Task Description:
This assignment will be an opportunity to develop skills in empirical research and interviewing, and to apply your knowledge of employment law and policy. The task will entail interviewing someone you know about their work history, including the types of jobs (i.e. contracts) they have held, relations with employers, and their experiences of transitions in and out of work during different life stages. Then, drawing on course materials, write a narrative (max 4 pages, double spaced) and analysis (min 7 pages, double spaced) of your interviewee’s work history (for a total of approximately 11-14 double-spaced pages). In your analysis focus on the role that legal regulation has played in shaping this person’s work experiences. Be sure to think about and consider the different types of legal norms and regimes (common law, statutory, etc.) that regulate work relations in Canada, and in Ontario specifically. Also, reflect on particular circumstances, regulatory gaps and other problems that might affect how someone navigates and experiences the world of work at different life stages or because of their social location.
Outputs:
The final written assignment is due on the last day of term (10 April 2024) and will be worth 40% of your final grade.
The length of your final written submission will be approximately 11-14 double-spaced pp (12pt Times New Roman). If you make references to legal statutes, policies, and secondary materials (i.e. journal articles, books, etc.), you should also provide a full reference list at the end (not included in page count).
As an appendix to this assignment, you will be asked to submit a ‘Research Log’ composed of three elements: (1)your final interview guide/questionnaire, (2) notes from the interview, and (3) a signed consent form. See below for more detail.
In addition to this final output, earlier in the term you will also be required to complete two preliminary exercise pairs (each involving an activity and a written submission); worth 5% each, for a total of 10% per exercise pair and 20% of your final grade in the course. For more detail see the Training and Preparation section below.
Knowledge and Skills:
In addition to giving you an opportunity to apply key employment law concepts and rules examined in the course, this project will also assess your analytical skills and ability to synthesize and evaluate law’s applicability and relevance, its role in structuring people’s work relations, and its possibilities and limitations. You will also get to acquire and practice skills of interviewing people and learn about and apply ethics involved in these practices. Both sets of skills are crucial in legal professions and in a range of other professional contexts.
Methodology – the Interview:
You will have to recruit your own participant to interview. It is advised that you recruit someone you know, and someone who has at least 10 years of work experience (though I would recommend even longer). You should use the following script in your verbal or written recruitment communications:
Have you been in paid work for at least 10 years? If so, would you be willing to be interviewed about your work experiences to help me with completing a final assessment in the Employment Law course I am currently taking at Carleton University? Specifically, I have been tasked with interviewing someone about their work history to better understand and then showcase my ability to analyze how well employment law in Canada (and Ontario) reflects and addresses the lived experience of work and labour markets for differently-situated people and at different life stages. If you agree to this interview, it would take approximately an hour of your time. Your confidentiality will be maintained at all times.
This project received clearance from the Carleton University Research Ethics Board (CUREB-A), and the clearance Protocol number is 116227. If you have any questions about any aspects of this project, feel free to contact my professor, Dr. Ania Zbyszewska, at ania.**********************
The interviews should be scheduled to take place at least 3 weeks before the project is due (to ensure time for completion of the assignment), but not before 12 March (to allow for time to have your sample questionnaire to be approved by the course instructor). You can, and should, identify and confirm your interviewee/participant sooner.
The interview should last about one (1) hour. It should take place in person or via a videoconference tool (e.g. zoom, skype, etc.) that you and your interviewee mutually agree on.
Before conducting the interview, you will explain the project to the participant, talk to them about ethical considerations, guarantee anonymity, and ask the participant to sign an informed consent form and email it back to you (either with an electronic signature or as a scan of an ink-signed document). You will be provided with these forms by course instructor (via Brightspace).
Do not record the participant’s name but assign a pseudonym instead. Please record basic demographic information including race, citizenship status, ethnic origin, disability, sex (biological male/female difference), gender identity or gender expression (which may or may not vary from biological sex), sexual orientation, family and marital status.
You will follow a semi-structured interview technique. You will use a (pre-approved by course instructor, see below) interview guide/questionnaire but may have to use follow up questions as the conversation unfolds. You need to take notes during the interview to ensure you have material for your narrative and analysis. You should not record the interview using digital means.
You must retain the signed consent form, your final interview guide/questionnaire and your interview notes and submit them all as elements of your ‘Research Log’** alongside your final essay. Final essays without an accompanying Research Log will not be graded
