Sample Chapter from My New Book, The Law of Work

My new book The Law of Work should be out later this summer, in time for the fall.  The book will interact with this blog and be available in hard copy or eBook version with live links to case law, commentary, and blog entries.
Here is the new webpage for the book on the Emond Montgomery site.
It’s a different sort of legal textbook.  I’ve tried to write it in accessible and readable language so people without formal legal training can

understand the sometimes complex legal rules that shape the law of work.  The chapters are short by textbook standards, carving off distinct legal issues important in the law of work.  For academics, this makes it easy to assign topics by lecture.  Professors and college instructors can move at their own pace and assign those topics/chapters that they want to cover without having to carve up page numbers (Chapter 6 pages 123-138, Chapter 7 pages 147-152, 164-173, and so on.  I HATE that).
It includes a lot of case law, rich endnotes for those interested in a deeper exploration of issues, original comics, and a discussion of the policies tensions that shape the law of work.  It is far more than a list of legal rules.  I want people to think about why we have work laws, where they came from, and who they benefit, rather than just memorize a bunch of legal rules.  The book covers all of Canada and I’ve made a conscious effort to use case law and regulatory examples from across the country.
The book employs a framework that recognizes how the three traditional regimes of work law [Common Law, Regulatory Law, and Collective Bargaining Law] interact and influence one another over time, and how all three regimes are a function of the broader social, economic, and political landscape in which they function and develop.
The book also expands beyond the traditional boundaries of labour and employment law texts by examining legal fields not directly concerned with protecting vulnerable employees, but that have a great impact on labour markets.  Hence there are chapters on immigration law, intellectual property, privacy law, pension and bankruptcies, and trade law, each looking at how these legal fields shape labour market outcomes.  And I’ve very excited that some of Canada’s leading experts in these fields have written some of these chapters for the book.
Sample Chapter
Stayed tuned for more on the book in the coming months.  However, Emond Montgomery has now published a sample chapter that gives you an idea of how the book will look.  It’s Chapter 7, from the Common Law part of the book, on The Requirements of an Employment Contract.  See what you think.  My hockey buddies are impressed that I worked in a John Tonelli story.  Infants with moustaches that win Stanley Cups!!  Seriously, what more could you ask for in a law text?