HRM 593 Full Class Work Employment Law

HRM 593 Full Class Work Employment Law

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 week 1

Scenario Summary

Karen is a human resources consultant at a local utility. Originally, the work requested was project based. Karen was asked to develop training materials for an upcoming session on diversity. Cynthia, the human resources manager, was very happy with the work that Karen did and asked her to work on some additional projects. Before everyone knew it, Karen had been working at the utility for five years.

Karen has been paid a monthly base salary of $10,000 per month. Karen has received a 1099 for her wages over the past five years, but has not received a W-2. Karen was not offered any benefits, but when she was hired, she did not need them, as she was happily married. However, Karen’s husband recently passed away and she asked Cynthia about receiving benefits. Cynthia has denied Karen’s request. Karen’s title, when she started, was Human Resources Temporary, but her new title evolved into Human Resources Consultant to be more consistent with others in the department who are doing work similar to hers. Karen does have a contract with the utility.

Karen has had other limited clients over the years. She had one client for an approximately 40-hour project two years ago, and she currently has another client that keeps her on a retainer basis.

Since she was denied benefits, Karen has contacted the IRS to ask them to determine her status.

Your Assignment

Key Players

Cynthia is the human resources manager at ABC Utility, as well as Karen’s supervisor.

Karen is an individual who has been working at ABC Utility. You will look at her employment relationship to determine if she is an employee or an independent contractor. You decide!

You Decide Activity

Your role is to decide if Karen is an independent contractor or an employee.

After reading this, please return to the Week 1 Discussion area, and answer the first two questions there about Karen. Your instructor will return with further questions throughout the week.

Note

HRM 593 Homework 2

As noted in the EEOC tutorial (located in this week’s lecture), candidates for the Director of HR position of the newly merged company, ZAB, are being asked to prepare a presentation about Title VII, as it pertains specifically to disparate impact and disparate treatment policies that should be implemented to avoid liability for potential Title VII violations. Do research to prepare for your presentation, and write a brief set of answers to the following questions:

·         the difference between a disparate impact and a disparate treatment claim;

·         the complaint procedure for a disparate impact and a disparate treatment claim as it pertains to the EEOC;

·         the defenses available to the company should a disparate impact claim and/or a disparate treatment claim be lodged against ZAB; and

·         suggestions for avoiding potential EEOC claims and complaints.

Your assignment should be between 500-750 words in length. You must also properly cite your sources using APA format.

Submit your assignment to the Dropbox, located at the top of this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read these .equella.ecollege.com/file/8ff9f27a-3772-48cf-9855-4bec4e6706bf/1/Dropbox.html”>step-by-step instructions.

See the Syllabus section “Due Dates for Assignments & Exams” for due date information.

HRM 593 Homework 3

Review the Sexual Harassment tutorial, which is found in the lecture. After viewing the Sexual Harassment tutorial, completing the reading, and reviewing the lecture notes in conjunction with the TCO, answer the following questions about the tutorial scenario and facts.

·         Based upon the scenario, does the employee have a legally viable claim for quid pro quo sexual harassment and/or hostile environment sexual harassment? What is the likely outcome?

·         Analyze the legal factors for the potential claim(s) in the context of the employee pursuing legal action against the employer.

·         Let’s shift gears. Using the same scenario, assume that you are in the HR Department of your organization, and that you were just presented with the scenario as an example used to explore policies and procedures that will avoid sexual harassment liability. Your boss has asked you to make preliminary suggestions (which will be presented to the legal counsel) regarding sexual harassment protocol that will avoid potential liability. What would your top five suggestions be and why?

Your assignment should be between 500-750 words in length. You must also properly cite your sources using APA format.

Submit your assignment to the Dropbox, located at the top of this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read these .equella.ecollege.com/file/8ff9f27a-3772-48cf-9855-4bec4e6706bf/1/Dropbox.html”>step-by-step instructions.

See the Syllabus section “Due Dates for Assignments & Exams” for due date information.

HRM 593 Homework 5

After viewing the tutorial located in this week’s Lecture tab, complete the reading and review the Lecture notes. Answer the following questions relating to ADA expanded by the ADAAA.

If such a situation occurred in your workplace and you were the Director of Human Resources:

·         Would you deem Karina disabled under the ADAAA? If so, what reasonable accommodations would you offer to her?

·         From an ADA policy standpoint, what would your ideal be in terms of an employer ADAAA policy? What would your ideal be as to what the employee (Karina) should be told by the HR Department in regards to her rights and obligations pursuant to the ADAAA? From the employer policy perspective, focus on identification of reasonable accommodation requirements under applicable law, application of the legal requirements for this scenario, determinations as to whether reasonable accommodations can be made, and steps that can be taken to make specific accommodations if requested.

