Professional LLM in Labour and Employment Law

Credits: 3.0

This course examines four leading theoretical approaches that have played a significant role in the development of Canadian labour and employment law. Each of these approaches – neoclassical, institutional, behavioural and Marxist – are rooted in different views of political economy. The implications of each approach for labour market regulation will be considered. Recent developments in the labour market and their impact on labour and employment law will also be assessed.

Credits: 3.0

This course deals primarily with rights (grievance) arbitration under the terms of a collective agreement. The course will address historical, theoretical and practical aspects of labour arbitration. Prevalent substantive issues dealt with in arbitration today will be addressed. A major theme of the course will be the historical evolution and transformation of arbitration as an institution for the resolution of workplace disputes. Its transition from a mechanism devoted to the interpretation and enforcement of private contractual rights to becoming the main and often sole institution for the resolution and enforcement of common law and public statutory rights for organized workers, and the implications of that transformation for the institution and the rights at issue will be studied. Major issues concerning the relationship between arbitration and other mechanisms for the resolution of workplace disputes will also be addressed.

Credits: 3.0

Much of Canadian employment law is borrowed, or at least built upon the foundation of, the British common law of the employment contract. Yet the modern British approach to employment law has veered in important ways from the Canadian approach, both in terms of the development of the common law model and in the manner in which the two countries have chosen to regulate work. Despite its roots in the British legal system, the Canadian approach to governing collective labour relations reflects more American influence than British. The British “voluntarist” approach to industrial relations eschewed statutory recognition of unions, enforceable collective agreements, and tight government control of industrial action. Yet we can still see the influence of British law on Canadian labour law, for example, in the system of torts that continue to govern industrial conflict in both countries. This course introduces students to key historical and contemporary issues and debates in British labour and employment law from a comparative law perspective.

Credits: 3.0

This course focuses on statutory regulation of the terms and conditions of employment relationships not covered by collective bargaining. It will engage students in an examination of the theoretical underpinnings of the statutory regulation of employment, an historical survey of the development of employment regulation, and an overview of the protections offered to workers in Ontario and other Canadian jurisdictions. Against the backdrop of a global economy, a rapidly changing workforce and new types of working arrangements, this course will expose students to specific topics and issues in the regulation of employment, including privacy, whistleblowing, pensions and class actions.

Credits: 3.0

This course examines important and contemporary issues and debates in labour law and labour law scholarship in Canada and the beyond. While ‘black letter law’ will be considered, the course is more focused on exposing students to important conceptual, theoretical, and historical debates that are shaping the direction of labour law today and for the future. This course will provide students with an opportunity to engage with some of the world’s leading thinkers in the field of labour law.

Credits: 3.0

This course is a study of the common law of the individual contract of employment. The focus will be on Canadian common law, with some comparison with other jurisdictions. The course will canvas the legal history of the employment relationship, along with contemporary issues – political, practical, and theoretical – in the common law of employment. Through oral presentations and group discussion, students will be exposed to specific topics and issues in employment law. Throughout the course, students will consider the unique features of the contract of employment and competing legal conceptualizations of the employment relationship.

Credits: 3.0

International labour and employment law has become increasingly relevant in Canadian law due to renewed emphasis by the Supreme Court of Canada on the rules and norms developed at the international level. For example, the Supreme Court has ruled that the guarantee of “freedom of association” in Section 2(d) of the Charter should be interpreted to provide at least as much protection as do International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions ratified by Canada. This course will explore the law and institutions of international labour and employment law and how they interact with national legal systems.

Credits: 3.0

Privacy has emerged as one of the most important legal principles in modern workplace law. In this course, we will consider the origins and development of the right of privacy, examine how the right has been applied in the common and civil law and by statute, and review specific workplace issues. The course will be taught from a comparative perspective, with a focus on the laws of Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union.

Credits: 3.0

This course examines the labour and employment law governing employees of the Federal and Provincial Crowns, through three broad themes:

1) Exceptionalism. The laws governing public servants are different from those governing employees, employers, and unions in the private sector. While some of the “fundamentals” of the Wagner Act model remain in place in the public sector, there are a number of significant and important differences that this course will explore.

2) The rule of law. This course will examine the tension between courts, with their commitment to rights, and the managerial ethos of public administration that is committed to utility. This tension is played out between the importance of the rule of law and managerial discretion in public sector labour and employment law.

3) Merit. This course will explore the so-called “merit principle” that governs appointments in the public service. This theme includes everything from rules-based appointment procedures to the principle of a politically neutral public service.

Credits: 3.0

This course explores in greater detail important issues and debates in labour and employment law. Students will consider the influence of law and economics on the development of work law and industrial relations policy, and the growing relevance of non-union forms of collective employee representation in law and practice, among other topics.

Credits: 6.0

The workplace has been a significant source of legal developments in respect of both statutory human rights legislation and the constitutionally entrenched Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This course will examine, in the employment context, the nature of prohibited discrimination and statutory defences and remedies under human rights statutes, as well as the processes for dealing with such issues. In particular, the respective roles of the human rights administrative process and collective agreement arbitration will be assessed. In respect of the Charter, the role of administrative tribunals as well as courts in dealing with Charter claims will be considered. The substantive focus will be the impact of s. 15 (equality), s. 2(d) freedom of association, and s. 2(b) (freedom of expression) on labour law.