CRM 123 – How to Brief a Case A case brief is a dissection of a judicial opinion. It contains a written summary of the basic components of that decision. Briefing a case helps you acquire the skills of case analysis and legal reasoning. It also helps you understand it. Briefs help you remember cases for class discussions and assignments. Learning law is a process of problem solving through legal reasoning; case briefs, therefore, should not be memorized. Below are examples and explanations of the components of a case brief. 1. Case Title and Citation ■ Buckhannon Board and Care Home, Inc. v. West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services (Plaintiff Nursing Home) v. (Defendant State Entity) 532 U.S. 598 (2001) Case titles generally take on the names of the parties involved in the case. For example, in this case Buckhannon Board and Care Home, Inc. v. West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Buckhannon Board is the party asking the Court to reverse a lower court’s holding; W est Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources wants the Court to affirm that holding. A citation acts as the case’s “address.” There is a standard format for cases contained in the United States Reports (abbreviated U.S. in case citations). Therefore, in this case, the citation is 532 U.S. 598. This means that this case is found on page 598 of the 532nd volume of the United States Reports. 2. Procedural History ■ Procedural History The Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court’s dismissal of the case and denial of attorney’s fees. The Supreme Court affirmed. The procedural history (or posture) states how the case got to the court that wrote the opinion that you are reading. 3. Facts ■ Facts Buckhannon Board and Care Home, Inc. (“Buckhannon”), which operates care homes that provide assisted living to its residents, failed an inspection by the W est Virginia Office of the State Fire Marshall because some of the residents were incapable of “self-preservation” as defined under state law. On October 28, 1997, after receiving cease and desist orders requiring the closure of its residential care facilities within 30 days, Plaintiff, on behalf of itself and other similarly situated homes and residents brought suit in federal district court against the state of West Virginia, two of its agencies, and 18 individuals. Plaintiff agreed to stay enforcement of the cease-and-desist orders pending resolution of the case and the parties began discovery. The district court granted W est Virginia’s motion to dismiss, finding that the 1998 legislation had eliminated the allegedly offensive provisions and that there was no indication that the Legislature would repeal the amendments. Buckhannon then moved for attorney’s fees as the prevailing party. This section includes a brief overview of the relevant facts of the case that (a) describe the dispute at hand and (b) have bro.

1. CRM 123 – How to Brief a Case
A case brief is a dissection of a judicial opinion. It contains a
written summary of the basic
components of that decision. Briefing a case helps you acquire
the skills of case analysis and
legal reasoning. It also helps you understand it. Briefs help you
remember cases for class
discussions and assignments. Learning law is a process of
problem solving through legal
reasoning; case briefs, therefore, should not be memorized.
Below are examples and
explanations of the components of a case brief.
1. Case Title and Citation
■ Buckhannon Board and Care Home, Inc. v. West Virginia
Department of Health
and Human Services
(Plaintiff Nursing Home) v. (Defendant State Entity) 532 U.S.
598 (2001)
Case titles generally take on the names of the parties involved
in the case. For example, in this

2. case Buckhannon Board and Care Home, Inc. v. West Virginia
Department of Health and
Human Resources, Buckhannon Board is the party asking the
Court to reverse a lower court’s
holding; W est Virginia Department of Health and Human
Resources wants the Court to affirm
that holding.
A citation acts as the case’s “address.” There is a standard
format for cases contained in the
United States Reports (abbreviated U.S. in case citations).
Therefore, in this case, the citation is
532 U.S. 598. This means that this case is found on page 598 of
the 532nd volume of the
United States Reports.
2. Procedural History
■ Procedural History
The Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court’s dismissal of
the case and denial of
attorney’s fees. The Supreme Court affirmed. The procedural
history (or posture) states how the
case got to the court that wrote the opinion that you are reading.

