Employment Law Assignment 2

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BUAD 374 Employment Law – Fall 2019

Assignment #2:

This assignment will be marked out of 10. It is due on Friday, November 29,

2019.

Wendell was a journeyman plumber in his mid-thirties who had worked without

disciplinary incident for some ten years in a non-union position at The Flush

Fanatic Faucet Factory Ltd. in Kelowna. Terry, the firm’s HR director, had

worked long and hard to find hard-working employees for the firm’s owner, Paul

Plungerpusher. Still, the plumbing services business was highly competitive, and

if one firm could not answer a call, the prospective customer was sure to find

another firm to do the work.

Wendell was an avid ten-pin bowler. He bowled on several teams in several local

leagues. He also participated on occasion in cash competitions held at various

alleys throughout the Okanagan Valley.

One day, Wendell approached Terry to say that a particularly prestigious bowling

tournament was soon to take place at a local alley, but it was on a work day.

Wendell told Terry that he wanted to bowl at the event, and if he won he would

donate the cash proceeds, approximately $1000, to the firm’s party fund. Wendell

said that his chances of winning were very good, and in return for his pledge to the

party fund, he wondered if Terry would give him the day off in order that he could

bowl at the event.

Terry thought that Wendell’s request was silly, and while he was polite to Wendell,

he told him that he could not give him the day off – the firm was simply too busy.

Wendell stormed off. It was obvious he was not happy with Terry’s decision.

A few weeks later Terry received a text message on his smartphone a few minutes

before the start of work on a workday. The text was from Wendell. It said that he

was “sick with the flu,” and that he would not be in at work that day. Terry was

upset, because there were several service calls that had been scheduled for Wendell

that day and the firm was already short-staffed.

As Terry was thinking how he would try to make up for Wendell’s absence, he

recollected Wendell’s comment about the bowling tourney. After performing

some research on some local social media platforms, Terry learned that the

tournament Wendell had been talking about was scheduled for that very day.

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During his lunch break that day, Terry decided to drive over to the bowling alley

where the tournament was taking place. Entering the alley, Terry saw Wendell

engaged in a close game with another opponent. To Terry, Wendell appeared

perfectly fit. He did not appear sick at all. After watching Wendell hit several

strikes and then dance a celebratory jig, Terry left the alley.

The next day, when Wendell attended at work, Terry asked him to join him in his

office. After Wendell closed the door, Terry described his seeing Wendell bowling

the day before, at a time when he was supposed to be “sick.” Terry told Wendell

that the firm had had to pass up several valuable service calls due to Wendell’s

absence from work. Terry said that the owner, Paul, was furious. Terry asked

Wendell for an explanation.

Wendell immediately produced ten, crisp, new hundred dollar bills from his wallet.

He said that he had won the tournament, and that he had planned to surprise Terry

with his winnings, so they could be deposited into the firm’s party fund. He also

said that he was indeed too “sick” to do the type of dirty, physical work that

exposed him to the sewage and other bacteria that was a common feature of his

plumbing work, but that he was able to manage his flu symptoms while bowling

because it was an entirely recreational activity. Wendell also said that he thought a

day of “light exercise,” without exposure to the stresses of his work, would cure

him faster than spending the day in bed.

Terry asked for a doctor’s note from Wendell. Wendell said he had not been sick

enough to see his doctor. He said he’d had a bad night the night before the

tourney, and he’d felt poorly during the day, but he had been able to “push

through” his symptoms. Wendell said that he’d got a good night’s sleep thereafter,

and he was “feeling much better” now.

Terry ended the interview and sent Wendell back to his duties. He then sat down

to contemplate what recommendation he should make to Paul regarding discipline,

if any, for Wendell, and especially whether Wendell should be dismissed.

Assume you are Terry. Prepare an opinion letter for Paul. It should be 5-6 pages

long, inclusive of any cover page, using 12 point type, and 1.5 line spacing. It

should also include references to, and a discussion of, at least five legal authorities,

apart from your textbook, that would be applicable to the issues raised in this case.

At least three of those authorities must be judgments of courts or tribunals that

would be binding in British Columbia.

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The letter should be in the form that you would deliver to a boss if you were sitting

in Terry’s shoes in this real world example. It should be a professional piece of

work. You will know, for example, that if there is litigation resulting from your

decision relating to Wendell, your letter may be disclosed to him, and to the

decision-maker adjudicating the matter, during the course of those proceedings.

You will need to identify the specific legal issues that Paul needs to address in his

decision regarding Wendell, as well as the legal tests that courts and tribunals will

apply in British Columbia in order to resolve them.

You will also need to set out a plan of action for Paul in order for him to meet his

legal obligations in this case. That plan of action must discuss in detail the legal

issues, and the legal tests that are applicable to the situation presented. You will

also need to communicate precise recommendations to Paul, and give convincing

reasons for them, having regard to the relevant legal principles.

Please submit your assignment to Turnitin by midnight on November 29,

2019. Instructions for uploading your assignment (as a Word document only,

not a PDF) have been posted in the Moodle shell for this course.

Please note that I will deduct one full mark from the final grade for this

assignment for every day the assignment is submitted late.

Please note further that all students must prepare and submit this assignment

in order to pass the course.