Overview
Welcome to HRMT 322: Employment Law. This three-credit, senior-level course introduces you to the branch of Canadian law that governs relations between employers and employees, primarily in non-unionized workplaces. The course is designed to provide you with practical knowledge of employment law derived from three sources: constitutional law, common law, and statutory law. It is not a course designed for lawyers in training but rather for those who need or want to acquire a working knowledge of employment law that can be applied on the job.
HRMT 322 generally excludes the law dealing with the processes of negotiating and enforcing terms and conditions of employment in unionized workplaces where the employer and the union have entered into a collective agreement. While it is important to note that aspects of individual employment law also apply to unionized workplaces, students who wish to learn about the law specific to unionized workplaces may wish to consider IDRL 320: Labour Law in Canada.
Outline
Unit 1: The Domain of Employment Law
- Lesson 1: Overview of Employment Law
- Lesson 2: Defining and Distinguishing Legally Recognized Work Relationships
Unit 2: The Employer-Employee Relationship
- Lesson 3: Common Law Issues in Hiring
- Lesson 4: The Employment Contract and Related Common Law Obligations
- Lesson 5: Modifying and Monitoring Employment Contracts
Unit 3: Human Rights and Employment
- Lesson 6: Employment and the Human Rights Legal System
- Lesson 7: Human Rights Issues in Hiring
- Lesson 8: Human Rights Issues During Employment
Unit 4: Regulating Employment by Statute
- Lesson 9: Employment Standards Statutes
- Lesson 10: Occupational Health and Safety Statutes
- Lesson 11: Workers’ Compensation Statutes
- Lesson 12: Privacy and the Workplace
- Lesson 13: Equity in the Workplace
Unit 5: Ending the Employment Relationship
- Lesson 14: Resignation and Retirement
- Lesson 15: Dismissal with Cause (Summary Dismissal)
- Lesson 16: Dismissal Without Cause and Wrongful Dismissal
- Lesson 17: Constructive Dismissal
Learning outcomes
After completing HRMT 441, you should be able to:
- Summarize the objectives of HRM and evaluate how HRM plays a strategic role in organizations.
- Describe the HR planning process and explain its interrelationship with strategic planning in organizations.
- Explain the importance of attracting and choosing the best candidates for available jobs and strategically evaluate how effective recruitment and selection processes contribute to an organization’s success.
- Discuss why training, developing, and evaluating employee performance is critical to the achieving organizational goals.
- Identify the HR practices that organizations use to reward and recognize employees, and evaluate the contribution of such practices to an organization’s effectiveness.
- Explain how an organization can create a positive work environment, maintain proper discipline, ensure a safe workplace, and effectively navigate union-management relationships.
Evaluation
To receive credit for HRMT 322, you must complete and submit all quizzes and assignments and achieve 50 percent or better on each of these activities. You must also achieve 50 percent or better on the final examination.
| Activity | Weight | Complete by |
| Quiz 1 | 10% | After Unit 1 |
| Quiz 2 | 10% | After Unit 3 |
| Assignment 1 | 20% | After Unit 4 |
| Assignment 2 | 20% | After Unit 5 |
| Quiz 3 | 10% | After Unit 5 |
| Final Examination | 30% | After Unit 5 |
| Total | 100% | |
The final examination for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Physical course materials
The following course materials are included in a course package that will be shipped to your home prior to your course’s start date:
Williams-Whitt, K., Letourneau, A. Schmaltz, TJ, Anderson, R., & Filsinger, K. J. (2020). Employment law for business and human resources professionals: Alberta and British Columbia (4th ed.). Emond Montgomery Publications Limited. ISBN: 978-1-77255-615-5.
Challenge for credit
Overview
The challenge for credit process allows you to demonstrate that you have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university-level course.
Full information about challenge for credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.
Evaluation
To receive credit for the HRMT 322 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least D (50 percent) on the examination.
Challenge for credit course registration form