3. 3. Facts
■ Facts
Buckhannon Board and Care Home, Inc. (“Buckhannon”),
which operates care homes
that provide assisted living to its residents, failed an inspection
by the W est Virginia Office of the
State Fire Marshall because some of the residents were
incapable of “self-preservation” as
defined under state law. On October 28, 1997, after receiving
cease and desist orders requiring
the closure of its residential care facilities within 30 days,
Plaintiff, on behalf of itself and other
similarly situated homes and residents brought suit in federal
district court against the state of
West Virginia, two of its agencies, and 18 individuals. Plaintiff
agreed to stay enforcement of the
cease-and-desist orders pending resolution of the case and the
parties began discovery. The
district court granted W est Virginia’s motion to dismiss,
finding that the 1998 legislation had
eliminated the allegedly offensive provisions and that there was
no indication that the

4. Legislature would repeal the amendments. Buckhannon then
moved for attorney’s fees as the
prevailing party.
This section includes a brief overview of the relevant facts of
the case that (a) describe the
dispute at hand and (b) have brought the case to this point.
Basically, you should answer the
questions of who did what to whom and why. The facts of the
case are often presented at the
outset of an opinion of the Court, although sometimes they may
describe through the opinion. It
is also important here to note the holdings of the lower court(s)
(i.e., the legal history of the
case) so that you understand the decision of the Supreme Court
when it “reverses” or “affirms.”
4. Issue
■ Issue
Is a prevailing party is entitled to attorney’s fees in Federal
court when the prevailing
party did not receive a judgment on the merits, but only
prevailed because the lawsuit brought
about a voluntary change in the defendant’s conduct.

5. In this section, you identify the legal issue(s) addressed by the
court. The legal issues should
refer specifically to the facts of the case, but you should not
phrase the issues as purely factual
questions. Issues may involve substantive law or procedural
law.
5. Ruling and Reasoning
■ Ruling and Reasoning
(Rehnquist, J.) No. The Supreme Court of the United States
affirmed the appeals court’s
ruling denying the motion for attorney’s fees. Although
attorney’s fees may be granted to a
prevailing party following a judgment on the merits, in addition
to settlement agreements
enforced through a consent decree, attorney’s fees are not
warranted where there has not been
a judicial determination altering the legal position of the
parties.
In the United States, parties are ordinarily required to bear
their own attorney’s fees so
that the prevailing party is not entitled to collect from the loser.
However, Congress has passed
laws permitting the shifting of attorney’s fees in numerous

6. instances. In refusing to award
attorney’s fees in this instance, though, the court stressed that
its decision was consistent with
prior decisions refusing to award attorney’s fees where the court
issued a directed verdict
against one party.
The ruling and reasoning section includes what this court ruled,
or, how the court answered the
question (theoretically, the court’s application of the law to the
fact of this specific case).
6. Dissenting or Concurring Opinion
■ Dissent
Justice Ginsberg dissented, in which he was joined by Justices
Stevens, Souter, and
Breyer. His dissent stressed that fee shifting should depend on
the outcome of the case, i.e.
whether the prevailing party received their desired outcome,
regardless of whether or not a
judicial decision existed to memorialize the outcome.
Essentially, the dissent defined the term
“prevailing party” in a practical sense, such clear that a party

7. may be considered to have
prevailed even when the legal action stops short of final
judgment due to intervening mootness.
■ Concurrence
Justice Scalia concurred, in which he was joined by Justice
Thomas. His concurrence
focuses on the fact that a prevailing party cannot be one who
left the courthouse empty-handed,
i.e. one must have received a judicial determination to be
considered a revailing party.
On occasion, a case report will include a dissenting opinion that
disagrees with the majority’s
ruling and reasoning. There may also be a concurring opinion
that agrees with the majority’s
result but not its reasoning. If so, briefly sate the main points of
the disagreement.
(Case example obtained from http://www.casebriefs.com,
retrieved April 18, 2012).
Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 1
14
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