Your assignment should be between 500-750 words. Properly cite your sources using APA format.

Submit your assignment to the Dropbox, located at the top of this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read these .equella.ecollege.com/file/8ff9f27a-3772-48cf-9855-4bec4e6706bf/1/Dropbox.html”>step-by-step instructions.

See the Syllabus section “Due Dates for Assign

HRM 593 Homework 6

After viewing the FLSA tutorial located in this week’s lecture, complete the reading and review the lecture notes in conjunction with the TCO. Address the following statements relating to FLSA.

·         Determine whether or not the employee has a potential FLSA claim.

·         Explain the legal basis for your conclusion.

·         From an HR perspective, list, explain, and analyze five things that an employer can do to ensure compliance with FLSA and avoid claims.

Your assignment should be between 500-750 words. You must also properly cite your sources using APA format.

Submit your assignment to the Dropbox, located at the top of this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read these .equella.ecollege.com/file/8ff9f27a-3772-48cf-9855-4bec4e6706bf/1/Dropbox.html”>step-by-step instructions.

See the Syllabus section “Due Dates for Assignments & Exams” for due date information.

devry hrm593 week 4 Midterm Exam 

1.        1. Question : (TCO B) DePeters, Co. is sued for sex discrimination on the grounds that too few women are hired because fewer women than men achieve passing scores on a required manual dexterity and physical strength test. DePeters, Co. offers in its defense that even though fewer women score high enough on the test, a greater percentage of the passing women are hired. The company maintains that, as a result, the percentage of women in the workforce mirrors the percentage of available women in the labor pool. A group of women who took the test and failed file suit. Explain the basis for the cause of action, and analyze the merits of the cause of action, employer defenses, and likely outcome. Support your response with applicable law.

Question 2. Question : (TCO H) Myrna, a waitress, complains to her boss that Simon, a frequent customer, has been engaging in what she considers to be sexually harassing behavior. Myrna details Simon’s actions to her boss, requests that Simon be asked to stop, and that she not be required to wait on him in the future. Myrna’s boss, Mickey, the restaurant owner, says he will look into the matter. Wishing to not upset one of his best customers, Mickey puts the matter off for a few weeks, and when he eventually does get around to dealing with it, he tells Simon only that he should go a little easier on Myrna. Mickey does nothing about Myrna’s request to be relieved of any obligations to wait on Simon. There are three waitresses and waiters in the restaurant at all times: two females (Myrna and Brianna) and one male (Myron). Myron and Myrna are constantly dropping trays with food items. Myron has been late to work on several occasions. Myrna is very argumentative with customers. Myrna was fired. Is Mickey in any danger in terms of legal implications? If so, what potential causes of action exist for Myrna and what are the likely outcomes? From a company standpoint, what measures should have been taken by the company to prevent such claims?

Question 3. Question : (TCO A) Emmanuel & Peterson is an extremely busy law firm specializing in litigation. In order to keep up with the workload, the firm refuses to hire anyone as a secretary who is unable to type at least 65 words per minute. As a result, there are no male secretaries working for the firm. A group of male applicants files litigation that challenges this policy. Explain the legal basis for the suit, the likelihood of prevailing in the cause of action, and the defenses available to the firm.

HRM 593 week 1 Employment-at-Will Exceptions and Liability (graded)

Review the 10 cases presented for consideration in Question 2 (letters a – j) of the Chapter-End Questions in Chapter 2 (pp. 80-81 of the eBook). For your first post, prepare a detailed response for one of the ten scenarios, explaining your conclusion regarding whether the scenario constitutes a violation of public policy or a breach of a covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Support your conclusion with legal analysis and reasoning. Explain whether any of the scenarios give rise to potential employer liability and what steps should have been taken to avoid the exposure. Then, comment and expand on the posts of the other class members. Your instructor will respond with more ideas for discussion throughout the week.

