Employment laws activity.docx

In place of discussions this week, I am assigning an activity that encompasses employment laws and equal opportunity in employment. This activity is an independent assignment.

The link below contains a letter written to you (the law firm) asking for guidance on employment matters. Identify the many employment problems or situations described and think about how to respond and/or solve each problem/situation. You will write a response to the maker of the letter outlining your advice.

Dear Law Firm I am the general manager of our three family-owned restaurants in eastern Tennessee. We employ about 60 workers across the corporation. My original restaurant has been in East Bumble for over 12 years. It is still my largest restaurant with over 25 employees. About eight months ago, I opened two new locations. The restaurant in Cricket Hill currently has 18 employees. The other restaurant in Podunk is much smaller and it only has 10 employees plus my oldest daughter and my nephew are managing in together. I have concerns about some issues I have been experiencing with my employees in the business lately and am hoping you can give me some advice about employment laws. Here's what is going on: Norma Jean, who is employed at the original restaurant in East Bumble, was hired less than a year ago. She was young and recently married and had no experience as a waitress, but I needed help and she really wanted the job so I gave her a chance. She wasn't here one month and she was pregnant. Now nearing her ninth month, she is very slow serving customers and can't carry the food trays anymore. I just want to let her go. One of the other waitresses told me Norma Jean really likes her job here and is planning to return to the restaurant as a waitress after having her baby. She thinks she is entitled to 12 weeks of paid leave. I don't want to pay her for time off. As if that whole fiasco isn't enough, one of my cooks, Toby, had a mishap in the kitchen at the small Podunk restaurant. The kitchen is a little tight with the sink, grill, prep tables and all, and the meat slicer machine was sitting on the edge of a table too far away from the wall and he tripped over the cord on the floor. When the meat slicer started to fall, Toby reached for it and cut his hand on the blade. Thanks to a great surgeon, Toby didn't lose his thumb, but now he is off work until it heals, and he wants me to pay him while he's off and all of his medical bills. I will lose my restaurant in a lawsuit like this! I know Toby is really mad because he said he's going to file a complaint with OSHA about the kitchen. What business is it of this OSHA how I organize the kitchen in my restaurant? I went to check on the Cricket Hill restaurant which has sadly been turning very low, if any, profits. Because of this, I let my hostess go. She was really upset and said she was going to file for unemployment benefits because I have been deducting tax from her gross pay since she started working for me. Does she think I keep a savings account for her or what? Her unhappy demeanor carried over to my dishwasher who said I am not paying him the right wage. I have been paying him a wage of $5.00 per hour since he took the job a month ago. I told him that since our state does not have a minimum wage law that I am allowed to pay him what I can afford. I have another problem at the Cricket Hill location. I hired a waitress who was born and raised here, but her parents are from India. Some of my customers apparently think she is an Iranian and a number of folks have refused to sit at the tables in her section. She is very nice, but I can't turn customers away with the bottom line problem already, so I was thinking about putting her in the kitchen to help the chefs, or just fire her. Back at East Bumble where business is buzzing, I decided to hire my bartender's son's best friend as a bus boy. Those kids have been friends since elementary school. I just assumed they were the same age. Turns out, however, that Kyle won't be 14 for six more months. It's okay if I pay him cash and don't tell anyone, right? That reminds me. I employ two business managers. Linda has been a friend of my family for over 25 years. After her kids were grown, she went to college and earned a bachelor's degree in business and finance. I hired her as soon as she graduated five years ago. When I recently opened the two new locations, I hired Richard, a retired CPA to oversee the dealings of the smaller restaurants. Richard is upset that Linda is paid more money for doing the same work that he does, plus he has to work between two locations and she just has one. Richard also claims that his CPA credential makes him a more valuable employee. I told him I'm keeping their salaries just the way they are, and he exclaimed that that is not fair! Richard is not the only unhappy employee. Apparently so was my hostess. She up and left without giving any notice. Can she really do that? A regular gentleman customer of the restaurant asked about filling her part-time job. He seemed upset when I told him he couldn't have the job because that position is for women only. I hope he doesn't stop patronizing my restaurant. The last thing I did today was interview a couple of really nice guys to work at the new carry-out order station. It's not a difficult job. It requires taking phone orders, bagging the order, and cashing out the customer when they pick it up. The first interviewee, Hal, told me he just turned 50. He's worked many, many odd jobs his whole life, but never in a restaurant. I'm not sure about hiring an old guy. Ira, the second person I interviewed, revealed that he has epilepsy and due to the medicine he takes to control seizures, he doesn't drive and occasionally has difficulty speaking with others. Ira currently works at another restaurant in town cleaning and prepping food trays in the kitchen. He loves my restaurant, but he has a lot of issues to be bothered with. What do I have to