8. Recruitment Process and Management of Diverse Workforce
Erica Smith
David Fountaine
11/13/16
1. Develop three (3) recruitment methods for the job
opportunity in question, and suggest two (2) ways that each
method helps one to avoid discriminatory practices. Justify your
response.
There are three recruitment procedures; I used as the
recruitment officer to fill in the customer service positions in
Pepsi corporation. The firm aimed at improving the sales and
marketing section, and hiring more recruits in the field was the
solution approved by the business’s management. Three
methods were used to select a qualified person for the
opportunity. Such methods include; Applicants submits their
documents such as resumes, a short interview, and application
blanks among others (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). Extensive
research on the applicants, such that their backgrounds check
which verifies the information and qualification. However, the
background checks only happen when the number of candidates
is few (Hanisko, et.al, 2015). This method avoids discrimination
in two significance ways. First, is generous selection ensured
through the presentation of documents showing the qualification
of the vacant position in a firm, and hence selection is made
fairly avoiding discriminatory practices (Armstrong & Taylor,
2014). Secondly, the aspect of conducting further studying the

9. history background of the applicants.
Specific qualifications that are required to examine the
qualifications and the skills of candidates. Most interviewers
use a screening to limit the number of applicants being
interviewed. The screening is used through the computer that is
why most applications are submitted online. It narrows down
the applications that have specific job qualifications that are
needed for the job. To verify the documents and information
given, interviews and proper job testing were conducted.
Consequently, the interviews and tests determine the level of
qualification and results to providing a possible rank of the
candidates with their qualifications and performances from the
test and the interviews. Discrimination is not encouraged due to
fair testing and interviews (Hanisko, et.al, 2015). The tests are
done fairly, and decisions of selecting the appropriate candidate
are made according to the performances and qualifications of
the individual. Applicants should meet all job requirements, of
the application and the recruitment department decided to
examine and evaluate the best candidate for the job.
Discrimination is also not encouraged since this method ensures
equality in terms gender, race, and sex among others (Hanisko,
et.al, 2015).
The third method of used for the selection was offering a
contingent to the finalist. This process can only happen after
two or more candidates have qualified for the job. To avoid
discrimination an offer for the finalist to work together,
prevents possible discrimination by either gender, sex or race.
The Pepsi firm offered three applicants who passed all the
stages of the application and instead of bias selection, the three
finalists were given a chance for a contingent offer and under a
condition of sharing the first salary as the starting salary
(Hanisko, et.al, 2015). One of the finalists bailed out, and the
other two were given the opportunity. Discrimination is also
avoided in the stage through the contingent changes and ensures
that all the finalist are given the opportunity to compete further
despite the completion of the entire application process.

10. Discrimination is neglected and entirely avoided through the
entire three stages and gender; race sex is not however
considered in the selection an appropriate organization
(Hanisko, et.al, 2015).
2. Outline an application process that details the organization’s
method of accepting all applications, as well as its method of
validating applicants’ attainment of the required credentials
(e.g., reviewing resumes, collecting transcripts, verifying
certifications, etc.) for the job opportunity
The Company follows a basic application process where, Job
vacancy posts were published and the job opportunity advertised
in all dimension possible such as the social media (Hanisko,
et.al, 2015). Interested applicants sent their letters and appeared
at the interview dates scheduled. The interviews were conducted
fairly and the results taken as the finalist were chosen and
contacted later to attend the tests (Hanisko, et.al, 2015). Both
external and the internal sources of recruiting employees to fill
an empty position have benefits as well as shortcomings. If
given the opportunity to use one, I would go to an external
source for recruiting employees. There are numerous reasons as
to why I would prefer the external source over the internal
source. Although, internal sources are beneficial in that the
members are promoted and compensated for more work which
motivates them and encourages others to work hard for the
position. Promotions and compensations of these workers bring
an internal competition for the job, and every employee works
hard for the advancement at the same time improve the
production of the company. However, the advantages of using
the external sources in the organization are more beneficial than
the internal sources (Hanisko, et.al, 2015).
First, at times, it may be difficult to get suitable and appropriate
employees for the vacant positions within the organization.
Therefore, using the external sources, it gives a flexibility of
choosing to the management, since many applicants may be
willing to get the opportunity of working for the organization in
the position (Hanisko, et.al, 2015). This flexibility of choosing

