Chapter 7 - Workplace Legislation

What are the five types of works that can be copyrighted?

The five types of works that can be copyrighted are literary works, dramatic works, musical works, artistic works and recordings.

What is the key factor when determining whether an employee is legally a whistleblower or illegally a disgruntled employee causing trouble for an employer?

The key factor in designating an employee as a whistleblower as opposed to a disgruntled employee causing trouble is the employee's motivation for revealing confidential company information. If the employee was motivated by professional and ethical reasons then it is deemed to be whistleblowing.

What is the purpose of the Labour Relations Act?

The purpose of the Labour Relations Act is to regulate the relationship between unions and employers. Specifically, the Act deals with the process for the certification and decertification of unions, the collective bargaining process, mandatory grievance arbitration, and the process for strikes and lock-outs. The Act also delineates unfair labour practices.

What is the purpose of the Occupational Health and Safety Act?

The purpose of the Occupational Health and Safety Act is to set out how employees are to be kept safe in the workplace and what happens when accidents happen.

What is the purpose of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act?

The purpose of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act is to provide a no-fault system whereby employers pay into a fund on a regular basis and that fund is used to provide compensation and training to employees and their families who are affected by a workplace accident.

What are the three components to WHIMS?

The three components are a labeling system for controlled and hazardous materials, materials safety data sheets for each material and training and education for employees in the use of the labelling and the data sheets.

What are the three company/management approaches to the environment with respect to engineering work?

A crisis-oriented environmental management devotes as few resources to environmental concerns as possible, except when necessitated by a crisis or getting cited for breaking environmental standards or legislation. A cost-oriented environmental management in which adhering to environmental regulations is considered a cost of doing business by the company, but nothing more. An enlightened environmental management in which environmental concerns are front and centre of what the company does.

List five aspects of the employee-employer relationship governed by the Employment Standards Act. Any of the following:

Making Employment Standards Act information available to employees. Employment record keeping. Payment of wages, including minimum wage. Hours of work and overtime. Vacation time, vacation pay, and public (statutory) holidays. Employment exceptions for retail workers. Benefit plans. Different types of leave including pregnancy leave, parental leave, personal emergency leave, family medical leave, organ donor leave and reservist leave. Termination of employment including giving notice, termination pay and severance pay. Equal pay for equal work. The use of lie detector tests. Employment with exemptions or special rules. How to file a complaint or a claim under the Employment Standards Act. The role of the Ministry of Labour.

What are a Cost Oblivious Approach and a Cost Benefit Analysis Approach to environmental decision-making?

A Cost Oblivious Approach simply disregards cost as a factor in the decision-making process. The decision is made solely based on the environment. A Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) Approach resolves conflict problems between the good of reducing environmental impact and other competing 'social goods' which make demands on economic and social resources.

List three pieces of legislation or sets of codes that might be related to engineering work.

Any of the following: The Canadian Environmental Protection Act The Ontario Environmental Protection Act The Ontario Environmental Bill of Rights The Ontario Green Belt Act The Ontario Building Code Act The Ontario Building Code The Ontario Heritage Act Ontario Municipal Affairs and Housing The Ontario Planning Act The National Fire Code of Canada The Ontario Electrical Safety Code

List two guidelines that an employer might have for employee software use.

Any of the following: The employee will comply with any software or other copyright or licencing laws with respect to the software he or she has access to. The employee will not use pirated copyrighted software. The employee will not augment the software used with externally generated programs or add-ons that potentially could introduce viruses into the company's computer environment.

List two guidelines that an employer might have for employee internet use.

Any of the following: The employee will use the internet for work purposes only, not personal purposes. The employee will not use the internet to generate or receive correspondence or materials that would be construed as fraudulent, illegal, harassing, obscene, indecent, profane or intimidating. The employee will not download from the Internet, and/or circulate among others, any programs or accessories not specifically authorized for use. The employee understands that his or her internet usage is a matter of public record and that no user is assured anonymity regarding their degree of internet usage and the specific sites visited.

What are five areas of discrimination listed in the Ontario Human Rights Code?

Any of the following: race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status and disability.

What are three inappropriate uses of social media that may result in the termination of your employment?

Posting any of the following on social media: Derogatory and harmful comments about colleagues, managers, employers and company products. Company confidential and client confidential information. Incriminating evidence about employee criminal behavior outside of work. Sexually explicit photographs.