do if I hire Ira? I hope you can help me get all this straightened out. Please write me a letter identifying all of the legal issues that you think are relevant and let me know what I need to do to stay out of any lawsuits. Sincerely, Page 1 of 2 lona E. Turee Dear Law Firm I am the general manager of our three family-owned restaurants in eastern Tennessee. We employ about 60 workers across the corporation. My original restaurant has been in East Bumble for over 12 years. It is still my largest restaurant with over 25 employees. About eight months ago, I opened two new locations. The restaurant in Cricket Hill currently has 18 employees. The other restaurant in Podunk is much smaller and it only has 10 employees plus my oldest daughter and my nephew are managing in together. I have concerns about some issues I have been experiencing with my employees in the business lately and am hoping you can give me some advice about employment laws. Here's what is going on: Norma Jean, who is employed at the original restaurant in East Bumble, was hired less than a year ago. She was young and recently married and had no experience as a waitress, but I needed help and she really wanted the job so I gave her a chance. She wasn't here one month and she was pregnant. Now nearing her ninth month, she is very slow serving customers and can't carry the food trays anymore. I just want to let her go. One of the other waitresses told me Norma Jean really likes her job here and is planning to return to the restaurant as a waitress after having her baby. She thinks she is entitled to 12 weeks of paid leave. I don't want to pay her for time off. As if that whole fiasco isn't enough, one of my cooks, Toby, had a mishap in the kitchen at the small Podunk restaurant. The kitchen is a little tight with the sink, grill, prep tables and all, and the meat slicer machine was sitting on the edge of a table too far away from the wall and he tripped over the cord on the floor. When the meat slicer started to fall, Toby reached for it and cut his hand on the blade. Thanks to a great surgeon, Toby didn't lose his thumb, but now he is off work until it heals, and he wants me to pay him while he's off and all of his medical bills. I will lose my restaurant in a lawsuit like this! I know Toby is really mad because he said he's going to file a complaint with OSHA about the kitchen. What business is it of this OSHA how I organize the kitchen in my restaurant? I went to check on the Cricket Hill restaurant which has sadly been turning very low, if any, profits. Because of this, I let my hostess go. She was really upset and said she was going to file for unemployment benefits because I have been deducting tax from her gross pay since she started working for me. Does she think I keep a savings account for her or what? Her unhappy demeanor carried over to my dishwasher who said I am not paying him the right wage. I have been paying him a wage of $5.00 per hour since he took the job a month ago. I told him that since our state does not have a minimum wage law that I am allowed to pay him what I can afford. I have another problem at the Cricket Hill location. I hired a waitress who was born and raised here, but her parents are from India. Some of my customers apparently think she is an Iranian and a number of folks have refused to sit at the tables in her section. She is very nice, but I can't turn customers away with the bottom line problem already, so I was thinking about putting her in the kitchen to help the chefs, or just fire her. Back at East Bumble where business is buzzing, I decided to hire my bartender's son's best friend as a bus boy. Those kids have been friends since elementary school. I just assumed they were the same age. Turns out, however, that Kyle won't be 14 for six more months. It's okay if I pay him cash and don't tell anyone, right? That reminds me. I employ two business managers. Linda has been a friend of my family for over 25 years. After her kids were grown, she went to college and earned a bachelor's degree in business and finance. I hired her as soon as she graduated five years ago. When I recently opened the two new locations, I hired Richard, a retired CPA to oversee the dealings of the smaller restaurants. Richard is upset that Linda is paid more money for doing the same work that he does, plus he has to work between two locations and she just has one. Richard also claims that his CPA credential makes him a more valuable employee. I told him I'm keeping their salaries just the way they are, and he exclaimed that that is not fair! Richard is not the only unhappy employee. Apparently so was my hostess. She up and left without giving any notice. Can she really do that? A regular gentleman customer of the restaurant asked about filling her part-time job. He seemed upset when I told him he couldn't have the job because that position is for women only. I hope he doesn't stop patronizing my restaurant. The last thing I did today was interview a couple of really nice guys to work at the new carry-out order station. It's not a difficult job. It requires taking phone orders, bagging the order, and cashing out the customer when they pick it up. The first interviewee, Hal, told me he just turned 50. He's worked many, many odd jobs his whole life, but never in a restaurant. I'm not sure about hiring an old guy. Ira, the second person I interviewed, revealed that he has epilepsy and due to the medicine he takes to control seizures, he doesn't drive and occasionally has difficulty speaking with others. Ira currently works at another restaurant in town cleaning and prepping food trays in the kitchen. He loves my restaurant, but he has a lot of issues to be bothered with. What do I have to do if I hire Ira? I hope you can help me get all this straightened out. Please write me a letter identifying all of the legal issues that you think are relevant and let me know what I need to do to stay out of any lawsuits. Sincerely, Page 1 of 2 lona E. Turee