Business & The Law
Law is a balancing act of competing interests guided by a purpose or rationale. What does the law balance?
What are predictability and fairness
Habitual negligence, harassment, immoral conduct that reflects poorly on employer, fraud, and theft are all examples of what would entail ________ for termination?
What is just cause
Employers cannot discriminate based on a protected ground characteristic listed in the Charter or provincial human rights acts, unless it is a ________?
What is a bona fide occupational requirement
Publication of a false statement that refers specifically to the plaintiff and that harms the plaintiff is known as?
What is defamation
What imposes responsibility upon a producer if their products cause harm, even if there was no intention to cause harm?
What are product liability claims
The cost of making mistakes with regards to the law can be very high. What are two common categories of costs that can materialize as a result of making mistakes with regards to the law?
What are reputational costs and financial costs
A common law test that determines if a worker is “integrated” into the organisation is called?
What is an organization test
Employers are obligated to alter the workplace to meet the specific needs of employees. What is this concept referred to as?
What is a duty to accommodate
What form of liability is said to create higher standards of care for positions such as doctors, lawyers and accountants?
What is professional liability
A prudent person being careful
What is a reasonable person
If you are engaged in business, you will be impacted by rules, which inform you of the processes that you can/must follow. As a business professional, considering both the rules and the processes, what aspect of business do they influence?
What is strategy
Your strategy will inform how you respond to a problem, how you try to avoid a problem or can identify an opportunity for innovation and disruption
The compulsory insurance afforded to a worker for injury or illness as a result of their job, available to them even if they are careless or negligent, is referred to as?
What is workers compensation
There is a duty to accommodate until a point of ______.
What is undue hardship
Responsibility for doing something inherently dangerous or risky is known as?
What is strict liability
Even if you did not intend to cause harm, even if you demonstrate that you were taking precautions, it is not enough to avoid liability in this case
Why is it a problem if the legal system is unrealistic and sets the bar too high such that few can meet the standard of care?
What is a lack of attempt to comply
Decisions or cases decided by the courts are to common law as law, rules or regulations created by the government are to _________?
What are statutes
Ie. Criminal Code, Canadian Business Corporations Act, Constitutions Act and Charter of Rights, and provincial laws (BC Employment Standards Act, BC Corporations Act)
Within a contract, restrictions on where and with whom an employee can work upon their termination or departure are referred to as?
What are restrictive covenants
Ie. “non-competition” and “non-solicitation clauses”
What are the three factors to determine if harassment has taken place?
What are the nature of the comments (ie. offensive or jokes), frequency and duration
If you can demonstrate intent for a tort, damages tend to be greater, and may include what type of damages that are reserved only for such cases?
What are punitive damages
When there is evidence that the plaintiff is at fault for part of the problem or loss, the court apportions damages like 75% v. 25%. What is this known as?
What is contributory negligence
Businesses may be held responsible not only for the harm that they caused, but also the harm caused by a person or entity that they are responsible for. What is this concept referred to as?
What is vicarious liability
Suppose that you sign a contract that does not include notice terms. Your coworker signs a contract with shorter notice terms than common law offers, but meets the minimum standards set by statutory rules. Your workplace is unionized. If you and your coworker are both laid off due to budget cuts, what document/contract should you refer to in order to ensure that you are reciving the required notice/pay in-lieu?
What is the collective agreement.
As you are unionized, the collective agreement functions as a contract that outlines the required notice.
Thinking in terms of the process that business professionals follow, why is harassment often not addressed under the law?
What are there exists many disincentives for victims to come forward
Ie. difficult to prove, difficult to be sure of what you can get in terms of damages, reputational harm for an individual, may be unsure of what you want, civil cases may overlap with criminal cases particularly for assault.
What three considerations are most considered for a tort remedy?
What are contributing to the problem, agreeing to the risk and potential consequences, and strangeness or remoteness of the harm suffered
To determine responsibility for negligence, what four conditions must be met?
What are the presence of a duty of care, a relevant standard of care left unmet, whereby unintentional actions caused the harm, that can be proven or measured