Cost Club Human Resources Department

Scenario Two: Cost Club Human Resources Department University of Phoenix Carlos Flores HRM/546 Human Resource Law Instructor: Christopher Fletcher February 26, 2010 Abstract The new assistant manager (AM) receives an e-mail from his the HR manager Pat Fletcher requesting downsizing the HR department from eight employees to five. He wants recommendations of the three selected employees to be terminated. An explanation of what principles of employment laws that might apply to the three employees. What action should management take in preparation if any of the three employee file discrimination case and chances of the company win. Recommended Employees Indentified for termination I have identified the employee for termination based on their work experience and job function that could be assimilated by the rest of the five remaining employees in the Human resource (HR) department. The following are: †¢Diane/Ten years of service- records specialist handling the health care issues and compensation matters for the company. Greg/Five years of service- have learned to do complex work however, not trained in real HR work. He has helped in the tech hiring process for the company. †¢Horatio/Six months of service- has been place in the HR department and has learned the basic of health and insurance however, not a full experienced employee in this area. The three employees identified are 2 male and one female. The principle employment law that are relevant to all three employee s is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964- which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Possible Discrimination case against Cost Club The possible three types of discrimination cases filed from any of the identified employees would be: †¢Race Discrimination-Horatio is Hispanic and the newest member of the HR department. He would have to prove because he is Hispanic and limited English language that the company is terminating him because of this factor. Another fact would be that he was hired based on a settlement with the EEO case and not following up with our commitment. I see this second part would not have any grounds because the company gave him an opportunity and hired him. The company in good faith placed him avoid any conflict among other company employees to place him in an office environment instead learning HR practices. He submitted an application to work in one of the stores. I view both facts non relevant because we did hire him and have placed him in a position which he did not apply for and he accepted the position and training we have given him on site†¦ †¢Gender Discrimination-Diane is female and has been with the company for some time. Diane would have to prove that we are terminating her because she is female. This would be very hard to prove because we have not discriminated based on gender and there are two other employees male and one of them is minority in the process of being terminated. Another fact is that the HR department has two other female employees. Diane is also aware that she had a minor attendance performance where we worked with her and still kept her with the company. The company also has other females working in the stores and this indicates that we do not discriminate against gender. Religious Discrimination-Greg cannot work on weekends due to his religious beliefs. He may try to file discrimination because he cannot work on weekends due to his religious beliefs. This would be difficult to prove because the company has respected and have made provisions to accommodate for him to be off on all weekends compared to the rest of the HR department that has to work on weekends when needed. The company would win in such case because we have provided attention to his needs. Management actions and Incorporating legal references Top management and the HR department should work together and be ready for any discrimination claims that any of the three recommended employee might file claims due to their termination. The HR department should meet with each of them in private in our office to explain the reasons why the company has decided to terminate them. We should explain to each employee the laws that the company follows and that the terminations is based on our economy, cost factors and reduction in workforce. Since each employee can file a different discrimination case by providing the reasons and the company projections they should understand fully of the current company situation. We should explain to them that their position will be eliminated and taken over by the more experience remaining employees in the HR department. The company should give all three each employee’s advance notice of termination so they can make necessary arrangements in seeking employment elsewhere. The HR department should provide all information as to their rights, benefits with documentation to the labor department so they can take advantage of unemployment benefits. Since this termination is beyond our control we should ensure that the process is done in a timely and professional positive manner. The HR department should have in our meeting with the employees documentation signed by all in acknowledgement of the company decision and their acceptance. In the case that one of the employee’s do not agree further explanation and any references of any government agency if needed. Discrimination charge response process The process we should follow in even the one of the employees file a discrimination case would be the following: †¢Listen to the employee and assure them the company understands their thoughts. †¢Prepare all documentation on the employee as to name, date for hire, performance reports etc. being ready in advance of such claim. †¢Consult with our legal team in the event the employee wants to fight the claim in legal battle. †¢We should cooperate fully with any claims from the federal agency on any investigation, documentation if we get notification on any discrimination case files by the employee being terminated. The HR department will retain five of the eight employees due to their years of experience with the company and some of them have already assumed a management role to support the department. The remaining employees can assume the new duties in a very short time with no negative impact toward the company mission and goals. The following employees will be recommended to stay in the HR department: Abigail, Brad, Charles, Edith and Frank. Comparison Table Employee Name Employment YearsCompany Human Resource ExperienceRecommendation to remain in HRRecommendation for termination Abigail – 7 HR Experience / Management roleRemain Brad – 35 HR Experience / Management roleRemain Charles – 20HR Experience / Recruitment roleRemain Edith – 25HR Experience / Employee RetentionRemain Frank – 15HR Experience / Multiple HR rolesRemain Diane – 10HR Experience / Insurance Compensation roleTerminate Employment Greg – 5 LimitedTerminate Employment Horatio – 6 monthsLimitedTerminate Employment References Bennett-Alexander, D. D. & Hartman, P. L. (2007). Employment law for business (5th Ed. ). New York: McGraw–Hill. Retrieved February 26, 2010