11. ensures that the management can select the best from the
applicants and based on the type of skills, ability, and
experience. Secondly, using external sourcing will enable me to
capture persons with new ideas from outside and previous
organizations (Hanisko, et.al, 2015). Foreign supply can catch
individuals with enough experience and skills to implement and
instill new ideas in the departments and the organization at
large. The change of plans, as well as the addition of new ideas
in the company, will ensure that the organization is in a
competitive position with other agencies (Hanisko, et.al, 2015).
Another benefit of using external sourcing of recruitment to the
company is economical since new employees are already
experienced and trained for the positions. The areas required
should fill both the high and low positions. This is a two task
position and requires highly trained and skilled employees to
handle (Hanisko, et.al, 2015). Getting sources from outside the
organization will ensure I get exactly the type of trained
personnel I need for the positions. As mentioned earlier,
external sourcing will give me an opportunity to select from a
variety of interested applicants. This flexibility will ensure I
choose the best from all interested candidates. My selection will
focus on filling the high and the low positions. Hence I would
consider the most skilled, and the person with the great ability
to handle the job. This will reduce the training cost since the
individual is competent and the person is as well experienced
for the work. The experienced employees will ensure new ideas
are implemented in the organizations (Hanisko, et.al, 2015).
In conclusion, recruiting new employees will require the
addition of labor since the workload is added. Therefore, using
internal recruitment source, some employees will have to handle
extra work, and the work might even be axcess to some
employees due to this, the quality of work done by employees in
the organization might reduce causing a decrease in the
production of the company. On the other hand, external
sourcing of recruitment is advantageous because it will lead to
additional of labor in the organization hence reducing the

12. workload per employee. This will lead quality work which
increases production of the organization. Evidently, it is wise to
use external source while recruiting in case some vacant
positions may exists in the department (Hanisko, et.al, 2015).
3. Develop a five- (5) step procedure for the HR Department to
use in order to maintain all applicants’ records in case a
discriminatory charge occurs
1. Procedure for Prevention of Discriminatory Charge
Discrimination happens when an applicant is disadvantaged or
denied the chance due to their age, race, and sex among others.
It may be as a result of personal interest as well, where the
interviewer dislikes the personal character of the applicant
tending to think it may affect their work performance despite
being qualified and can be indirect for or direct form. To
overcome such legal threats, here are some of the precautions
taken in our firm to ensure safety;
· Abide by the law, especially the (Vic) Equal Opportunity Act
(2010) in the United States.
· Discourage such instances of discrimination in the firm.
· The firm has drafted some policies against discrimination in
all perspectives that is, age, and sex among others. These rules
are mandatory, and all employees are committed to them since
they result in severe consequences such as demotion and even
lawbreaking.
· Managers in Pepsi are highly trained and skilled on
perspectives of cultural diversity and discriminations. Managers
and other leaders in the firm likely to commit discrimination
due to the power appointed to them by the firm’s policy.
· There is a peer in the firm working to counsel and guide on
law and other similar issues. For instance, a guiding office has a
department for training the newly employed on the policy of the
firm as well as the social culture of the firm. Also, a grievance
officer is appointed to monitor and observe instances of law
breaking and another issue such as discrimination in the firm.
4. Decide on three (3) background checks that the HR

13. Department must utilize, and justify the relevance of each
background check for the job opportunity
Human Resource should perform a background check to verify
the information their applicants. Verification is important since
it examines the reliability of the documents and the applicant.
The first crucial are to perform a background check on, is the
applicant’s previous experience. They should contact the referee
to understand the applicant's past experiences. Secondly, they
should make inquiries on the applicant’s performances from
their academic institutions, where they graduated. Finally, they
should seek to now the applicant’s record and behavioral
activities. All the three background checks plays a pivotal role
to the applicant’s job opportunity. Verification of their
performance and previous experience already in their possession
will influence the decision of the employers regarding the job
opportunity. The positive response from the background checks
increases their job opportunities, and negative feedback from
checks denies the applicant an opportunity. For instance, if the
referee in the resume comments negatively about the behavior
of the applicant or the performance, then it might cost the
applicant a job opportunity, in spite of their remarkable
qualifications. Employers are advised to respond effectively to
such comments and terminate such applications. On the other
hand, positive comments from the referees will give the
applicant an advantage over the others despite race, age or even
sex.
5. Choose three (3) employment tests (e.g., drug tests, medical
examinations, HIV tests, generic tests, polygraphs, honesty
tests, psychological tests, intelligence and skills tests, and
physical fitness, etc.) that the HR Department should use.
Justify the relevance of each selected employment test to the
job requirements.
The HR might consider employing the drug test, medical test,
and HV test. The firm produces drinks and refreshments, the
health of the employees’ matters to the firm and the consumers.
Some diseases are airborne, and a multitude of employees work

