Issues Facing Employees - Report Example

Human Resource Final Paper Human Resource Final Paper Although it would be frustrating not being promoted, which is the goal of any professional position, there are more pressing matters for Goldstein than being promoted. In fact, I would argue that the Vice President made an important decision by considering her personal issues when determining the individual for promotion. I would advise her to ensure that the present work life balance that she has established is maintained. This is because family issues should be considered before making any decision that may affect the family. It is also true that she may not be in apposition to fulfill the overwhelming duties that come with the vice presidency due to the current illness with her mother. I would also advise her to remember that the current issue with her mother will be resolved sometime in the future which will give her an opportunity to concentrate with the vice presidency because she will most likely get a chance to be promoted without any obstacle getting in the way. In addition, she may perform poorly due to the situation, which would be bad for the company. Therefore, with the current situation, it would be best for her and her family to remain in her current position so that she can maintain the balance that is demanded by the situation. 2 With respect to Jennifer Albright’s situation, it is highly likely that she will win the case. The laws that govern and prevent individuals from any form of sexual harassment, either verbal or physical, define sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances that make the victim intimidated or humiliated (Sexual harassment in the workplace, n.d). One of the reasons why she may win the case is that the employer has failed in ensuring the establishment of a sexual harassment free workplace. This implies that the employer is liable in this case. In addition, the fact that the victimizer is a nephew to a key partner in the organization may improve her chances of winning the case. This is because it could explain why Albright took long before filing the case. Here, if she filed such a complaint, she may have lost her job, which may be the key reason why she delayed. Additionally, the nephew may have taken advantage of the fact that the company was a family business, which could make it harder for him to be dismissed even if the partners were aware of the harassment. Therefore, there is a high likelihood that Albright will win the case. 3 Based on the previous performance exhibited by Theresa Thomas, the discharge should not be a cause for alarm. In fact, instead of discharging her on the mere fact that she was performing poorly, the principal should have given her a pregnancy leave until she is able to perform her duties with ease. I would advise her to take the time off and take care of her unborn child until she is ready to look for a job. On the side of the principal, the decision to discharge her shows insensitivity. This is because issues facing employees especially pregnancy issues should be dealt with in a more mature manner. It is clear that the principal did not have a reason to discharge her considering her condition. In addition, allowing the performance of teachers and their ultimate fate to be determined by the students is also a poor way to evaluate the employee’s performance. I would advise her not to worry about her performance because she knows why it has dropped. I would also advise her to consider filing a lawsuit against the school for the discharge. This is because an employee’s employment should not be terminated for the mere fact that they have a problematic pregnancy. 4 It is clear that the Sikhs are being discriminated against based on their religion. Even the organization’s dress code does not consider this issue. This implies that it should be allowed. Being lawyers, I would expect the Sikhs to be aware of the fact that these acts are against the law, as people should have unconditional rights to religion. Therefore, they should take legal action against the firm. This is because the firm is violating their rights. In addition, it is assuming that the clients may view their turbans as unprofessional although none has. Nonetheless, the clients themselves would understand the religious attire since they also have a religion that they believe in and would like to be respected. Therefore, they would respect other people’s religion and religious beliefs. This implies that the Sikhs would have a strong case against the organization’s discrimination. If, for some reason, the court rules in the favor of M & M, the Sikhs should look for employment elsewhere since there are many organizations that respect a person’s beliefs. This is because a person should not abandon their beliefs in the name of employment since beliefs define a person. 5 For the Mexican workers experiencing racial discrimination, I would advise them to proceed and sue the drilling company for failure to protect them from discrimination and not taking any action regardless of the fact that they reported the behavior to the supervisor. Although they are afraid of losing their jobs, I would advise them not to worry about this because the law can protect them. In fact, they may even be compensated for the discrimination that they have faced. In addition, the organization would start being serious on issues concerning racial discrimination. This is because the organization is openly tolerating it in spite of clear stipulation by the law that organizations should establish workplaces that are free of any form of discrimination. The law would also take punitive measures even if the person responsible for the discrimination were of the same race as the victim (Workplace Fairness, 2008). Therefore, it is clear that the supervisor, in spite of being Mexican too, would be punished by the law for allowing racial discrimination in the organization. If they take legal action against the firm, future employees of the same race would not be discriminated against. Therefore, I would advise the Mexican workers to sue the organization for racial discrimination. 