Letter Formatting <Insert Date> <Insert Name of Letter Recipient > <Insert Name of Company> <Insert Company Address> <Insert Company Address> <Insert Name of Letter Recipient>, Paragraph 1…Ideas: Introduce the event, make a connection between the event and the company, and provide a fact about either where the vent will take place or when. ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Paragraph 2…Provide additional facts about the event. Examples: a GENERIC overview of the attendees (examples: families, couples, art enthusiasts, etc.), where or when the event will take place (whichever was not used in paragraph 1), benefits to attendees, other exciting facts about the event. ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Paragraph 3…Provide an overview of the sponsorship opportunities. Ideas: monetary ranges, 3-4 examples of potential benefits, excitement about their potential involvement. ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Paragraph 4…Finish up with a simple and professional closing. Examples: Thank you for your time and consideration, I look forward to speaking with you soon, I will be in touch to answer any questions that you may have about the event. ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ <Insert Professional Salutation>, <Insert Your Name> <Insert Your Title> MHR 6401, Employment Law 1 Course Learning Outcomes for Unit I Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to: 1. Discuss the legal significance of the employer-employee relationship. 1.1 Identify the regulation of employer-employee relationship through applicable law and judicial decision. 1.2 Recognize types of workers and employers, and recognize when an employment relationship exists. Course/Unit Learning Outcomes Learning Activity 1.1 Unit Lesson Chapter 1 Unit I Article Critique 1.2 Unit Lesson Chapter 2 Unit I Article Critique Reading Assignment Chapter 1: Overview of Employment Law, pp. 3–33 Chapter 2: The Employment Relationship, pp. 35–63 Unit Lesson Whether through discussion in the workplace or through your academic work, you likely have heard of the concept of employment at-will. At its most basic level, being employed at-will means that your employer can terminate you without cause at any time. Likewise, you can resign your employment at any time for any reason. The vast majority of employment relationships in the United States are at-will. When jobs are plentiful and good workers are scarce, it is advantageous for the employee to be able to move ...

1. Letter Formatting
<Insert Date>
<Insert Name of Letter Recipient >
<Insert Name of Company>
<Insert Company Address>
<Insert Company Address>
<Insert Name of Letter Recipient>,
Paragraph 1…Ideas: Introduce the event, make a connection
between the event and the
company, and provide a fact about either where the vent will
take place or when.
_____________________________________________________
_________________
_____________________________________________________
_________________
Paragraph 2…Provide additional facts about the event.
Examples: a GENERIC overview of
the attendees (examples: families, couples, art enthusiasts, etc.),
where or when the
event will take place (whichever was not used in paragraph 1),
benefits to attendees,
other exciting facts about the event.
_____________________________________________________
_________________

2. _____________________________________________________
_________________
Paragraph 3…Provide an overview of the sponsorship
opportunities. Ideas: monetary
ranges, 3-4 examples of potential benefits, excitement about
their potential involvement.
_____________________________________________________
_________________
_____________________________________________________
_________________
Paragraph 4…Finish up with a simple and professional closing.
Examples: Thank you for
your time and consideration, I look forward to speaking with
you soon, I will be in touch
to answer any questions that you may have about the event.
_____________________________________________________
_________________
_____________________________________________________
_________________
<Insert Professional Salutation>,
<Insert Your Name>
<Insert Your Title>
MHR 6401, Employment Law 1

3. Course Learning Outcomes for Unit I
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. Discuss the legal significance of the employer-employee
relationship.
1.1 Identify the regulation of employer-employee relationship
through applicable law and judicial
decision.
1.2 Recognize types of workers and employers, and recognize
when an employment relationship
exists.
Course/Unit
Learning Outcomes
Learning Activity
1.1
Unit Lesson
Chapter 1
Unit I Article Critique
1.2
Unit Lesson
Chapter 2
Unit I Article Critique
Reading Assignment