14. together and come to contact with the products, as well as other
human beings regularly. It is necessary that their health is
tested and examined as part of their job opportunity test
(Reiche, et.al, 2016). Those with a disease like HIV cannot
work efficiently in the company and might infect the co-workers
and the clients. Drug abusing has significant impacts and
reduces the efficiency of workers through interfering with their
focus and concentration. It is relevant that they a drug test is
conducted on them and addicts should be denied the job
opportunity with immediate effect. Lastly, any medical
condition should be examined, hiring infected and the ill person
may affect the efficiency and workforce might significantly
reduce in the firm (Reiche, et.al, 2016).
6. Formulate a policy for making both the hiring and
promotional decisions related to the job opportunity. Specify
the major challenges and potential adverse impact of using
subjective criteria for assessing soft skills. Next, suggest one
(1) plan to mitigate the adverse impact. Justify your suggestion.
Performance evaluation is vital for promotion and payment of
the employees. It also provides an opportunity of assessing the
performance of the employees to the management. There are
five steps followed while creating the performance evaluation
system. These steps include the increase of an evaluation form,
identification of measures of performance, setting feedbacks
guidelines, creation of termination procedures as well as
disciplinary and setting a schedule for evaluation. Conducting a
performance evaluation system is important because it can
motivate staff and employees to work hard and do their best for
the promotion and the compensation. It, therefore, should be
performed fairly to maintain and establish a good relationship
with the employees.
The first step of evaluation performance is to develop a form of
evaluation. The use of standard evaluation form ensures fair,
objective and consistent evaluation done. The form used should
only be based on job routine parts. The second step deals with
the identification of the performance measures. They are

15. standard and allow evaluation of performance objective.
Therefore they ensure standard evaluation of job performance.
The third step is guidelines setting and the feedback;
performance evaluation is feedback. The person conducting the
performance evaluation should be aware of the kind of feedback
to give and receive in return. The feedback should be equal and
should encourage feedback from the employee as well (Reiche,
et.al, 2016).
The fourth step is the development of termination procedures
and disciplinary creation. Employees that perform poorly should
as well be handled if they do not change even after the warning.
The kind of warning given to these employees who do not
perform properly may include the following: verbal warning
which is done privately where the employers warn the
employees directly and the written warning. If they don’t
change even after the warnings, then termination of such
employees should follow and replace them with more productive
employees (Reiche, et.al, 2016). Finally, the fifth step is setting
a schedule purposely for evaluation. After the four steps above,
the time to conduct the evaluation should be set. All employees
should be assessed at the same time.
7. Recommend two (2) types of reasonable accommodations for
both disabled applicants and applicants needing special
religious considerations. Argue two (2) legal reasons for not
being able to sufficiently provide such reasonable
accommodation for each group.
Legally, qualified individuals with disabilities, have a right to
demand reasonable accommodation such as adjusting the
application through being more considerate to the disability but
qualified and modifying the work environment to favor the
disabilities and people with religious concern. However, the
employee has the right of employing whom they see fit to their
organization (Reiche, et.al, 2016). They might legally untie
themselves from the reasonable modifications especially to
people with different religion. Employee benefits are

