2023 Pirate Cove Caf Alternate Exercise

You are the co-owner and general manager of Pirate Cove Caf,* a popular full-service upscale eatery located near the Park University campus in Missouri. Today was the worst day of your professional life. Here's what happened:

8:00 am. You received a phone call from the state health department to inform you that your restaurant has been pinpointed as the source of a salmonella outbreak caused by your award winning Chicken Kiev. Seven patrons have become sick so far, and one has died. When you mentioned this to your executive chef, she said that one of the waiters (a Park student and star player on the Pirate baseball team) is too handsome and distracts her when he picks up the orders. She said that she was thinking of how cute he is when she was cooking the chicken and wants you to fire him.

9:00 am. You noticed that your advertisement in the local newspaper for your gourmet "Captain's Special," a five-course dinner, states the price for two as $9.99 instead of $99.99. When you mentioned this to your assistant manager, he apologized and said that he has digital eye strain from too many Zoom meetings. He asked you to conduct meetings in person.

10:00 am. Your sous chef informed you that the new $15,000 freezer you just purchased last month stopped working overnight. Your frozen inventory, valued at $35,000, is spoiled.

11:00 am. One of your waitresses complained to you that a busboy has been making lewd and suggestive comments to her when no one is around. He is making her uncomfortable, and she wants you to fire him.

12:00 pm. A patron wearing six-inch high heels slipped and fell on her way to the restroom, hitting her head on a table and injuring her back. She was taken away by ambulance after making quite a scene.

1:00 pm. Your sous chef informed you that the latest shipment of supposedly sashimi grade tuna, valued at $5,000, is actually previously frozen tuna steak grade that he would not even feed to his cat. He threw it away as it was unsuitable for use at the restaurant.

2:00 pm. While performing the Heimlich maneuver on a patron whom she thought was choking, an overzealous waitress broke three of his ribs. It turns out the man was merely coughing. While he was at the hospital, he tested positive for Covid.

3:00 pm. You read a letter you received from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission stating that a former assistant chef has filed a complaint against the restaurant for racial discrimination. You remember she was fired several months ago for performance issues but have no documentation in her file.

4:00 pm. Your best waiter started wearing a Covid pandemic face mask that says "Masks = Oppression." You told him it was inappropriate and to change masks or to not wear a mask. He refused and said he would sue if he could not wear it.

5:00 pm. You received a phone call from the ex-husband of your business partner. He told you his ex-wife has been taking money from the business checking account for months, and just borrowed $100,000 on the behalf of the restaurant from a local bank. She owns half of the business, which is a partnership.

6:00 pm. Your newly hired hostess showed up for her first day of work wearing a headscarf. You asked her to take it off while working, but she refused, claiming her religious beliefs required her to wear it in public. She did not wear it during her interview. You fired her.

7:00 pm. When you were walking through the kitchen, you noticed your sous chef's personal cell phone on the countertop. At that moment, his girlfriend texted him "Don't forget that your first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting is at 6 PM tomorrow at the McCoy Meetin' House at Park University. You could ask off of work for an hour to go. Love you." You confronted him. When he admitted he is an alcoholic, you fired him even though his performance at work has not been impacted.

8:00 pm. Your cousin and new waiter, whom you know has previously been arrested for battery and admits he has "a bit of temper," chased down a group of Park students who refused to wear masks when waiting in the lobby and tackled and punched the one who had been arguing with him all evening.

9:00 pm. The police arrived and took away your dishwasher in handcuffs. When you objected, they told you he was being arrested for possession and distribution of a controlled dangerous substance and informed you that he was dealing out of the restaurant kitchen. They also searched the kitchen and found various controlled substances.

10:00 pm. Your 72-year-old delivery driver caused a five-car pileup on Northwest River Park Drive because he was texting while driving to his next delivery destination. All vehicles were severely damaged, and twelve people were taken to area hospitals for various serious injuries. He was texting the executive chef, who is his girlfriend.

11:00 pm. You finally got a moment to open the second letter on your desk which is from the city, stating its intent to widen the street in front of your restaurant next year and to take by eminent domain part of your parking lot and your new outdoor seating area to achieve this purpose.

Directions (due Thursday evening): It is now midnight, and the restaurant is closed. You call your lawyer and give him a brief synopsis of the day's events. On Thursday, he is driving up from Kansas City for a full report. He has asked that you and your management team focus only on the events related to employment law and to be prepared to discuss them as follows:

• Identify which of these events are related to employment law.
• Rank the events related to employment law from most important to least important in terms of the potential harm to the restaurant.
• Choose three events to explain your rankings and describe the harm.