The Supreme Court of Canada has acknowledged that the contract of employment is “unique”, and governs a “special relationship” between the employer and the individual non-unionized employee. This course will explore central issues and themes in employment law, and will focus on the following topics: 1) the formation of the employment contract; 2) employee or independent contractor?; 3) who is the employer?; 4) the impact of legislation upon the employment relationship (The course will focus on employment standards, pay equity, and human rights legislation); 5) termination of the employment relationship including wrongful dismissal, just cause termination; 6) the rights and remedies available to employees (including a comparison of the federal statutory regime with the provincial regime). If time permits, there will be a discussion of issues pertaining to employees with disabilities including a discussion of the workers’ compensation and occupational health and safety legislative regimes.