6 Based on the impending changes at Crystal Advertising Agency, I would advise Rogers to proceed with the class action lawsuit. This is because the organization is about to discriminate them on basis of age. The impending year-end evaluations may be used by the organization to determine how the older employees would be compensated, which is very unfair to the older employees. Rogers would have a strong case against the organization because discrimination is not tolerated in the workplace. In addition, although it appears that the organization is performance or money oriented, it should acknowledge that there are laws that protect employees from this form of discrimination. The other reason why I would encourage Rogers to proceed with the lawsuit is that there are many employees who would be affected by this decision and someday, even the younger ones would have to go through the same issue. Therefore, the lawsuit would not only be projected at safe guarding the older employees but also ensuring a discrimination free workplace for the younger employees who would be in the older employee category in several years. 7 Rita Hall is being discriminated based on health by Bull & Bear. I would advise her to consider one of two options that include either filing a lawsuit against the firm claiming that she is being discriminated or look for employment elsewhere in organizations that consider employee health as a primary factor to performance. This is because she in a situation that will not leave her probably for the rest of her life. She should take health as her primary concern because the health condition she is facing is life threatening. If she abides to the organization’s demands, she may end her life sooner. If she sues the organization, she will earn the two afternoons that she is asking for and compensate it by working on weekends and overtime. There would be no reason for the organization to deny this other than discriminating her. In fact, the organization may be attempting to terminate her employment in the long run. If she is not comfortable suing the organization, she may opt to look for a job in other organizations, which is the opinion I would recommend. This is because the present organization may blame any poor performance on her illness, which would affect her emotionally and professionally. 8 The fees being paid to the employees of Neptune Fish Market are illegal. This is because the organization is not following the minimum wage laws of Washington D. C. According to the law, Washington residents should be paid a minimum of $9.32 per hour. This would translate to $83.88 per day when taking the 9 hours into account. For the full period of three weeks, these employees should be paid a minimum of $1,258. Any value below this is illegal and is discriminating the employees since it does not consider their effort and ignores the law. Currently, the organization is paying its employees $7.4 per hour and a subsequent $66.6 in a day. The organization does also not consider the fact that the job could be having certain hazards since it is a sanitizing and overhaul job. In addition, taking the cost of living in Washington, the Neptune Fish Market is not compensating the employees fairly. Therefore, the compensation practices exhibited by this company are not legal. 9 I would advise the firm to do a cost benefit analysis on this situation. First, the employees’ performance goes down when their physical health deteriorates. This implies that the organization should understand performance issues that may come as a result of poor physical health. Second, the organization should consider the possibility of the employees filing lawsuits on poor working conditions. If such a lawsuit takes place, the organization would lose more money through compensations than it would have when purchasing the equipment that the employees were requesting. In addition, the organization should understand that the requirements that the employees are requesting would be used to improve efficiency of the work due to improved working conditions. Better working conditions motivate employees leading to better performance. Bearing in mind that the organization is a large one, it is clear that the organization is deliberately denying the request to provide the required equipment since the cost would not be as overwhelming. Therefore, this organization should understand that failure to provide the equipment would be more expensive than providing it. Due to the resulting health problems, the employees would ask for compensation. Compensation claims would be constant but provision of the equipment would be a one-time exercise. Therefore, a good decision would be made after a cost benefit analysis is conducted. 10 I would advise Venus Cosmetics not to take rumors seriously because they do not measure up when making decisions. This is because it might take a drastic punitive action such as dismissing her and end up having a lawsuit, which is uncalled for. Instead, I would recommend the organization to undertake a comprehensive investigation into the issue so as to acquire adequate evidence that it can use during decision making. In the case that the investigation finds the rumors to be authentic, then Venus Cosmetics would have adequate evidence to use in either terminating her employment or punishing her in other ways. In addition, the organization can also use the evidence to sue the employee on claims of workers’ compensation abuse (DeCarlo & Thompson, 2014). This is because exaggerating an injury is against the law. On the other hand, the organization should have been aware of the extent of the injury prior to issuing the worker’s compensation. This implies that the organization could also be at fault if she managed to exaggerate the injury. This should also serve as a wakeup call for the organization to ensure that it is aware of injury extent before awarding the compensation. If the organization views the exaggeration positively, it could improve the efficiency of its policies since this case indicates inefficiency on the part of the organization. I would also recommend the organization to consider punishing her internally without terminating her employment and implementing better measures to prevent a re-occurrence. References DeCarlo, D. T. & Thompson, R. T. (2014). The Workers Compensation Fraud. Retrieved from http://www.iso.com/Newsletters/Perspectives/issue-9-article-The-Workers-Compensation-Fraud.html Sexual harassment in the workplace. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au/index.php/sexual-harassment Workplace Fairness. (2008). Race Discrimination. Retrieved from http://www.workplacefairness.org/racedisc#3 Read More