Assignment task:
An employer owns an ice-cream store franchise in a busy location. There are between one and three employees working in the store during each of two daily shifts, depending on the expected volume of business. The first shift of the day ends at 5 p.m. The business has nine employees.
Easter Monday is a beautiful day. Temperatures reach over 15°C for the first time that spring, and the ice-cream store is very busy. Marcia, a mother of one who has been employed full-time by the store for four years, is working the early shift alone, and is frustrated because business is very heavy. She anxiously awaits the arrival of Stephanie, scheduled to take over for the second shift. By 5:20, Stephanie has not arrived. Marcia calls her employer to say that Stephanie is missing and that she has to leave to be in time to pick up her son from day care by 6:00. The employer tells Marcia she can't leave until Stephanie arrives. At 5:35, Marcia calls again, and is given the same message.
At 5:45, Marcia, needing to pick up her son, locks the front door of the store, serves the customers still in line, and then closes the store, leaving at 5:50. The next day her employer calls and tells her that she's fired.
a.) Was Marcia entitled to close the business early on such a busy day? Could she be held liable to her employer for loss of revenue? Explain.
b.) Did the employer have just cause to terminate Marcia for leaving against orders? Why or why not?
c.) Does the employer have just cause to terminate Stephanie? Why or why not?
d.) If Marcia was dismissed without just cause, how much notice is she entitled to under the Ontario Employment Standards Act?
e.) How much notice might Marcia be awarded if she sued under common law? What factors would be taken into account in determining her notice entitlement?