How to Avoid Toxins in the Workplace

Question 3 

The employee that Jim fired had no legitimate claim over the company since he was fired on the grounds of creating a toxic workplace through incessant complaints without raising formal complaints about the issues to which he was dissatisfied. The claims that he was mentally ill are also just unconfirmed rumors and cannot warrant legal actions. The legal Human Resource question here is when to fire a toxic employee without attracting legal ramifications. Henry Jaques’ work profile, based on the review by his store manager reads that he met the technical aspects of his job, but his influence on the job created a toxic environment. The toxicity of his presence was due to lack of fit within the social culture at work (Appelbaum & Roy‐Girard, 2007) . For instance, he was frequently arguing, complaining about the working conditions and was generally inhospitable. Jaques was therefore a burden, and Jim was right in firing him. 

Question 4 

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 mandates that Gavin should be placed into an equivalent position. The Right to Return to Job, under FLMA asserts that the employee under leave must enjoy the same benefits upon return as was before he went on leave. Furthermore, he must be restored to the same position. However, in Gavin’s case, the position was unavailable and as such, FMLA required that he should be given position with equal pay, benefits and responsibility (Bruce, 2012) . Jim met these conditions and therefore, it is adequate that he brought him back with the same salary and benefits. 

Question 5 

Miriam was fired after about three months after resuming her duties. The reason for her firing, according to Jim, were that she had delayed her monthly budget reports and also, there was proof that she may have forged some documents. Prior to the firing, Miriam had used 15 weeks of her leave under the FMLA and also from the extended illness days provided by the contract under Jim. The reasons for firing Miriam were therefore unrelated to her pregnancy. The company is not retaliating against her and the EEOC or any other court would not agree with her reasoning. 

Question 6 

The man has not sued yet and the company should consider hiring the man if he meets the qualifications and find ways of accommodating him if he is hired because his dismissal is outright discrimination which is against the law. The Equal Employment Opportunity Act (EEOA) and the Americans With Disability Act (ADA) mandate that no employee should be harassed or discriminated, as well as denied employment opportunity because of hearing disabilities. The voluntary disclosure of the potential employee was validated by the law. The ADA requires an adoption of reasonable accommodation practices by employees to ensure that people with disabilities are well accommodated in workplace (U.S. EEOA, 2020) . Jim provided no evidence meeting the reasonable accommodation that would be a financial burden or provide significant difficulty at the work place. His reasoning was solely based on the man being deaf. 

Question 7 

Jim’s father has run the company for the past ten years and he has great interpersonal relations skills, thus many complaints never reached the levels of litigation. However, Jim’s approach in managing the human resource does not meet the standards required by the law and he cannot mask these faults since he lacks the charm and people’s skills that his father had. The company lacks a human resource management division as Jim is focused on minimizing cost and outsourcing performance reviews as well as HR services. The Company should establish a human resource division and mandate it to handle human resource issues. 

References 

Appelbaum, S., & Roy‐Girard, D. (2007). Toxins in the workplace: affect on organizations and employees.  Corporate Governance: The International Journal Of Business In Society ,  7 (1), 17-28. https://doi.org/10.1108/14720700710727087 

Bruce, S. (2012).  "Family and Medical Leave Act . HR Daily Advisor. Retrieved 31 August 2020, from https://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/category/fmla/. 

Congress. 1993. Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. Washington 

U.S. EEOA. (2020).  Deafness and Hearing Impairments in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission . Eeoc.gov. Retrieved 31 August 2020, from https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/deafness-and-hearing-impairments-workplace-and-americans-disabilities-act.