case study problem 2
Problem 2. Lack of minority hiring, evidence of discrimination
There are no minority or foreign born employees at Discrimina, Inc, even though the local community consists of many newly arrived people of Mexican extraction. For years, the ads for new employees all contained the phrase, “must have solid ties to the community and top English communication skills.” For that reason, few Mexican people have ever applied for work at Discrimina.
Assignment
Rewrite the ad, in a way that will attract, rather than repel, Mexican or other foreign born applications. Then prepare a memo to the executives at Discrimina, Inc. advising them of why they should use your version of the ad.
below is case study a
This is Case Study A
Course Materials
The following case study features problems and issues related to employment law. The case is fictional yet realistic to illustrate points in the lecture and text and to provide problems within legal cases to solve. This case and Case Study B will be used for a number of weeks. Important Note: Your weekly class assignments will notify you when to work on this case.
Case Study A Problems Problem 1. Employment contracts and wrongful discharge Mr. Discrimina, through Eunice, requests that his employee Jim Arbor sign what he calls a confidentiality agreement. He offers to “consider profit sharing and salary increases” if Jim signs, but does not put profit sharing and wage increases in writing. Jim asks to read the paper before he signs and finds that it also contains a non-competition agreement not allowing Jim to do any machining, mechanical engineering or any work on industrial parts for a period of five years after leaving the company, anywhere in the world. Jim feels that he is being taken advantage of, but does not know what to do. He has been threatened with discharge if he doesn’t sign. Questions
Problem 2. Lack of minority hiring, evidence of discrimination There are no minority or foreign born employees at Discrimina, Inc, even though the local community consists of many newly arrived people of Mexican extraction. For years, the ads for new employees all contained the phrase, “must have solid ties to the community and top English communication skills.” For that reason, few Mexican people have ever applied for work at Discrimina. Assignment Rewrite the ad, in a way that will attract, rather than repel, Mexican or other foreign born applications. Then prepare a memo to the executives at Discrimina, Inc. advising them of why they should use your version of the ad. Problem 3. Hostile atmosphere for one gender The atmosphere at Discrimina, due more to the influence of a few employees, not the owner himself, is markedly hostile to women. Rita Land and Shirley Baker are the only two women employees in the plant. Rita, who does billing and bookkeeping, needs to go onto the plant floor to tally up parts and make sure items have been shipped. She has warned Shirley Baker not to even go onto the shop floor. Unless the owner is present, Rita is at risk of being harassed with rude or suggestive comments. Rita maintains a tough exterior, but she has had to pay over $5,000.00 for counseling and medication to overcome the depression and fear that her doctor says is caused by the harassment. Questions
Problem 4. English Only? Be sure to refer to the Garcia v. Spun Steak Company case. The job ad that Discrimina created to encourage legal immigrants to apply for jobs was successful. Three new machine operators are immigrants from Mexico, all who speak some English as a second language to their Spanish. They all have Vo-Tech training and are considered excellent employees. They are Luis, Carlo, and Benito. Luis, one of the new employees, is married to Juana, an immigrant from Guatemala, who is very good with numbers. She was hired part-time to assist Eunice with inventory control and clerical tasks. After she started, Juana complained that the other two Mexican men were calling her names. Eunice is normally the only supervisor around when the name calling takes place, and she does not speak Spanish. Juana has asked for an English only policy and Eunice thinks it might be illegal to do that. Questions
Problem 5. Safety First Discrimina, Inc. recently received a number of correction orders from OSHA. The local Fire Marshall has also warned them that the welding area does not comply with the fire codes. In particular, the stairwell is not up to OSHA or state fire codes. It is an open stairs in the office annex next to the shop. The owner contends that it is not a problem, since it is not even in the same building where welding occurs, but the inspectors all say it is not up to code. Both OSHA and the fire inspector want an entirely new enclosed stairway to be built. They also want a completely fireproof wall between the shop and the office annex. The CEO has heard negative things about OSHA and doubts he needs to follow their recommendations. Question Draft a memo to the CEO explaining that OSHA compliance saves lives. Use examples from the OSHA website. http://www.osha.gov. Check out OSHA Saves Lives within the site to illustrate your point. Problem 6. Health Care Plan Frank Oldburr is the oldest employee at Discrimina, Inc. He is now 62 and has some health problems. The company-wide health plan has been discontinued, partly due to Frank’s health problems. The premium kept going up. Some of the employees who don’t like Frank have asked Discrimina to fire him and then reinstate the health plan. Questions
Problem 7. Dollars for Waiting? Jeffrey Swift has been a messenger used by a couple of the local businesses where the Discrimina, Inc. machine shop is located. Sometimes he has done some extra errands inside the Discrimina building for a couple of hours. For the last several weeks, he has helped package items for shipment on Thursdays. Things have gone well, but Jeffrey is concerned because sometimes he has waited over two hours in the waiting room while waiting for the packaging to begin. He wouldn’t mind but Discrimina pays only for packaging time, not for waiting time. He can never be certain when the parts will be ready for packaging because final quality checking time varies wildly. Jeffrey has his own delivery business, but Discrimina has only paid him cash. Each time, Jeffrey has given the company a receipt for the cash. While he waits, he sometimes goes out for donuts for the crew. At other times, he plays games on his PDA or makes cell calls to friends. Question If Jeffrey Swift sues for the waiting time hours, what is the likely result and why? Write your answer in a Word document in 1-2 pages. Problem 8. Help Wanted! Evaluate the Want Ads below in terms of employment law. Help Wanted at Discrimina, Inc. In recent weeks, Discrimina, Inc. has advertised for the following openings. Evaluate the notices from the standpoint of employment law:
Problem 9. Americans with Disability Act Discrimina, Inc. has no policy regarding disabled employees. The only disabled employee has the title of “inventory parts man” and is in a wheel chair. His name is Bob Yates. Bob has to go back and forth from the shop floor to the office annex. He is unable to access his computer on the second floor of the office annex without having to interrupt another employee to push him up the steps. Bob has become upset about this and several times has asked management for an elevator or for his office to be moved. He says he feels he has been treated as a second class employee. Question The EEOC has decided not to require the company to provide an elevator for Bob or to mover his office, because it would create too much of a hardship for the employer. Bob belongs to a religion that prohibits him from “going to court,” except in extreme situations, so realistically, Discrimina doesn’t have to do anything. Nevertheless, Eunice is thinking about helping Bob. What advice can give her to help make this determination? What are the pros and cons for this decision? Problem 10. Is alcohol abuse a disability? The employee handbook allows discharge of an employee for any Driving Under the Influence conviction, or for alcoholism, whether job related or not. This is because the owner’s sister was killed by a drunken driver. Question Is Discrimina, Inc. in compliance with laws in regard to alcohol use? Explain and cite support for your answer. Problem 11. Union organization of a small shop About 6 months ago, Arnold, one of the machinists at Discrimina, Inc., and Rita in the office, posted union signs in the shop and tried to organize the employees into the new Brotherhood and Sisterhood of Machinists Union. Mr. Discrimina hollered and tore down the posters and said that he would burn down the place before he would allow a union to organize his shop. Question What rights do Arnold and Rita have to unionize? What are acceptable responses from the employer? |