Read the case study below and then indicate what Scott should do and why

Scott Bennett is the engineering technician assigned to deal with vendors who supply needed parts to the Upscale Company. Larry Newman, sales representative from one of Upscale's regular vendors, plays in the same golf league as Scott. One evening they go off in the same foursome. Sometime during the round Scott mentions that he is really looking forward to vacationing in Florida next month. Larry says his uncle owns a condo in Florida that he rents out during the months he and his family are up north. Larry offers to see if the condo is available next month -- assuring Scott that the rental cost would be quite moderate. Larry tells Scott he can rent his uncle's condo for $100 a week. "My uncle," Larry says, "gets nervous when he rents to total strangers. He likes to have reliable people stay in his condo; the condo is paid for, and my uncle isn't interested in making money on it -- he just wants a little help meeting basic operating expenses and the taxes." Scott accepts the offer and begins making plans for his vacation. Just before leaving, an Upscale vice president sends out a new policy statement that says, among other things: "Accepting incentives from vendors is strictly prohibited." This answer constitutes a lengthy commentary to help you consider all of the sides of this issue. There is more than one way to answer the question. The key is to understand your reasoning. Commentary #1 from C.E. Harris (Department of Philosophy, Texas A&M University) Scott's problem could be analyzed in either of two ways. First, it could be analyzed as a conflict between his own self-interest and the company's welfare. Second, it could be analyzed as a "line-drawing" problem. That is, it could be analyzed as a problem of determining whether the offer from Larry, the sales representative, constitutes a bribe. We all agree that bribes are wrong, so the question, according to this second mode of analysis, is whether Scott's acceptance of Larry's offer is a bribe--or close enough to a bribe to be morally impermissible. In this case the second mode of analysis seems to have the potential of giving more insight into Scott's problem. In terms of a conflict between mere self-interest and the legitimate claims of the company, most of us would probably say that the company's claims should have priority. The real issue in this case is whether in fact there is such a conflict, and this issue hinges on whether accepting Larry's offer amounts to accepting a bribe. If it does, then Scott's obligations to the company should prohibit his accepting Larry's offer. In order to determine whether Larry's offer should be considered a bribe, it is helpful to consider a standard case of a bribe. Suppose that Larry, who is not one of Scott's regular vendors, offers Scott a $10,000 check if he will specify Larry's products. Suppose, further, that Larry's products are both inferior in quality and more expensive, relative to alternative products. If Scott accepts the money and specifies Larry's products, he is accepting a bribe. This might be considered a standard or paradigm case of a bribe. Few would question the judgment that Scott's accepting this offer would be wrong. Bribes are wrong for a number of reasons. First, they corrupt the capitalist system, because competition would ordinarily lead to a person's buying the product that provides the most desirable combination of price and quality. Second, bribery harms the stockholders of Scott's company, because they are not getting the best product for the price. Third, bribery is unfair to the other vendors who do not offer a bribe. Fourth, bribery tends to corrupt both those who offer bribes and those who accept them. It promotes dishonesty, cynicism about human nature, distrust of others, and a purely economic view of human relationships. Larry's offer to let Scott use his uncle's condo for a minimum fee is not a paradigm case of a bribe. The amount of money involved is probably relatively small, though not insignificant. Furthermore, the offer of a low-rent condo is not made in exchange for any specific promise to purchase particular products. Nevertheless, there are two important similarities to the standard case of a bribe. First, there is the problem of appearances. It would "look bad" if it were generally known that Scott stayed at the condo of a vendor's uncle for such a ridiculously low rent. Most people would suspect, probably rightly, that Scott gave his uncle a check for the difference between the usual rent and Scott's payment. Second, it is reasonable to believe that Scott would feel some obligation to specify Larry's products or at least give them special consideration. Many would argue that these similarities with a standard case of a bribe are sufficient to warrant a judgment that Scott should not take the offer. The directive of Scott's vice president raises the issue of Larry's offer in an interesting way. The directive prohibits accepting "incentives." Is Scott's offer an "incentive" if not an outright bribe? There are certainly important analogies between a true bribe and Larry's offer, although there are also differences. Perhaps, the term "incentive" is the proper word to designate Larry's offer. If so, accepting the offer is contrary to company policy. Commentary #2 from Carl O. Hilgarth (College of Engineering Technologies, Shawnee State University) Beware of any lurking sales representatives, especially when you encounter them outside of normal business related matters. They seem to belong to many of the clubs and sports leagues, chapters or sections of professional societies, or social organizations as their customers. They sponsor attendance prizes and hospitality suites at professional events. They offer to buy you lunch. They offer tickets for sports events and free passes to trade shows. Many send gifts at holidays, leave you coffee mugs, baseball caps, ties, etc. Their spouses try to establish social relationships with your spouse. They're always looking for an opening. It goes on and on. After 25 years as an engineer with purchasing authority, I've become very cautious in my encounters with sales representatives outside of normal business. Larry Newman fits my paradigm, and I must assume that he is in the golf league for business as much as for leisure reasons. That Scott mentioned his upcoming vacation in Florida is natural conversation. That Larry offered to check the availability of his uncle's condo for Scott at a quite moderate rental cost is too much of a coincidence. If I'm in Scott's position, I'll decline the offer even though it's presented in a friendly, offhand manner by explaining to Larry that I don't want do anything that has the potential to cloud the objectivity of our supplier relationship or provide any cause to raise any question regarding a potential conflict of interest. Well, the offer was too good for Scott to decline. So he accepted it and began planning his vacation. Now Scott's company sends out a new policy that says among other things: "Accepting incentives from vendors is strictly prohibited." I'll bet that Scott's first reaction will be that since the use of the condo was offered outside of the business relationship, it does not count as an incentive. But what does the company define as an incentive? Usually it is anything having a value of $25 or more. Does the rental cost price break fall into this category? Perhaps. If I were Scott, I wouldn't want to find out the hard way. So at this point I would tell Larry that due to the new company policy, my stay at the condo could be construed as an incentive, explaining that I don't want do anything that has the potential to cloud the objectivity of our supplier relationship or provide any cause to raise any question regarding a potential conflict of interest. With the loosely worded policy that doesn't define incentives, it's important to avoid even any appearance of impropriety. Make it your own rule not to accept anything from a vendor that costs more than $25 on the open market.

What are the five types of intellectual property?

The five types of intellectual property are copyright, trade-mark, patent, industrial design and integrated circuit topography.