The Optional Written Assignment
Hello. I have posted the optional written assignment, which is due on April 2nd. It is posted under the Assignment tab at the top of the blog.
Archive for February 2012
Update for Reading Week
Hi everyone.
Next week is reading week. Normally, I wouldn’t post a new lecture during that week. However, I will post Lecture 6 on Tuesday of next week (Feb. 21) in case you want to do some ‘reading’ and also because I am out of the country on February 27th, which would be the usual day to post the next lecture. So, in short, I will post a new lecture next week, but not the week after. We will return to a normal schedule of a new lecture each Monday as of March 5, when I post Lecture 7.
The midterms are being graded and the marks will be posted prior to the course drop date of March 9. I expect the grades to be posted around March 7. A broadcast email will go out to the class advising once the grades have been posted. They are posted on the formal course website, not this blog. You will be told where to find the marks. The midterms will be left at the School of HRM in room 123 of Atkinson Building after they have been graded and the marks posted. If you are off campus, and unable to pick up your test, let me know (send me an email after the grades have been posted), and someone will get the test to you.
The Optional Assignment will be posted on the blog next week. It will be due on April 2. You will submit it through the Distance Office assignment submission processs, which will be explained on the assignment sheet.
If you missed the midterm due to illness and submit a properly completed Physician’s form to the School of HRM (123 Atkinson Building), you will be graded according to scheme described on the Course Outline. You MUST write the written assignment, since otherwise you would have had to write a 100 percent final exam, which is not permitted.
Enjoy your reading week. Cheers, David
When Citing a Case on a Test or Exam
Hi all. If a test question asks you to explain or refer to any relevant cases, you do not need to recite a long description of the case. However, you should be able to show that you know what happened in the case, why it is relevant to your answer, and what the outcome or decision in the case was.
For example, if you were explaining the case Seneca College v. Bhaduaria, which we looked in the second case, you would want to say something like this.
“In Bhandauria v. Seneca College, the worker had been denied jobs at Seneca College and she believed it was due to her ethnicity. She sued the College and argued that she had been discriminated against. The Supreme Court ruled that there was no “tort”, or legal basis under the common law to sue for discrimination in the formation of a contract. The Court said that discrimination in employment contracts has to be dealt with by filing a human rights complaint under the Human Rights Code, not by filing a lawsuit in a common law court.”
Presumably, if you were explaining this case, it would be because you think it helps explain your answer to the question on the test. Therefore, you should have a sentence or two explaining why the decision you just described supports your answer. For example, if the test question gave you a fact scenario that explained that an employee had sued her employer for discrimination on the basis of sex in a lawsuit filed in a court, and you were asked to advise the employer on how to respond to the lawsuit, you might say something like this:
“Therefore, I would advise the employer to argue in its defence that the court should dismiss (throw out) the lawsuit on the basis of the ruling in Bhadauria.”
That would be a very good answer. The key is to show us that you recognize what case(s) are relevant to the legal problem you are considering, and that you understand basically what happened in the case, and how it helps answer the problem you are given.
Hopes that helps. David
Midterm Format
Hello. As I have posted earlier, the information for the midterm is as follows:
Date: Monday February 13th
Time: 7 – 9 p.m
Place: Curtis Lecture Hall G
If you are writing from a location out of town, please make your arrangements with the Distance Education office: disted@yorku.ca. I am not involved in making those arrangements personally. As noted on the outline, there is no alternate sitting for this midterm. If you have a direct conflict (another test at the same time, please let me know).
Format
The midterm will have 10 multiple choice questions, and 5 Short Answer questions worth 10 marks each. Here are sample questions of each type:
Sample Multiple Choice Question:
Choose the answer the best responds to the question.
1. The “common law of employment”:
a. describes the terms written into an employment contract
b. applies only to unionized workplaces
c. describes the rules that emerge from the decisions of judges over time
d. prohibits discrimination in the hiring process
e. Both (b) and (c)
Sample Short Answer Question
John is offered a job with Starbucks and starts work on September 1st, without having signed a written contract. On September 20th, the manager gives him what he calls a ‘standard Starbucks employment contract’, and asks him to sign it. John scans it quickly, and sees a part of it that allows the employer to fire him at any time by giving him 2 week’s notice. John signs it, because he needs the job. Three years later, John is dismissed and the employer gives him 2 week’s notice as per the written contract term. John thinks that is too little notice, but acknowledges he signed the contract. He comes to you to ask if there is anyway he can get ‘more money from Starbucks”.
Advise John of any legal arguments he could make under the common law (in a court) to get around the contract notice term he signed. Be sure to refer to any relevant cases discussed in class. Note: The Employment Standards Act requires that an employer provide at least 3 weeks’ notice to an employee with 3 years’ service.
If you have a midterm conflict
If you have a direct conflict with the midterm (you have another test at the same time), please contact Joanne at sequeira@yorku.ca in the School of HRM office. She is arranging for an alternate time for conflicted students.
Thank you, David