HRM 593 week 2 Recruitment of Employees (graded)

Let’s begin our discussion on recruitment by using a fact pattern from a litigated case. Cone Mills Corporation had several recruiting procedures that gave preferential treatment to applicants who either had family members or friends working for the company. One of these procedures was to give priority to applicants who had family members employed by the company. The other procedure entailed having an unwritten policy that walk-in applicants had to have renewed every two weeks. This created a situation where only those walk-in applicants who had friends or family in the company would renew their applications because they would be the only ones informed of the informal rule, which was not presented in any manual or policy. These recruiting procedures were challenged as being discriminatory towards blacks in general, especially black women, because the informal network responsible for recruiting new employees was unavailable to them. The company claimed that the procedures were not designated to be discriminatory, but rather, to create a loyal family atmosphere within the plant (Lea v. Cone Mills Corp., 3001 F. Supp. 97). Should employers be able to recruit through employee referrals and word-of-mouth? Does the law allow for such a recruitment technique? What specific restrictions does Title VII place on an employer’s ability to recruit and hire? As part of this discussion, refer to the cases of EEOC v. Chicago Miniature Lamp Works and EEOC v. Consolidated Service System in Chapter 4. This section lists options that can be used to view responses.

HRM 593 week 3 Sexual Harassment and the Law (graded)

What have sexual harassment laws accomplished in the workplace? Have the advances in sexual harassment law resulted in women being denied meaningful access to senior management mentors, who are most often male? Does every civil rights gain in the workplace also carry with it an unintended cost? week 4 Age Discrimination and the Workforce (graded) Baby boomers typically possess more work experience and are older than the next generation. Does an employer have the right to refuse to hire candidates who are overqualified, such as baby boomers? Substantiate your response.

HRM 593 week 5 ADA Protections (graded)

On September 25, 2008, President Bush signed the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) into law, overturning a series of decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and expanding the scope of medical conditions protected by the law. What do these changes mean for employers and employees in conjunction with protection against discrimination based on disability in the workplace? What will employers need to do to comply?

HRM 593 week 6 FLSA (graded)

College sophomore, Suzy Smart, works part-time in the Handi Mart convenience store near campus. The store manager requires that each clerk arrives 15 minutes prior to the start of the shift so that the clerk going off-duty can review the sales figures and cash status with replacements before leaving. The clerk going off-duty punches the timecard after this review, but the incoming clerk is not allowed to punch in until the review is completed and they have agreed that the sales and cash figures are accurate. Sometimes, this exercise takes more than 15 minutes, and no matter how long it takes, the clerk coming on-duty may not punch the timecard and start earning wages until the process is completed. Suzy, who completed a course on labor and employment law, realizes that the store manager is violating the FLSA by not allowing the incoming clerk to punch the time clock upon arrival. She brings this issue up with the store manager, who tells her that Handi Mart’s parent corporation does not allow the store to compensate two clerks for the same period of time, no matter how brief, since this is classified by the corporation as a single coverage store. Furthermore, he adds ominously, if Suzy complains to the Wage and Hour Division of the DOL, he will probably be forced by the company to lay Suzy off, along with other part-timers, and cover the store himself for the evening shifts. He states, “You may get everyone a few dollars in back pay, but you’ll also cost everybody their jobs. Remember, some of your co-workers are single parents who need this extra income to make ends meet.” Has the store manager violated FLSA? Explain? Explain how you would address this scenario as an HR professional.

HRM 593 week 7

Employment Law in Action (graded) Retaliation has been the number one filed EEOC complaint now since 2010, surpassing racial and sexual harassment and discrimination for the first time then, and since then. Often, disciplinary actions result in EEOC filings. Discipline is an area of Human Resources that can certainly create the potential for legal liability for employers. What are some good guidelines to follow? What are some pitfalls to avoid? How might valid policies be structured and investigations be handled to ensure that retaliation complaints do not result from disciplinary actions? This section lists options that can be used to view responses.
 

HRM 593 Employment Law Final Exam

1.(TCO A) Alice Jones was employed as a clerk-typist by a company. She requested and was refused  a vacation day. The employer’s refusal was based on her failure to submit the request at least two weeks in advance as required by company policy. She announced that she would take the day anyway, and when she subsequently failed to report for work, was fired for insubordination, plus the unexcused absence. Jones claimed that the company’s real reason for firing her was a complaint that she had made to her state’s department of labor concerning elimination of employee rest breaks.
Explain and evaluate the possible causes of action available to Jones, and identify and explain the possible defenses available to Jones’ employer with regard to each cause of action.  Integrate case law and statutory support into your response. (Points : 30)

2.(TCO B) Jaro was a disc jockey for MNLO, a radio station in San Francisco. He initially broadcasted in only English. The station program director asked him to use some Spanish street phrases and slang in an effort to attract Hispanic listeners and increase the station’s audience.  After reviewing the ratings, the station manager concluded that the use of Spanish on the air actually decreased the station audience, because it confused listeners as to the nature of the programming, the rest of which was in English. Jaro was then instructed to broadcast in only English. Jaro continued to use Spanish while on the air and was ultimately fired. He filed a complaint alleging Title VII violations based on national origin discrimination. Explain and analyze the basis for Jaro’s Title VII complaint, and whether it would result in liability on the part of the station. Determine the remedies available to Jaro, if any. Use case law to support your analysis and conclusion. (Points : 30)

