Suzanne, a receptionist, was fired after inadvertently accessing a pornographic website on her work computer during her lunch break. The handbook states employees are at-will but also that the spa reserves the right to fire employees who negatively affect its reputation, on or off the clock. An employee injured his arm lifting heavy items at a warehouse and was unable to return to his regular duties after recovering. The employer offered a lower paying security job which he declined and was then fired. An accounting employee accessed gambling sites on his work computer during breaks, which was discovered through computer monitoring, but his work was unaffected.

1. (Mt) – JWU Human Resource Case Study
Unformatted Preview HRM 5020 Labor and Employment Relations Midterm Exam Fall
2019 Semester Section One: Suzanne, a receptionist, works for a luxury resort and spa that
caters to the well-to-do and rich and famous. While on the computer one day during lunch
break, Suzanne was searching GOOGLE for “Dude Ranch vacations” when she inadvertently
accessed a pornographic website. Unfortunately, just as she was trying to click off the
pornographic spam that was popping up on her computer, a long-standing client of motion
picture fame walked by and saw the images on the screen. Appalled at what she saw, she
complained to the owner. The owner immediately confronted Suzanne and fired her in front
of the movie star. The Spa distributes a handbook that all employees are required to read,
and then sign an acknowledgment of receipt. The handbook specifically states that all
employees are employees-at-will. The handbook also states that the Spa reserves the right
to terminate the employment of any employee who engages in conduct that negatively
affects the spa’s five-star reputation regardless whether the conduct occurs on or off the spa
premises, or during company or personal time. 1 QUESTION 1: Suzanne believes that she
has been treated unfairly and should not have been fired for a mistake after five years of
service. Is the termination legally enforceable? Explain. Alternatively….. The handbook does
not state that all employees are ‘employees-at-will’, but rather provides that employees will
be disciplined in accordance with the standards of just cause. A four-year female employee
and a seven-year male employee previously received a three-day suspension for their first
offenses discovered by the Spa’s computer monitoring program. Each employee accessed
the websites on the desktop computer in their respective offices. On both occasions, no one
else witnessed the images on the screen. QUESTION 2: To what extent, if any, does the
alternative handbook provision have on the employees’ status as an employee-at-will?
Would you advise the Spa regarding Suzanne’s termination differently? Section Two: An
employee, who worked at an auto parts warehouse, was responsible for retrieving auto
parts and loading them onto a conveyor belt. These activities required him to lift up to 60
pounds at a time. He hurt his arm while working and was diagnosed with severe tendinitis.
Although he recovered to the maximum extent that could be expected, he was subject to
medical restrictions limiting him to lift no more than 10 pounds consistently, and no more
than 40 pounds occasionally. While he was being treated, the company provided him with
temporary assignments that involved little lifting. After it was determined that his condition
would not improve, the 2 company was unwilling to allow him to continue in the temporary
job. Instead, the company offered him a part-time security guard position at much lower

2. pay. The man declined the job and he was consequently terminated. QUESTION 3: Has the
employer violated the Americans with Disabilities Act? Explain. Section Three: The Director
of Human Resources at ABC Corp. received a copy of the monitoring data regarding
employee Internet use. ABC installed a program that monitors the company computers they
provide to some of their employees. The data shows that Harry Henderson, from the
Accounting Department, has been accessing gambling sites during the workweek. The data
provided to the Director shows user activity for the last month and Harry has accessed
gambling sites daily. The Director called Harry in for a meeting and questioned him about
the monitoring data. She expressed her disappointment that he would blemish his ten-year
tenure with ABC by accessing “inappropriate” websites. Harry argues that his computer,
located in his personal office with a door that he locks every night, is in an area where he
expects his privacy to be respected and is appalled by the “Big Brother” behavior. He further
stated that he only went on the gambling sites during his lunch or rest breaks. This
assertion is corroborated by the data. And finally, there is no evidence that his work product
has decreased or has been negatively affected. Harry’s most current evaluation is
satisfactory and consistent with his past evaluations. 3 QUESTION 4: Is Harry’s expectation
of privacy legitimate? Explain. Would you discipline Harry? Please incorporate the concepts
of “progressive discipline” and “provider exception”. Section Four: A dockworker reveals
that he has diabetes and will need additional or unscheduled breaks to either eat, take
medication or rest on occasion, but not necessarily daily. According to his doctor, these
breaks should take no more than fifteen (15) minutes. Among the essential functions of a
dockworker are reading the daily invoice sheets, lifting boxes up to 30 pounds and driving a
forklift. The dockworkers schedule is from 5 am to 1:30 pm. They are provided with a
morning and afternoon break of fifteen minutes and a half-hour lunch period. The half-hour
lunch period is unpaid. The loading of the trucks, the most essential function, is performed
from 5:00 am to 8:00 am. The rest of the day the dockworkers put into place the next day’s
deliveries and clean up the dock area. Cleaning consists of sweeping and washing the docks
daily. The District Manager is concerned about the affect the applicant’s condition may have
on productivity, especially the morning loading. QUESTION 5: The District Manager has
come to you for advice. Has there been a valid request for an accommodation? Describe the
ADA analysis you would use to determine whether to grant the request. What, if any,
accommodation could you offer the dockworker? 4