Assignment:
1. When Maria Suarez got her new job, she was happy. As an oil rigger, she would make enough money to support herself and her two children. But after a week of working with a primarily male crew, her happiness was gone. Her co-workers were the reason. At first the men made unwelcome comments about her body. Then sexual graffiti mentioning her name appeared. When she came to work one morning a nude female picture was pinned to one of the rigs. Her name had been scrawled across the bottom. Maria complained to the crew foreman, who referred her to the site manager. "Let's ignore it for a while," he told Maria. "It's just good fun. The men are testing you. You've got to fit in."
Based on your reading of chapter 20 of the text, Reed, Pagattaro, Cahoy, Shedd, and Magid (2015) and other academic research, address the issues raised in the Maria Suarez job dilemma by responding to the following questions:
What are Maria's legal rights in this situation?
What would you do if you were the site manager?
Do you think Maria should just try to "fit in"?
As you respond to the learning activity, consider the following:
How Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on many different factors.Employment practices that may put a business at risk for claims of discrimination.
2. The learning activity below covers several labor laws that include WARN Act (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), The Fair Labor Standards Act, and Electronic Communications Privacy Act. After reading chapter 21 of the text, Reed, Pagattaro, Cahoy, Shedd, and Magid (2015), respond to the questions that follow.
You just had one of those days--exciting and overwhelming. As your company's director of human relations, you have dealt with an employee asking how much leave he can take when his wife has their first baby next month. A phone call from the company's CFO involved discussions of potential layoffs in order to "make the budget." A group of employees came to meet with you, and they indicated they were talking with union organizers as a way to combat the company's policy of monitoring phone calls and e-mail messages. Another group of employees expressed their feelings that they were not being paid for all the time they worked.
Before heading home, you take a few minutes to reflect and ask yourself the following questions:
How is the workday calculated?What legal requirements have to be met before layoffs can occur?What is the company's responsibility to educate employees about their rights under the FMLA?Can your company properly monitor its employees' phone calls and e-mail messages?
While responding to the learning activity, consider the following:
The authority of an agent to act on behalf of a principal and the resulting ethical considerations. The necessity of adequate and detailed documentation to justify employer decisions.
3. After watching the video, "What Does an Inclusive Work Environment Look Like?" discuss the following:
The need for flexibility to accommodate a diverse workforce, and the benefits of an inclusive workplace environment. (Zundel, 2015)