16. compensation given to the employees about the employment.
The types of benefits vary according to the type of country an
employee is working in. However, these benefits exist in the
wider part of the world (Reiche, et.al, 2016). There are
numerous types of benefits offered to the employees. For
instance, there are legally required benefits such as Social
security, insurance for unemployment, compensation insurance.
8. Select one (1) case in which a court charged an organization
with an affirmative action violation and one (1) case in which a
court charged the organization with not managing harassment
issues more expeditiously. Recommend an action plan geared
toward preventing the issues addressed in both cases within
your selected organization. Justify your recommendation
Hostile work environment results from unwanted comments or
behavior as well as interference with the work performance of
an employee (Faulx, et.al, 2013). Also, it can occur through the
creation of hostile, discriminating and offensive working
environment. The harassing behavior is normally not welcomed
to the recipient and damages the individual severely, despite
having a standard base to the objective individual (Faulx, et.al,
2013). Harassment can come from any member of the working
community such as the officials, employees, guests, customers
among others. Sexual harassment, as well as workplace
litigation, violates the law. After going through the interview
with Les, with the evidence documented, Carla violates the law
by sexually harassing the Les. According to Roberts, (2012), the
two are co-workers and Les feels offended or rather
discriminated by the unwanted actions of his ex-girlfriend
Carla. Evidently, the harassment is not directly sexual, but the
offensive messages, emails, and marks on the picture are
evidence of sexual harassment and litigation of workplace. He
conducted an interview with Les regarding the complaint about
further clarification. After getting clarification from the
answers to my interview questions, he was interested in
pursuing the investigation further before making any analysis or
conclusions. All the evidence from the complainant Les side

17. was documented and arranged appropriately (Roberts, 2012).
Meeting with Les seeks for further investigation on the case. A
prosecutor’s questions were answered but more that required
extensive investigation aroused and could not be answered by
Les appropriately (Faulx, et.al, 2013). As a reasonable
investigator, his next step must be the preparation for an
interview from the harasser Carla. It is fair and prompt to gather
information from both sides in spite of the evidence provided
against Carla. Before interviewing Carla, he would need a
closure of the relationship from a witness who was there during
the relationship and the breakup (Roberts, 2012). A core worker
willing to give valuable information will be relevant to the
investigation. After meeting the witness, the information
gathered would not be prompt without Carla’s perspective.
(Roberts, 2012). The information provided is enough to take to
a trial, but settlement can be done providing that, the cause of
Carla’s harassment has a reasonable cause.
9. Choose three (3) work-life conflicts that the HR Director
should consider within the selected organization. Then, outline
a policy geared toward resolving each conflict through the use
of related employment laws. Justify your response.
Some of the major work conflicts that may rise in the
organization include; roles disputes, Harassments, and
discrimination. Such conflicts might arise between any
individual, and the firm should have operating policies to
prevent and resolve such conflicts. For instance, such behaviors
should not be allowed in the workplace and victims and the
offenders should be punished appropriately. Role disputes can
be solved in the organization since it is not an external issue.
Harassment and discrimination can be resolved through
Litigation is a process used in courts to settle disputes of filed
lawsuits (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). The process is longer and
at times expensive (Faulx, et.al, 2013). To better the service of
people during settling disputes, courts employed an alternative
method to solve disputes which are less time consuming as
compared to the litigation. The alternative dispute settlement is

18. composed of two other methods of resolving conflict matters in
court (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). Among this alternatives is
mediation, and the another one is known as settlement
conferences. Arbitration is another form commonly used for
resolving the conflict between people and settling their
disagreements (Faulx, et.al, 2013).
10. Use at least four (4) quality academic resources in this
assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify
as academic resources
References
Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrong's Handbook of
human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Faulx, D., & Blavier, A. (2013). Developing a multiple-level,
multiple-perspective and multi-temporal approach to
psychological harassment at work: model and case study. Le
travail human, 76(2), 155-179.
Hanisko, K., Bucy, R., Ewing, L., Davis, J., Youles, B.,
Kepreos, K., & Nallamothu, B. K. (2015). Recovery after in
HoSpital Cardiac Arrest: Late Outcomes and Utilization
(ResCU)-Study Overview and Recruitment Process. Circulation:
Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 8(Suppl 2), A145-A145.
Reiche, B. S., Stahl, G. K., Mendenhall, M. E., & Oddou, G. R.
(Eds.). (2016). Readings and Cases in International Human
Resource Management. Routledge.
Roberts, B. (2012). Values-driven HR. HRMagazine, 57(3), 45–
48.