Reference no: EM132843700
LGL-554-2012 Employment Law, National Juris University
Assignment 1
Johanna applied for a job with Freedonia Publishing, a public company that oversees 7 newspapers across the United States. Upon receiving her job, Freedonia Publishing assigned her to a small newspaper in Plainview called The Town Times. Freedonia Publishing set Johanna's salary, gave her a job description, provided her with housing and was solely responsible for all hiring and firing at The Town Times. The Town Times set her hours and oversaw her work product and The Town Times logo appeared on her paycheck.
The Town Times has 4 full time employees including Johanna. On occasion, Johanna's husband, Emil, would fill in with some of the accounting work and with filing The Town Time taxes. Emil was never paid for this work.
Johanna moved to Plainview and happily worked at The Town Times for 3 years before getting her hand stuck in the printing machine. Johanna sues The Town Times for worker's compensation. The town of Freedonia requires an employer to have 5 employees in order to be responsible for workers' compensation. The Town Times states that it is not responsible for paying workers' compensation.
Is The Town Times correct? Please explain your answer.
Assignment 2
19 year old Josie was home from college for the summer and she wanted to work on her tan. Her mom insisted that she "get out of the house," so Josie went to look for a summer job. She saw that a nearby overnight camp, Camp Wondertrails, was hiring for a counselor for the boys' bunk, so she applied for the position. When she arrived for the position, the Camp Director said "you are not qualified for the position because you are female. But, we are looking for volunteers at the arts and crafts cabin." Knowing that her mom would be mad if she came home without a job, Josie volunteered, planning to do lots of arts and crafts outside in the sunshine.
On her first day on the job, Ryan, the head of the boys' bunks came over to her and said, "I heard you wanted to work in the boys bunk. You can share my sleeping back anytime." Josie shrugged him off, but he continued to make comments throughout the summer. Josie reported this to the Camp Director who acknowledged that Ryan was "always teasing." On one occasion, he put his arm around her and rubbed her shoulders, which made Josie uncomfortable, but she was in front of the campers, so she didn't say anything.
By the end of the summer, Josie was fed up and filed claims against Camp Wondertrails for sexual discrimination and sexual harassment. Will she be successful on these claims?
Assignment 3
Leslie was employed at a nail salon for 15 years before it went out of business. She called Nail Temp, a local temp specializing in beauty and salon services. On June 14, 2000, Nail Temp placed Nancy at a local salon called Nail Perfection. Nancy worked 40 hours a week and started making great friends at Nail Perfection. She loved their new ergonomic chairs and was happy to use all the latest cosmetics that Nail perfection provided. Every week, she would stop by Nail Temp on the way home to pick up her paycheck. Leslie was thrilled.
Despite Leslie's success at work, however, she struggled at home. Her adopted daughter Wendy always managed to date the wrong men, and developed a drug problem. On April 20, 2001, Wendy had a baby boy, Rudy. One morning in May 2001, Wendy dropped Rudy off with Leslie and promptly took off with her latest beau. Leslie provided for Rudy from the time he was 1 month old. He lived in her house and she provided his meals and his care. Wendy occasionally contributed to his support, and came by about once a month for a visit.
In January of 2003, Leslie was offered a full time position at Nail Perfection. Her boss broke the good news by saying, "Great news! No need to drop by the old temp agency anymore - you are one of us now!"
In April of that same year, Rudy fell down and broke both arms and both legs. With so many casts, Rudy required full time care. Leslie requested FMLA leave to take care of her grandson. When she asked her boss, he said, "Ooooh- wish we could help. But since you have only worked here for 3 months, we don't have to provide FMLA." When Leslie protested, he said, "Honestly, Leslie, I'm sorry, but I can't help you. Besides you can't take leave for him because he is not your real son and your daughter was adopted! No way I have to give you FMLA leave."
Leslie was frustrated. She contacts you to help her out. Please discuss any arguments Leslie should make to support her FMLA claim.