Description:
This assignment is for my Employment Law course for my human resources master’s degree. PLEASE use sources from the chapter I have provided for you. You can use other sources as well but please include sources from Chapter 19 as well. Our assigned reading for this assignment is Chapter 19 which I have attached for you. The textbook we use in this course is Employment Law for Human Resource Practice by David J. Walsh, 5th Edition. The assignment is also attached. Please make sure to follow all directions of this assignment. The HRER Program stands for Human Resources & Employment Relations Program – which is the program I’m in. You need to come up with 15-20 issues in 750 words or less. Then, you need to provide an analysis for each issue worth of 50 words or less. I am going to pay for a 1,500 word paper so go ahead and use 15 issues and the whole 750 word limit; and use the whole 50 word limit for each issue.
PRESCRIPTION FOR DISASTER
The focus of the assignments to date has been the refinement of your understanding of
the law and further development of your written communications skills. The issues
presented by the fact patterns have been fairly obvious, and the structure of your
responses has been dictated by the instructions. As a senior human resource
professional, you will be expected to spot difficult legal issues and to recommend
business solutions to minimize legal risk (in practice, you cannot always eliminate legal
risk) with little if any analysis. While lawyers play a vital role in the avoidance of legal
claims, for this assignment, consultation with legal counsel is not an option.
In 750 words or less, identify 15-20 potential legal issues presented by the
following fact pattern and provide a short (50 words or less) analysis for each.
You are the Vice President of Human Resources for Beaver Stadium Fertilizer Co.
(BSF), the largest manufacturer and distributer of fertilizer for athletic fields in the
country with over 40% of the market share. The CEO of BSF is Amy Dietz. Ms. Dietz is
a dynamic woman with a youthful appearance and more energy than a new puppy.Ms.
Dietz moonlights as a professor in Penn State’s HRER program.
In recent years, BSF hired a number of graduates from the HRER program. These
recent hires have excelled at BSF, receiving a disproportionate amount of recognition
and extremely high performance reviews. This has become a source of tension for
some of the long-term employees at BSF, who believe that there is no substitute for
experience in the athletic field fertilizer business and that Ms. Dietz has a bias in favor
of younger employees.
The athletic field fertilizer industry has been ravaged by the widespread conversion of
grass athletic fields to prescription turf. Fortunately for BSF, over a year ago, several
hires from the HRER program predicted a shift from grass to prescription turf. Ms. Dietz
invested significant resources of BSF to fund the Beaver Stadium Fake Grass Co.
(BSFGC), a start-up company that manufactures synthetic grass. Synthetic grass has a
significantly higher profit margin than athletic field fertilizer. Although BSFGC is run by
Doug Allen, everyone in the “business” knows that Ms. Dietz is calling the shots.
BSFGC is a non-union company that currently employs 50 people.
Based on a suggestion by another recent hire with a JD/Master of Science in Human
Resources and Employment Relations, and out of an abundance of caution that the
industrious graduates of the HRER program do not take what they learned at BSF and
go out on their own to compete against the company, as a condition of their continued
employment with BSF, Ms. Dietz required all non-union employees to execute an
agreement prohibiting solicitation of BSF clients during employment with BSF and for a
period of 3 years thereafter.
Roughly one month ago, BSF employed 130 people, including 40 (30 full-time and 10
part-time) employees at its administrative offices in in State College, Pennsylvania and
90 (80 full-time and 10 part-time) at its manufacturing plant in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.
General laborers at the Bellefonte facility are represented by the Teamsters Local 8.
Paul Whitehead is the President of the Teamsters Local 8.
As a result of declining business conditions, BSF has been forced to make reductions.
In an effort to control labor costs, 30 days ago, Ms. Dietz directed you to eliminate all
part-time positions, including the part-time laborers at the Bellefonte facility. One of the
reductions from the sales and administrative office was Paul Clark, age 50, a sales
consultant and recent graduate of the HRER program with extensive knowledge
regarding Internet sales.
Pursuant to BSF’s severance policy, employees are eligible for one week of severance
pay for all years worked for BSF in exchange for their execution of a release and waiver
of all claims against BSF. At a recent SHRM conference, you picked up a short-form
sample severance agreement which reportedly complies with the ADEA as amended by
the OWBPA. Pursuant to the agreement:
? Employees over the age of 40 are given 45 days within which to consider the
agreement and 7 days within which to revoke the agreement after it is executed;
? employees acknowledge, in writing, that they were given the opportunity to consult with
an attorney;
? employees release BSF from any and all claims of whatever kind and whatever nature
from the beginning of time until the date the agreement is executed;
? employees waive any right to file a lawsuit or administrative charge against BFS; and
? the separation agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings
between the parties.
Out of respect for the employees who will be losing their positions as a result of this
workplace reduction, Ms. Dietz cautioned you not to release the names of the
individuals impacted by the reductions or to provide anyone with any information that
could potentially be used to identify the individuals selected for reduction.
Within three days of this initial reduction, the National Football League announced that
all franchises would be required to install prescription turf by 2014. The next day, Ms.
Dietz directed you to lay off five full-time employees at BSF’s sales and administrative
office and 41 full-time employees at its manufacturing facility. Ms. Dietz directed you to
lay off the non-union employees with the lowest scores on last year’s performance
evaluation. And, Ms. Dietz directed you to follow the collective bargaining agreement in
selecting unionized employees for layoff.
Following notice of these reductions, Mr. Whitehead asked you for documents
demonstrating the financial condition of the company and the composition of BSF’s
client base, including the percentage of sales attributable to each client. Pursuant to Ms.
Dietz’ instruction, you denied Mr. Whitehead’s request, claiming that the information
sought by the Union was confidential and proprietary.
Yesterday, Coach James Franklin announced that Penn State was considering a
conversion from grass to prescription turf and that a final decision would be made within
14 days. Penn State is BSF’s largest client, comprising roughly half of BSF’s remaining
orders. If Penn State converts to prescription turf, BSFGC will double its workforce in
anticipation of increased orders. On the other hand, if Penn State converts to
prescription turf, BSF will be forced to close its doors. If this were to occur, BSF would
liquidate its assets and lay off its 64 remaining employees, including its Vice President
of Human Resources
Ms. Dietz directed you not to discuss the potential closure with anyone, as mention of
potential closure would result in loss of orders from BSF’s remaining clients.
Shortly after the announcement, Mr. Clark accepted a job with Dr. Turf, the leading
manufacturer of artificial turf. Mr. Clark quickly becomes Dr. Turf’s leading salesperson,
and reportedly is in talks with Penn State to supply all of the school’s artificial turf needs.
Ms. Dietz directs you to enforce the non-solicitation agreement against Mr. Clark.