4. Chapter 1: Overview of Employment Law, pp. 3–33
Chapter 2: The Employment Relationship, pp. 35–63
Unit Lesson
Whether through discussion in the workplace or through your
academic work, you likely have heard of the
concept of employment at-will. At its most basic level, being
employed at-will means that your employer can
terminate you without cause at any time. Likewise, you can
resign your employment at any time for any
reason. The vast majority of employment relationships in the
United States are at-will. When jobs are plentiful
and good workers are scarce, it is advantageous for the
employee to be able to move freely to a better
position with another employer. This is a common occurrence
when the economy is strong. In these
conditions, employers often compete for the most skilled and
experienced workers with higher compensation,
stock options, and other benefits.
During times of economic downturn and recession, the at-will
concepts benefits employers, who can pare
down their workforces or even shut their doors. At-will
employees have little protection from these actions and
may end up unemployed. At-will employment allows the
employer to respond to economic problems swiftly
and efficiently. Rather than having to keep employees when
there is little to do, employers can control costs
and work toward a recovery. At-will employment, therefore, is
clearly an integral part of our economic system.
As we will see, the concept of at-will employment is not an

5. absolute. Employment laws that confer rights on
employers and impose obligations on employers modify
employment at-will. This unit introduces the range of
employment laws that we will explore in more detail in future
units. As you read the text for this unit, consider
whether we as a society have gone too far in regulating the
employer-employee relationship. Are there gaps
or outdated regulations that need addressing? Consider also
whether the remedies for violations of
employment laws are sufficient to rectify the wrong and deter
future violations.
This unit also introduces the types of workers, a timely topic in
today’s workplace. The many varieties of
employees—full-time, part-time, temporary, seasonal, and
subcontracted—expand the options available to
employers. Moreover, the continual evolution of the concept of
“work,” combined with the growth in
UNIT I STUDY GUIDE
Introduction to Employment Law
MHR 6401, Employment Law 2
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
technology, has given rise to the “online gig” economy, where
work is done when, where, and as needed,

6. outside of a traditional ongoing employment relationship
(Dokko, Mumford, & Schanzenbach, 2015).
Consider the status of an Uber driver
requested through an application on a
smartphone or device. In the current regulatory
system, the driver is either an employee or an
independent contractor, a distinction important
in many ways that determines the applicability
of wage and overtime rules, benefits eligibility,
rights of protection from discrimination, and
other rules.
Actual cases involving Uber drivers
demonstrate the difficulty of forcing these new
types of workers into one of two legal
classifications. A group of Uber drivers brought
a class action lawsuit alleging they were
misclassified as independent contractors and
legally are employees. The court determined
that the arbitration agreements drivers signed at the outset of
providing services for Uber were
unconscionable and unenforceable because they forced drivers
to settle disputes in individual arbitration
rather than as members of a class (Fisher, 2016). Having
approved the class action to move forward, the
court found that there was enough evidence of control by Uber
over the drivers that the case could proceed to
a jury for decision. Later, the court found that a proposed $100
million settlement covering 300,000 drivers in
California and Massachusetts, under which the drivers would
have remained independent contractors, was
not fair, adequate, or reasonable (Nagele-Piazza, 2016). This
was primarily due to the potential penalties

7. under California law that could be imposed if the drivers were
found to be employees versus the amount of
the proposed settlement (Fisher, 2016). Then, on appeal, the
federal appeals court in California reversed the
lower court ruling that the arbitration agreements were
unenforceable, making it difficult for the class action to
proceed, but leaving questions about the appropriate legal
classification of Uber drivers.
The key battlegrounds in employment law are class actions, the
use of arbitration agreements, and worker
classification. The Uber case begs the question of whether the
economy, aided by technology, is creating
workers that do not fit into any of the established categories but
have characteristics that confound neat and
traditional classification. Is it time for the legal system to
recognize that workers do not always fall into one of
these two categories and that other categories may be
appropriate? Should our laws be evolving at the same
pace our workforce is evolving?
In the meantime, the lines between types of workers and even
workers and employers continue to be
increasingly blurred, and human resource (HR) professionals
face the challenge to draw on knowledge of the
legal definitions and ability to assess risk to advise management
on important business decisions. While most
questions of proper classification of workers like the Uber case
do not involve the company’s business model,
worker classification is a critical and often complex issue for
organizations.
Human resources organizations recognize the importance of
legal knowledge for HR professionals. In 2016,
the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the
leading professional organization for HR

