law court. c. Tom’s manager should request a psychological assessment prior to allowing Tom to return to work.
Correct answer is B: Tom’s resignation would likely not be upheld in a law court. The resignation was tendered in the heat of the moment and was quickly withdrawn. It is unlikely that the resignation will be found to be legally enforceable. There was also no acceptance of the resignation.
