PAPA 548 Assignment #2 Due: October 3, 2015 Length: At least 8 pages (double-spaced) FMLA/ADA and Wayne Enterprises: A Tricky Employee Issue 1. Briefly describe the FMLA and the ADA and the impact on employers. 2. Additionally, look at the following case and then answer the questions that follow. Wayne Enterprises is a successful company that is always on the cutting edge of computer software & technology. Wayne Enterprises has 150 employees. Some employees are full-time and some are parttime. The CEO, Bruce Wayne has been concerned lately about profits and he realizes he needs to look to the future in order to stay competitive and stay ahead of the curve. He has made some staff changes within the last couple of years and he has a trusted confidant and aide in his Chief Financial Officer, Dick Grayson. He recently hired Salina Kyle – a freelance computer genius and now a permanent employee for Bruce Wayne. Her primary assignment will be to lead Wayne Enterprises into the next age. Her background is perfect for this assignment and Bruce is confident in her abilities. 14 months later, the company is making huge strides in the development of some new software. Salina has been leading a team around the clock in order to meet Bruce’s goals. And then disaster strikes… On the way home from a dinner reception, Salina is involved in an automobile accident. She misses a week of work and miraculously seems to be okay. Shortly after Salina returned, she started complaining about severe back pain and headaches. This went on for a couple of months. She also started acting erratic, at times missing meetings, losing her temper with employees and making mistakes – things that had never happened before. Could things get any worse? Yes they can. Dick Grayson made a shocking accusation to Bruce. Dick told Bruce that Salina was abusing drugs. Specifically, Dick told Bruce that he had observed Salina in her office taking a new designer drug “Katnip” – he had heard about the effects on Oprah (strange behavior, moody, erratic, etc…) Bruce was shocked and didn’t want to believe any of this. However, Salina had been acting strange lately – it was unlike her past behavior. Bruce thought – that could be from drug use and not the accident. Maybe she started taking this drug as a result of the accident. Wayne Enterprises does have a drug & alcohol testing policy. Bruce confronted Salina and asked her if she was on drugs. Salina was very offended. Bruce asked her specifically if she was taking “Katnip”. She denied any drug use. She became very upset and told Bruce that Dick was lying – she told Bruce that Dick was upset with her because she had questioned some financial reports on the computer system. Salina implied that Dick must be trying to get back at her. Bruce listened but he insisted that Salina get drug tested. She left the office very upset and distraught. The next day Bruce received a fax from Salina’s doctor – the note said that Salina was emotionally devastated and unable to work due to her emotional condition. The note mentioned her car accident and the confrontation about the drug use. The note indicated that she would return in one week. Bruce learned from HR that Salina never took a drug test as instructed. The Company policy specifically states that employees can be discharged for failure to undergo drug testing when required. Bruce thought he would wait until Salina returned to work – they would sit down and discuss things and decide what to do. Salina was critical to the company’s success. The project would be put on hold until her return. Unfortunately one week later, Bruce received another letter from the doctor identical to the first. Bruce became more concerned about her absences but thought he would wait another week. Another week passed and Bruce received a third letter identical to the first two. Bruce was dying – the project was on hold, he’s losing his competitive advantage, etc… but he decided to wait one more week. Just when Bruce thought things couldn’t get any worse, Barbara Gordon, a software specialist (who reports directly to Dick) told Bruce that she was going to file sexual harassment charges against Dick Grayson. She alleges that he has been “harassing her” (asking her for dates, putting his hands on her legs, brushing up against her, touching her inappropriately, etc…) for the past 3 months and she is tired of it. FYI – Wayne Enterprises does have a policy against sexual harassment. Questions to answer: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Could Salina have been discharged immediately based on Dick’s comments? Is there reasonable suspicion of drug use by Salina? How could Wayne Enterprises have gone about accomplishing the drug test? What about employees who refuse to be tested? What about the retaliation issue? Did Salina engage in protected activity? Was her complaint reasonable? What is Salina’s adverse employment action? Can she prove a causal connection? Should you discharge employees who test positive for drug use? Could FMLA and ADA apply to Salina’s situation? Is the Company obligated to grant leave? What does Bruce do about the sexual harassment charges? What does Bruce do now? Should things have been handled differently? What? How?