8. practitioners, published the SHRM Competency Model to define
what it means to be a successful HR
professional. The SHRM Competency Model consists of nine
competencies in four areas, the first of which is
technical competency, or HR knowledge. According to SHRM
(2016), HR expertise or knowledge is critical to
success in job performance by HR professionals. It is the
knowledge needed by HR professionals to design,
enact, evaluate, and maintain sound human resource
management practices. HR professionals must acquire
comprehensive knowledge concerning policies, principles, laws,
regulations, and practices (SHRM, 2016).
A necessary building block to a position that designs and
develops organizational policy is knowledge and
understanding of the laws and regulations that govern the
workplace. The goal of this course is not to teach
everything you will ever need to know about employment law
but to present and explain the foundational
concepts that make up the law of the workplace and provide the
tools to follow and apply the inevitable
evolution of employment law. The most important skill is being
able to spot the legal issues in an existing or
Image of Uber smartphone application
(TruthVoice, 2016)
MHR 6401, Employment Law 3
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

9. Title
potential situation. Once you learn to perceive where the
landmines are or could potentially be waiting, you
can garner resources and research to manage around them.
One thing is clear: It is an extremely exciting time for
employment law and human resources. There is much
to learn and know, as the employment law and HR landscape is
constantly changing. Having solid
foundational knowledge and staying abreast of current issues
and laws is the key to being able to develop
human resource strategy in these challenging times. As you
work through this course, keep in mind that the
concepts covered are concepts that can and will apply to daily
human resource practice. Consider how the
legal concepts apply to your experience and how they will
enhance your future experience. Soon, you will
become more capable of hearing facts and seeing situations in a
different way, one that involves spotting
legal issues and thinking of solutions, the hallmark of a
successful HR professional.
References
Dokko, J., Mumford, M., & Schanzenbach, D. W. (2015).
Workers and the online gig economy: A Hamilton
Project framing paper. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution
Press.
Fisher, D. D. (2016, September 7). Appeals court deals blow to

10. Uber class actions, holding arbitration pacts
enforceable. Forbes. Retrieved from
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://s
earch.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc
t=true&db=bth&AN=117944918&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Nagele-Piazza, L. (2016, August 22). Federal judge rejects
Uber’s $100 million settlement with drivers.
Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-
and-compliance/state-and-local-
updates/pages/uber-settlement-rejected.aspx
Society for Human Resource Management. (2016). The SHRM
Competency Model. Retrieved from
https://www.shrm.org/LearningAndCareer/competency-
model/PublishingImages/pages/default/SHRM%20Competency%
20Model_Detailed%20Report_Final
_SECURED.pdf
TruthVoice. (2016, November 2). Ride-chicago [Image].
Retrieved from http://truthvoice.com/2016/11/this-
small-startup-wants-to-kill-uber-and-this-is-their-plan/ride-
chicago/
Suggested Reading
The following PowerPoint presentations are supplements to the

11. textbook chapter readings and are provided
for further knowledge and review of the unit materials.
Chapter 1:
Click here to access the PowerPoint presentation.
Click here to access a PDF file of the PowerPoint presentation.
Chapter 2:
Click here to access the PowerPoint presentation.
Click here to access a PDF file of the PowerPoint presentation.
Learning Activities (Nongraded)
Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in
their course of study. You do not have to submit
them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further
guidance and information.
At the end of each chapter of your textbook, scenario-driven
questions provide legal issues and realistic
situations that relate to employment law. Exploring these
questions allows you the opportunity to further your
understanding of the concepts in each chapter and prepares you
for similar situations you may encounter in
your workplace.
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/bbcswebdav/xid-
70588569_1
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/bbcswebdav/xid-
70588555_1
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/bbcswebdav/xid-
70588570_1
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/bbcswebdav/xid-

12. 70588558_1
MHR 6401, Employment Law 4
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
33–34.
63–65.