Anderson_Cost_Club

| |Anderson Cost Club | Memorandum To: Pat Sutton From: Date: December 12, 2011 Re: Cost Club Scenario One Dealing with the Problems The Anderson Cost Club store wanted to reduce their workforce by terminating two of their employees. There is a possibility the employee may file a wrongful termination since the reason for their dismissal was not clearly noted. The Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act was created to forbid discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, religion or origin as it relates to hiring, promoting, salary, benefits and termination this law protects individual who are employed by corporations from wrongful termination based on those issues. Employment downsizing has become an ongoing issue in work life with many companies struggling to keep cost down. Employees are protected by employment laws, which require companies to ensure the procedures used to make these decisions were just and fair. This is an at-will state under the employment at-will; an employee can be terminated at any time and without cause. It is in the Anderson’s Cost Club best interest to inform their employee’s why he or she is being terminated as failure to do so could appear that a legitimate reason wasn’t given. It is important to document the termination process this will provide legal protection if a legal issues arises. Regional CEO’s question about reducing employee cost Temporary workers are individuals hired to work a set schedule long enough to complete the immediate need of the employer. A temp can be hired to work a day, week or often times for several months. Many states maintain that temporaries cannot be employed in the same position for more than 12 months and be classified as a temporary. Temporaries are compensated for time worked without regard to the quality of work they are also not compensated for vacation or sick time. Contractors are employed for their specialties for a particular timeframe contractors are flexible workers because they are employed at-will contractors are not asked to add in addition to their scope of the job. Contractors typically are paid at a higher rate as they are responsible for their own expenses such as self employment taxes and other secondary tasks. Employees often times are expected to work for a company indefinitely, which means the employer has made a financial offer to the employee by law the employer is required to pay payroll taxes as well as employee benefits. If the company needs require a specific time and site for a long period whether full or part time may be the best option. It is necessary to review the specific needs for the company and ask if those needs are flexible or is the project requiring a specific skill set. These questions are important in deciding whether or not a full time employee, temporary or contractor is needed. Those needs can help make the decision and prove to be a more cost and effective option. Safety Manager’s concern about injury and damages Safety concerns are important to any company. An altercation between an employee and a customer is obviously a company’s worst disaster. Employers can be held liable although the employer did not condone or encourage such behavior. If the company had knowledge that behavior was anticipated from an employee the cost club could be held liable. It is important to be proactive employers have a legal obligation to protect the customers as well as the employee’s. The employer is often seen as the force directing the behavior of their staff. If employees are complaining about customers harassing them then it is the responsibility of the employer to handle those complaints quickly and promptly. If failing to investigate those complaints employers can be held liable for actionable third party harassment. An employer is liable when an employee’s actions fall within the course and scope of his or her employment. In this case the employee acted outside of their job responsibilities. Respondeat Superior means that an employer should be responsible for negligence of an employee’s actions if they are within the course and description of the employment. If an employee acts outside the scope of his employment the employee is responsible for any damages incurred. In this case the employee was not acting on behalf of the company when the incident took place he acted independently and purely out of personal motives. Legally authorized representative means an individual or judicial or other body is authorized under applicable law to consent on behalf of a prospective subject to the subject’s participation. In the case where the real estate agent acted on behalf of the Cost Club and purchased a building site to understand a real estate agent's scope of duties and what an agent and can and cannot do. Federal and state regulations states that a principal is liable to third parties for all wrongful acts of his or her agent committed while transacting the principal’s business. It is not necessary that the principal actually authorize the act; it is sufficient if the agent had apparent implied authority to act on behalf of the principal. The principal is not liable for acts of the agent committed outside the scope of his or her authority; in this case since the real estate agent had an authorized representative agreement that was not signed by the Cost Club and the information provided did not detail a conversation held by the Cost Club or the real estate agent which may have assumed a implied authority. Resolving d disagreements that arise in employment Individuals spend a great deal of time at work and work relationships are important to the success of many businesses. Disputes in the workplace have a greater chance of resolution if resolved in the early stages. Mahoney (2008) acknowledges that an alternative dispute resolution can enhance workplace justice, if the company plans and executes an employee dispute program it is important that the program addresses all parties and their needs by meeting fairness standards. Mediation is a process which the parties come together to find a fair solution to the issues they have. Mediation is intended for each side to have a chance to explain their sides. Weinstein (2001) suggest that the mediation process is being added as a clause in employee handbooks. Mediation helps employees and employers to see the future instead of the past, and it improves the communication between both parties, mediation is a less costly process and considerably faster than litigation. Mediation works best if the company is trying to keep the issues out of the public eye a positive outcome in mediation occurs when both parties want to preserve their working relationship. The decision I non-binding and the result of the dispute rest within the parties themselves. Arbitration is also a dispute resolution process it is a private judicial determination by a third party who is independent. With arbitration the parties allow their power to be decided by the arbitrators. It is an alternative to court preceding the decision is final and binding unlike mediation which is nonbinding. Arbitration is governed by the state and federal laws arbitration offers efficiency, privacy, convenience, flexibility and the final decision. Legal implications of Employment-related processes Employment law on the promotion of employees is protected by federal and state laws against adverse employment actions. In an at-will employment relationship, where the employer or the employee can terminate their employment relationship at any time, Koys, Briggs and Grening (1987) noted that courts have found employers liable for many exceptions to the doctrine. Many of the exceptions included implied contract and infringement on public policy. Performance appraisals have become a job assets and any intrusion with those assets may increase the liability to the employer. Failure to promote employees or otherwise qualified employee’s is a form of adverse employment action. Performance appraisals provide written documentation and prove the employer acted fairly and just. Developmental training is any training that improves an individual and the organizational performance goals. There are areas where companies should focus their training initiative sexual harassment, discrimination and safety. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that employers can be held liable for sexual harassment complaints if the company does not encourage reasonable care to prevent such behavior. A major key to addressing unlawful harassment is training of all management and staff. Reference: Koy, D.J., Briggs, S., & Grenig, J. (1987). State court disparity on employment-at-will. Personnel Psychology, 40, 565-577. Mahony, D. M., & Klaas, B. S. (2008). Comparative Dispute Resolution in the Workplace. Journal of Labor Research, 29(3), 251-271. Weinstein, Rebecca (2001). Mediation in the workplace. WestPoint, CT: Quorum Books.