Employment Law Assignment: Wrongful Dismissal, Independent Contractor vs. Employee, and Tort Liabili

Case A Questions

You must write the assignment using your own words and using your own original thinking or analysis.
If you use any secondary sources (work published by an author on websites, or in books, journals or magazines) they should be there to support your own original words and thoughts, not to replace them  
If you use secondary sources you must use the 3-step process of citation:
1) put quotation marks (“  “) around the text that is from another source
2) put in-text references in brackets following the citation and using the APA citation style
3) put a Reference List at the end of your assignment giving a detailed and alphabetized description of your secondary sources listed according to APA style requirements
You must take these steps to protect your own work:
1.Do not share your assignment with anyone! If you give a classmate your work to look at even if you have not given them the permission to copy, you have participated in plagiarism and will be charged for it!
2.Change your Schoology password so that it does not match your Hanson Student ID number. If you fail to do so and someone gets access to your Schoology account and copies your work, you will still earn a plagiarism/cheating charge for enabling it to happen.
3.Protect your digital devices: if you share a computer/tablet with others, make sure that you have a separate login just for yourself and/or store your work on an external memory device like a usb. If you do not do so and someone copies your work, you will still earn a plagiarism/cheating charge for enabling it to happen.

Laura came to see you, an employment lawyer. You start a lawsuit against Bull Enterprises for wrongful dismissal. In court, Bull’s lawyer states that Laura’s poor performance caused the company to experience financial loss, and therefore she was terminated with just cause, and is not entitled to any pay under the Employment Standards Act, or the common law. Consider your response to the judge.
Case A Questions:
Discuss the law surrounding wrongful dismissal, considering Bob and the lawyer’s statements about the reason for Laura’s termination: Did the company have any just cause to fire her? Is there any evidence in Laura’s record that her poor performance caused the company’s losses, or that she was insubordinate? 
According to the Employment Standards Act (ESA), how many weeks of notice must the company give Laura, if there is no just cause? 
Furthermore, discuss whether the company will be required to pay Laura any additional notice based on common law factors, beyond the amount required by the ESA.
Explain your answers to the questions above using the information from Working in BC (a guide to the ESA) and Employment Law Video Lecture Video Lectures pt. 1 & 2.
Case B—Background:
Harpreet, the owner of a new studio called Pottery Palace, verbally offered Ravi a full-time contract. Harpreet planned to manage the business affairs of the studio, while employing two workers: Sam, who answered the telephone and sold pottery in the shop, and Ravi, who would work in the studio behind the shop, designing and making all of the pottery that would be sold in the shop. Ravi would use the kiln, clay, dyes, and other tools provided by Harpreet, working at the studio every day from 8:30 am-4:30 pm, according to the schedule Harpreet provided him.
Ravi worked for five weeks without receiving any pay. One day he asked Harpreet when she would pay him. She paused for a moment, and said, “Give me a moment.” Ten minutes later, she gave Ravi a cheque with a typed pay stub showing the gross pay, but no deductions for Income Tax, Employment Insurance, or Canada Pension Plan contributions. He asked Harpreet about this, and she stated that this was because Ravi was a contractor, and not an employee. Ravi was surprised as he had been under the impression since hiring that he was an employee. 
Ravi decides to consult you, an employment lawyer, to see whether he is an employee or an independent contractor, and what rights he has under the law.
Case B—Questions:
According to the law, is Ravi an independent contractor or an employee? Explain by applying both the Four-Part Test and the Organization Test, as described in Employment Law Video Lecture Video Lecture pt. 1.
Is Pottery Palace required to follow the Employment Standards Act (ESA) when paying Ravi? Explain whether Pottery Palace has broken any laws regarding paying Ravi on time.
Is Pottery Palace required by law to deduct Ravi’s Income Tax, Employment Insurance, and Canada Pension Plan contributions from his paycheque? Why or why not?
Explain your answers to the questions above using the information from Working in BC (a guide to the ESA) and Employment Law Video Lecture Video Lectures pt. 1 & 2.
Case C Background:
Maya worked full-time at a bookstore in Toronto for five years, earning $20.00/hour, with health and dental benefits. Upon reading an advertisement for a full-time position as Store Manager at Paige’s Books, a popular chain with locations across the city of Burnaby, BC, Maya decided to apply. The job advertisement listed an annual salary of $60,000, plus medical and dental benefits that would begin after completing the first 6 months of employment. 
Maya applied online, and after a successful Zoom interview, was hired for the job. The Human Resources Director, Geoff Beatty, told her that she would be managing a staff of 12 cashiers and making hiring and budget related decisions, starting June 1st. This information was confirmed in a written agreement Geoff sent her by e-mail. 
She gave notice to her Toronto employers on May 1st, 2021, and worked for two more weeks until May 15th. She sold her apartment and many of her belongings, hired a moving company to ship her larger furniture and belongings to Burnaby, and drove West across the Rocky Mountains in a rental van with her dog and the rest of her possessions. The process of moving took two weeks, during which she did not receive any pay, and paid for her expenses out of pocket.

Case C Questions: 
Has the employer committed a tort by wrongly describing the duties and salary to Maya? Please name and explain the meaning of any torts that apply to this case.
Describe all of the financial losses Maya has suffered as a result of accepting this contract. Consider her lost income, benefits, and other expenses. Which of these costs might Paige’s Books be liable for?
Did Maya receive the current minimum wage (as of June 1, 2021) for her one day of work, and was her employer allowed to deduct the cost of Maya’s uniform from her pay? 
Explain your answers to the questions above using the information from Working in BC (a guide to the ESA) and Employment Law Video Lecture Video Lectures pt. 1 & 2.