Duty_of_Care

1 Running Head: ASSIGNMENT 3 Employer’s Duty of Care by LEG 500 Law, Ethics and Governance Fall 2011 To Professor Moses Cowan Strayer University Thousand Oaks 2 Abstract This paper will attempt to examine the employer’s care of duty. Over the years laws and regulations have been set to protect employees and their positions within the workplace. 3 Explain whether Jake’s actions are in or out of “his scope of employment.” Every employer has a duty of care to its employees. In this case, Jake’s actions were within the scope of his employment as a certified auto mechanic. He wanted to ensure proper care of the customer’s automobiles because their company can be sued if something goes wrong with the automobile due to him not checking the basics as the law requires. According to the Bureau of Labor, Certified Auto Mechanics inspect, maintain, and repair automobiles and light trucks that run on gasoline, electricity, or alternative fuels, such as ethanol. They perform basic care maintenance, such as oil changes and tire rotations, diagnose more complex problems, and plan and execute vehicle repairs. In order for Jake to be in compliance with the national standards he had to check the basics. Explain whether or not Herman is responsible for Jake’s injury. In this scenario, Jake’s injury could fall under the personal injury category because of his arthritis but, his thumb bleeding is not Herman’s fault. Although Jake felt overworked due to a lack of time off he should not have used a torque wrench to keep his thumb functioning to keep up with the work flow. The torque wrench is used to tighten screws and bolts not for any parts of the human body. Jake claims he was overworked so he didn’t realize it was his thumb instead of the auto part he was actually working on but, he stated it as if he tried to tighten his thumb on purpose. It seems that Jake wants the overtime and he is really not concerned about his injury if he is grant the overtime pay he is entitled. Although, his thumb is bleeding and injured there is no way to prove that Jake hurt his thumb because he is overworked, he stated to another 4 employee that he tried to tighten his thumb with a torque wrench and that very well could be used against him if brought before the courts. He does have a right to file a worker’s compensation claim. When a work injury aggravates, reactivates or accelerates your arthritis or degenerative disc disease, you have a right to file for workers' compensation benefits (www.findlaw.com). Herman is responsible for being in compliance with ,Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor which requires him to know his employees health conditions for the physical duties of his job description. Explain whether or not Jake should be paid the overtime. Although Jake is a salaried employee he may still be entitled to overtime. The federal FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) and the laws of the 50 states regulate what constitutes “overtime” (allbusiness.com) . Herman stated that because Jake was recently promoted to service manager and apart of the Rally Management team that he was exempt from overtime pay. The legal definition of "exempt" and "nonexempt" has much more to do with an employee's level of responsibility or his or her status as a professional (www.allbusiness.com). Jake’s job title changed but, he was still doing much of the same labor he’d done before being promoted. According to FLSA, service maintenance employees are non exempt positions and not exempt from overtime pay. Explain the rights Jake and Herman have individually in this scenario. Jake has the right to receive a copy of his contract and to collect evidence such as a paper trail of hours worked and document each conversation he had with Herman to 5 resolve this matter. Jake also the right to file a worker’s compensation claim. Herman has the right to assign overtime in advance and also have Jake to work a reasonable amount over time to meet the business needs. 6 References 1.http://www.findlaw.com 2. http://www.allbusiness.com/government/employment-regulations/808-1.html#ixzz1de3hRXYg