Critical Thinking Assignment # 1

Equal Opportunity: Major HR Laws Affecting Equal Opportunity

Directions: For this exercise you are acting as a Human Resource Professional.   Applying your knowledge of current HR laws, the text, and other sources:  (1) examine each of the following scenarios, (2) determine which law potentially is being violated and (3) describe what actions you would take as the HR manager.

NOTE: This assignment must include an APA-formatted cover page, opening abstract and a reference page including text citations.  The write-up for each of the six separate scenarios should be presented in a business format.  Please edit and proofread the final paper you are presenting.

Scenario 1:  Roderick, an employee on the manufacturing line and a member of a new religious organization called The Rites of Spring, has informed you that he will be unable to work on Friday afternoons after 2:00pm and will be unable to report to work before noon on Mondays.  He indicated that from Friday afternoon through Monday morning he must not work, as according to the principles of The Rites of Spring.  He realizes this is an inconvenience and has offered to extend his workdays on other afternoons.  The facility is a 24 hour operation with 3 shifts.

Scenario 2:  Adam, an African American employee in your retail operation, has filed a complaint indicating that several white coworkers, including two supervisors, are harassing him because of his race.  He alleges that they call him names such as “Sambo”, “Boy”, Afrikaner,” and “Zulu.”  He also indicates that his supervisor refuses to allow him to work overtime, preferring to give overtime opportunities to white employees.  Adam is a solid associate with no attendance issues, and he’s always very helpful to customers.  After reviewing the overtime log, you discover that each of his coworkers has averaged five hours of overtime per week.

Scenario 3:  you are the HR manager for a regional construction firm based in Atlanta, Georgia.  In most cases, you create ads seeking temporary construction work in various cities where projects exist.  However, occasionally site supervisors place their own ads in local papers.  After three phone calls from women in Tampa, Florida, objecting to a recent ad placed in that city’s newspaper, you conduct an investigation.  You discover the ad placed by the Tampa, Florida site supervisor reads, “Young men wanted for construction in the Tampa area.”

Scenario 4:  On a weekly basis, you hold meetings with hiring managers to review recently submitted resumes and applications.  These meetings determine which candidates to bring in for an interview.  One hiring manager, after reviewing a resume you handed him says, “I’m not interested in this one.”  You ask him why, and he explains, “He has some personal information on here, and he’s indicated he was born in Mexico.”  You remind the hiring manager that the candidate has 10 years’ experience and an MBA from a top ranked school.  So far, it is the best resume you’ve seen for this particular position.  The hiring manager responds, “So? I don’t want to take a chance that the wetback is illegal in this country.”

Scenario 5:  Tiffany, an associate on the production line for assembling mechanical pencils, is six months’ pregnant.  You have discovered that her supervisor has required Tiffany to work light duty jobs in the production office, which means she is ineligible for the incentive program.  This means a potential loss to Tiffany of approximately $60 per week extra in incentive pay.  When you asked the supervisor about the situation, he replied, “Are you kidding?  She is 6 months pregnant.  She could get hurt or something might happen to her baby.  As an Hr manager, aren’t you concerned about things like that?”

Scenario 6:  You are the HR manager for a national consumer-goods manufacturer with four plants spread across the country and a corporate office in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Each plant has a full-time cost analyst who keeps tabs on production expenses, efficiencies, and so on.  The best cost analyst, Jennifer (38 years old), is located at the LA office facility.  She has been extremely successful in reducing overhead costs and has started several initiatives that have gone company-wide in significantly reducing costs.  An opening for cost manager, based in Cincinnati, has emerged, and the company is conducting a national search to fill this position, which will oversee all four cost analysts.  Jennifer has asked to be considered.  The VP of finance, to whom the cost manager position will report, does not wish to consider Jennifer.  He points out that she has multiple sclerosis and, since she now has to use a walker or crutches to get around, her condition will only worsen.  He feels that even though she is the most qualified candidate, he is uncertain how long she’ll be physically able of performing the essential functions of the job.

**Remember to include context from your textbook along with other sources related to this assignment.  Examples of APA are under Assignments in your blackboard shell along with a helpful website for further instruction. A rubric for this assignment is posted below.

Critical Thinking Assignment # 1 Grading Rubric
Employment Law
Critical Thinking Assignment # 2 Grading Rubric
Recruitment Methods

Points Possible    Points Awarded    Criteria

5
Paper is formatted using an APA style: (Includes:  Title Page, Abstract & Text Citations)
Proofreading & Editing of Paper
(Overall paper is free of spelling, grammar and punctuation errors)

5
Integration of course materials (how does the assignment relate to items and objectives in the chapter-must give in-text citations)

10
Quality of written memo to the VP of HR:  The memo is organized and written in a clear and easily understood manner that is presented in a business format.

5         Addresses each question thoroughly and in an organized manner.
Is the recruitment plan presented in the memo both feasible and executable?
Have obstacles to successful recruitment and project completion timeline been addressed?
25         Total