Course

Human Resources Law

Important Notice

This course is not active. Please contact Department Chair for more information.

Faculty
Commerce & Business Administration
Department
Business
Course code
BUSN 3750
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15
Max class size
35
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
This course will provide students with a review of statutory and common law sources of employment law, with a particular emphasis on the scope of employee protections available under employment standards and human rights legislation. Students will also gain a strong understanding of the extent of employee and employer rights and potential liabilities where the employment relationship is terminated (whether by the employee or the employer).
Course content
  1. Introduction to Employment Law
    1. constitutional jurisdiction over employment law
    2. applicability and relevance of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
    3. common law and statutory sources of employment law
    4. employment relationships as compared with that of independent contractors and agents
    5. common law contract concepts, including consideration, unconscionability, obsolescence,ambiguity and contra proferentum, as well as restrictive covenants
  2. Human Rights
    1. British Columbia Human Rights Code
    2. prohibited grounds of discrimination
    3. human rights concerns in the context of job postings and evaluation of candidates for employment
    4. duty to accommodate, and notion of bona fide occupational requirements
    5. employment equity
  3. Employment Standards
    1. applicability of British Columbia Employment Standards Act
    2. statutory minimum standards
    3. statutory termination notice
    4. complaints process under the Employment Standards Act
  4. Occupational Health and Safety, and Worker’s Compensation
    1. claims process under British Columbia Worker’s Compensation Act
    2. rights and responsibilities of employers and employees (including supervisors) under the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, including the rights of employees to be made aware of workplace hazards and to refuse to perform unsafe work
    3. availability and scope of the defence of due diligence with respect to contraventions of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation
  5. Privacy
    1. applicability of British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and Personal Information Protection Act
    2. obligations owed by employers to employees regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of employee personal information
  6. Termination of Employment Relationship
    1. wrongful resignation
    2. progressive discipline
    3. condonation
    4. grounds for just cause for dismissal
    5. wrongful dismissal, including calculation of damages
    6. constructive dismissal
    7. duty of mitigation
Learning activities

Lectures, seminars, videos, analysis of legal issues, discussion of legal cases, case assignments, and group activities

Means of assessment

Term Tests (2)

 30-50%
Assignments 10-25%
Participation  0-10%
Final Examination 25-35%
  100%
Learning outcomes

 The successful student will be able to:

  1. summarize the differences and similarities between employment relationships, independent contractor relationships, and agency relationships;

  2. recognize basic common law principles applicable to employment law;

  3. identify fundamental human rights concepts that commonly arise in the employment context;

  4. describe fundamental employee rights and protections provided under the Employment Standards Act and applicable privacy legislation;

  5. explain employee and employer rights and obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, as well as the claims process under the Worker’s Compensation Act; and

  6. demonstrate a strong understanding of employer and employee rights and potential liabilities (including appreciation of damages concepts) in the context of termination of the employment relationship.

Textbook materials

McKay, Gail, B. Gaetz, K. Filsinger, T. Harris, and K. Williams-Whitt, Employment Law for Business and Human Resources Professionals: Alberta and British Columbia. Latest Edition, (Toronto: Edmond Montgomery Publications)

Other textbooks or custom course packages as determined by the Business Law Department.

Additional cases and readings decided by the Instructor.

Requisites

Prerequisites

30 credits OR instructor approval OR active in the:
PBD Advanced Human Resource Management;
PDD Human Resource Management; or
PDD Business Law.

Corequisites

Nil

Equivalencies

Nil

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer details for BUSN 3750
There are no applicable transfer credits for this course.

Course Offerings

Winter 2025