For the last decade, employer practices and the laws enacted by Congress have established guidelines that address employee/employer relationships. As a result, employment regulations and compliance laws, at times, make it difficult for a business to operate. However, on the bright side, employees are protected in every aspect of employment and employers have some guidance to help them administer employment.
The simulation is about the workforce reduction or downsizing of Fast Serve, Inc. Whatever the trend may be, it still means that employees are being relieved of their jobs. This issue is a very broad subject to address. The early 21st Century will, perhaps, be remembered for one very peculiar business phenomenon - a national economic slump precipitated by the failure of many "dot com" and technology businesses laying-off a multitude number of workers in the wake of those failures. If one company announces sweeping cuts in its workforce, expecting savings and increased profits, soon a horde of other companies follow suit, thus creating a domino effect on employment practices.
The Issue
As the senior manager of the Human Resources Department at Fast Serve, Inc., the Vice President of HR was instructed to implement the decision to discharge several employees in such a way that it translates into the maximum benefit to Fast Service, Inc. In making that decision, one also needs to consider the legal implications to the company of one's decision.
From the scenario, as the senior manager, you are to lay-off three employees out of the five presented to you. It is important that you use the data provided by HR as the guideline for your final decision. The company is expecting your recommendation in two w...
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...ivity Above Median Median Median Below Median Median
Special Achievements none Solely responsible for programming the 3-D "drape-n-see" mannequins none Rescued two big accounts through her communication skills none
Educational Qualification Qualified system analyst BS in information System Holds an advance certificate in VC++ and ASP No college, but knows the office administration inside out College dropout, trained in public speaking Holds a BS in Public Relations
Sample skills sets & job responsibility Maintenance of computers, LAN installation of Mac, Windows and Linux platforms Programming in VC++, ASP, HTLM/DHTL & oracle 8/8 Mail sorting, prioritizing and dispatch, Web handling Agency traffic management Handling upset callers, telemarketing. Preparing for and closing sale. Active listening Handling customers inquiry, trouble-shooting common instrument problems
In 1980, a precedent was set in a Michigan court case involving a man named Charles Toussaint who was suing his employer, BlueCross Blue Shield, for wrongful termination based on the guidelines set in the employee manual (Alfred and Bertsche 33). The manual stated that employees would only be terminated for just cause, and the court decided that Blue Cross had violated the agreements in the employee manual (34). The court also ruled that even with Blue Cross’s efforts to provide a document that “issued non-binding guidelines” the employee manual was a contract and Toussiant was wrongfully terminated (34). After the precedent set by this case many employers and employees for that matter were reviewing their employee manuals for the type of ambiguous language that could allow them to get sued or sue. Consequently, a slew of wrongful termination lawsuits followed this one, which is why it is now important for employers to draft their manuals with experienced legal staff. Even with the best legal team and the perfect wording there is still no definite assurance that an employer will be completely protected from such lawsuits, but taking these preventive measures helps in the long run.
Bennett-Alexander, Dawn D. & Hartman, Laura P. (2001). Employment Law for Business (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Primis Custom Publishing. Downloaded February 4, 2008 from the data base of http://www.eeoc.gov
The purpose of this paper is to analyze a specific, hypothetical employment situation encountered and to include the information regarding employment conflicts, questions, grievances, lawsuits, etc., in terms of how the situation was handled or resolved. Employment conflicts are a constant issue everyday in any organization; it is how you handle them both legally and professionally that counts.
Employment at will is a law that is present in all fifty states in the US; although, in Montana there requires a stated cause for termination. Employment at will creates dissent among employees when they have been terminated for a cause that is thought to be unsubstantial or when no cause is given. There are pros and cons to the presumption, and employees and employers have different views. Employment at will means that the employer can terminate an employee at any time, for any cause without warning. However, even an at-will employee cannot be terminated because of discriminatory reasons. Employment at will also means that an employee can leave a job at any time without the fear of facing any legal consequences. An employer can also change the terms of employment without notice and no penalties. Throughout this paper, the two sides to employment at will will be discussed, and different examples of employment at will cases will be given. At its most basic, employment at will is not the best path because it can create feelings of violation and betrayal in the employee and can create a negative public opinion or loss of profit for the business.
Walsh, D. (2012). Employment law for human resource practice. (4 ed.). Macon: South-Western Legal Studies in Business.
Moran, J. J. (2008). Employment law: New challenges in the business environment. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
In dealing with a person’s livelihood, and often, sense of self, it is of no surprise that ethical issues regarding employment practices are of great concern. The issues of employment at will and due process contracts in the workplace are among the most widely contentious in the realm of employment. Employment at will is the doctrine that employment may be ended, by either party, for good, bad or no cause at all.1 Due process, on the other hand, is the employment practice in which a person may appeal a decision as a means of receiving an explanation and the opportunity to argue against it.2 Employment at will is the standard in the majority of private corporations today and is argued for relentlessly by freedom of contract enthusiasts, however, it is becoming ever more apparent that employment at will contracts reflect the old corporate maxim where the single bottom line, profit, is accented and the well being of other stakeholders, in this case the employee, are of little or no influence. Due process should be accepted as the prevalent employment system as it shelters employees from the hostile actions of the more powerful employer, provides a stable, bilateral contract between both parties and portrays the growing ethical concerns of society.
Bennett, Alexander, Hartman (2003), Employment Law for Business, Fourth Edition I., The Regulation of the Employment Relationship, The McGraw-Hill Companies.
Remington, J., Heiser, R., Smythe, C., & Sovereign, K. (2012). Human resources law (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
While implementing solutions to the high turnover rate, companies must know and understand the law. The law is created and enforced by the government to prevent any discrimination or biases between the company and employees. It also prevents the strong, corporations, from taking advantage of the weak, employees.
United States of America. National Employment Law Project. National Employment Law Project. N.p., Jan. 2011. Web. 18 May 2014.
Labour and Employment Law. Cincinnati, OH: South-Western Publishing Company.
An organizational human resources department utilizes the hiring and firing process to meet the organization’s personnel needs. Organizational human resource departments are charged with the oversight of an organizations administration department. The practice of hiring and firing people is a process employer’s conducts on a daily basis. This process has to be done in a proper manner and not in haste. The implication that can occur from the improper hiring and firing process could and can have a positive or negative impact on an organization. Therefore, employers must carefully evaluate their decision to hire/fire individuals and its impact on the organizations’ workplace environment and others employees. Human Resource Management is important for an effective organization. In today’s organization, HRM is valuable to the organization because of increase legal complexities and its known for improvement in productivity. However, management should realize that poor human resource management could result in an outburst of hiring process followed by firing or layoffs. According to (Satterlee 2013, p. 194), “Hiring the best candidate who is also a good fit for the organization is crucial for the success of an organization, because a poor hiring decision will have repercussions across the entire organization”. Satterlee made a valid point because poor hiring could have an impact on the bottom line performance of the firm. In other words, HRM is the contributing factor to the success of the organization including motivating and maintain the staffs. The purpose to the motivation is to ensure that all employees grow to a full potential. According to (Sims 2006, p. 5), “HRM efforts are planned, systematic approaches to increasing organizati...
...onship between the employer and the employee. Employers who recognize this and proactively use strategies to promote employee involvement and fair employment practices will be likely to reap the organizational rewards of doing so.
Part 2 of Employer Duties and Rights- management rights, subcontracting, just-cause discipline and discharge, and safety standards.