3.(TCO C) John worked for Acme as a senior analyst. He suffered a heart attack and took medical leave from his job. Prior to the heart attack, his supervisor opened a locked drawer in his work desk and found prescription drugs that were not prescribed to John. The supervisor thought that John had been acting a bit strangely, but decided that he would confront him about it later. The supervisor did not confront John before the heart attack.

After six months, John returned to work on a part-time basis. John worked reduced hours for the next year. Acme was forced to reduce its workforce to cut costs. Acme conducted a performance appraisal of all managerial employees and discharged those with the lowest performance ratings.  John, because of his part-time status, had one of the lowest performance ratings. The company did not look at performance pro-rata based on hours worked. John sued and alleged that he was wrongfully terminated in violation of the ADA. John alleged that his termination was a result of his disability. Identify and analyze the potential claims and defenses. Utilize case law to support your responses and conclusions. (Points : 30)

4.(TCO D) A house-moving company was moving a house and came close to three 7,200 volt power lines. Fire was observed where the house’s lighting rod came too close to one of the power lines. Two employees were electrocuted and three more were injured. Analyzing the fact pattern, determine whether the company violated OSHA’s general duty clause, or if this was merely an unfortunate accident. Assuming that passing close to the wires was unavoidable, identify the steps that the company might have taken to avoid the tragedy. (Points : 30)

5.(TCO E)  Julie is a fruit picker and has worked for the same company for three years. Between April and June 2005, she, along with 300 other fruit pickers, worked at this company. The workers, including Julie, worked an average of 40 hours per week, five days per week, during the entire three-month period. Beginning in July, 2005, the workers were required to work a minimum of 55 hours per week. The workers were not paid overtime for the hours worked in excess of 40.

Identify and analyze the possible claims that Julie has against her employer. Identify and evaluate the legal basis for the claim, the potential recovery, and the likelihood of prevailing against her employer. (Points : 30)

6.(TCO F) The trustee of an ERISA-qualified plan, and also a participant in the plan, denied a discretionary payment of a lump-sum accrued benefit to a participant who had terminated his employment. The participant sues, claiming the denial of the discretionary payment is self-dealing. Determine whether the participant will prevail. Articulate the basis for your conclusion, using applicable case law and statutory authority. (Points : 30)

7.(TCO G) A hiring manager did not properly verify I9 documentation for a new employee. In fact, the new hire’s social security card was a forgery, and the INS assessed a fine against the employer claiming that it knew or should have known that the card was false. Determine whether this company is liable under the IRCA. Identify and integrate applicable law and statutory authority to provide validity for your response. (Points : 35)

8.(TCO H) Calvin Black was hired as the manager for a law firm in June 1992. In his first year in the position, he created a time-keeping system that saved the firm $13,000 per month, negotiated leases to lower rental payments by $43,000, lowered client disbursement costs by $200,000, and reduced overtime costs by $40,000. The firm’s partners gave him a performance evaluation, stating that they were “very satisfied” with his performance. He received a raise of $4,600. After about a year, Black developed a limp. When he consulted a doctor, he was informed that he had multiple sclerosis. After his diagnosis, he informed his firm and requested that the firm meet with his doctors to determine what measures could be taken to accommodate his condition. One partner had one brief meeting with one doctor, who suggested the firm limit the amount of walking that Black was required to do. The firm made no effort to limit Black’s walking, to move his office, or to rearrange his job. Instead, the firm assigned additional duties to him and urged him to cancel his vacation. On one occasion, a partner told him to go home if he was tired, so he would not wear himself out and become ineffective.

In January 1994, Black was terminated because his condition affected his performance and the firm claimed that his thinking was “not as crisp as it needed it to be.” After he was terminated, Black applied for and was granted disability benefits under the firm’s insurance policy, stating that he was “unable to work long hours in a stressful job” and ”needed a flexible work schedule.” He then worked as a consultant and enrolled in a graduate program at a local university. Black brought a lawsuit against the firm under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The firm argued that Black was precluded from bringing suit because he accepted disability benefits. Explain how the Court should rule on Black’s claim. Determine whether Black has made a case under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Assess whether Black can pursue an ADA claim notwithstanding accepting disability benefits.  (Points : 35)