Unit 1 discussion
How do courts decide who is an employee and who is an
independent contractor? What are the positive and negative issues that are
associated with being either an employee or and independent contractor? What
are the risks associated with being an independent contractor? Use the Library
or other Web resources to support your answer.
Unit 2 discussion
Mr. Thomas, a 10 year executive with XYZ Corporation,
continued to engage his secretary in a conversation regarding the female body
part that was a subject of a recent television program, even after she
indicated she did not wish to discuss it further. Mr. Thomas subsequently
copied a page from a dictionary containing the name of a body part and gave it
to the secretary, which in addition to prior behavior she interpreted as sexual
harassment. His employer terminated him because of this incident and other
alleged incidents of poor judgment. In a suit for wrongful termination, Mr.
Thomas won compensatory damages plus punitive damages against the company and
his secretary.
In the Discussion Board, discuss the following questions
about the case:
Do you think Mr. Thomas’ actions constituted sexual
harassment? Why or why not?
Do you think termination of Mr. Thomas was justified? Why or
why not?
What factors might have influenced the jury’s decision?
Can you share with the class if you, your friend or
colleague have had an encounter with a sexual harassment case at work? Do not
use names of individuals or businesses.
Unit 3 discussion
What is the significance of the Pregnancy Discrimination
Act?
Can you share with the class if you, your friend or
colleague was pregnant at work and has ever been a target of discrimination?
What is the best possible course of action to take when one
is the target of pregnancy discrimination?
Can a company ever consider pregnancy in its employment
decisions? Explain.
Unit 4 discussion
Does the Immigration Reform and Control Act apply to your
current (or most recent) employer? Explain.
What are the consequences to an employer if it hires an
unauthorized alien?
In your opinion, why is this law important?
Do you think the economy has a shortage of skilled workers?
Please explain your thoughts fully.
Unit 5 discussion
Have you known anyone with a disability at work?
What are some challenges that employees have who are
disabled on a day to day basis?
What are some special accommodations if any do employees
with disabilities have within the workplace setting?
Unit 1 individual
project
What are the possible legitimate reasons for which an
employee can challenge a wrongful termination?
In what situations does a terminated employee have no
recourse?
Unit 1 individual
project 2
Use the Library or other Web resources to develop a
questionnaire that managers will use when they are interviewing applicants.
This document must contain:
The name of the position that the candidates will be
interviewing for
At least 12 permissible questions that will be asked to all
candidates
A summary of illegal questions that should never be asked in
the recruitment process
Unit 2 individual
project
What are the employee workplace rights mandated by U.S.
Federal law?
Briefly discuss at least two controversial issues concerning
workplace rights (other than monitoring e-mail). Provide real-life examples to
illustrate your answer.
In addition, discuss the issue of workplace privacy.
Specifically, do employees have the right to expect privacy in their e-mail
conversations, or do companies have a right and/or responsibility to monitor
e-mail?
Unit 2 individual
project 2
Draft a performance action plan for a company to follow when
providing discipline in response to complaints of sexual harassment. Use the
Library or other Web resources if needed.
Unit 3 individual
project
What are the responsibilities of your current (or most
recent) employer with regard to the Family and Medical Leave Act?
Unit 3 individual
project 2
Using the Library or other Web resources, identify and
describe a case in which an employer’s activities were restricted due to
religious rights of employees. Be sure to explain how the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission’s criteria for religious discrimination apply to the
case.
Unit 4 group project
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) was designed to
protect workers with disabilities against employer discrimination. As a group
discuss the following:
In actual practice, how well does the Act achieve this goal?
Explain. Support your answer with examples from recent court decisions.
Submit a summary of the group’s consensus.
Unit 4 individual
project
Using the Library or other Web resources, identify and
describe a case in which an employer’s activities were restricted due to age
related rights of employees. Be sure to explain how the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission’s criteria for age discrimination apply to the case.
Unit 5 individual
project
Imagine you are a Human Resource manager for a large firm
and that one of your employees has suffered a temporary disability. Answer the
following questions:
What laws apply to temporary disability at the workplace?
Under what general circumstances is the employee entitled to
benefits?
What are those benefits and who administers them?
Unit 5 individual
project 2
Using the Library or other Web resources, identify and
describe a scenario that involves an ergonomic injury and determine guidelines
to prevent further injuries in the work setting. Be sure to explain how the
U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration’s
criteria for ergonomic injuries might apply to the scenario.
