Order 1330509: Current legal issue summary

MANA 4336: LEGAL ENVIRONMENT OF MANAGEMENT

FALL, 2018

INTRODUCTION: THE INFAMOUS ‘PARAGRAPH 1’

The following syllabus is provided to students solely as a source of information and general guide to MANA 4336. No contractual agreement is expressed or implied. The professor retains exclusive rights to unilaterally change, modify, add, or eliminate any policy, procedure, administrative detail, or provision contained in this syllabus without notice. The provisions of this syllabus apply to all students registered for this course. Any promises made to a student which conflict with the provisions of this syllabus are effective only if in writing and signed by the professor of record for this course. Registration in this course represents a student’s endorsement and acceptance of this syllabus.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Title: Legal Environment of Management

Days/Times: Monday/Wednesday 10:00 – 11:30 (Melcher Hall Room 110)

Goals: This course is designed to provide students with an overview of the major Federal and State laws that dictate what we can and cannot do, and what we should and shouldn’t do while managing people in organizations. Because the course is focused on the legal aspects of MANAGEMENT, a vast majority of the course will be devoted to laws that are directly relevant to employment and labor relations. Among those major Federal laws that will be covered are: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1963; The Civil Rights Act of 1991; The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act of 2008; The National Labor Relations Act of 1935; and, its subsequent revision in the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act.

MANY other laws exist that are also relevant to employment and labor relations. We cannot cover all of them in detail. Thus, the above- mentioned major laws will occupy a vast majority of our discussion time. The laws will be organized around Human Resource topics. In other words, we will talk about the laws as they pertain to recruitment, selection, training, performance appraisal, benefits, and termination.

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION:

James Phillips, Professor of Management and Frustrated Amateur Golfer

Melcher Hall 315L

713-743-4660

[email protected]

Office Hours: If the door is open and there is no one else in the office, you're welcome to come on in. After class, will be the best times to catch me. I also teach 8:30-10:00 on Mon/Wed so I’ll also be in my office at 10:00 on those days. Alternatively, make an appointment to meet with me if you want to reduce uncertainty.

IMPORTANT POLICIES:

Conduct: Students are expected to conduct themselves in an ethical and professional manner. Students are expected to be familiar with standards of conduct deemed reasonable and appropriate by the university and college. Although not an exhaustive discussion of such standards, students are expected to be familiar with the University of Houston Student Handbook as a minimum. The Handbook can be found at: http://www.uh.edu/dos/hdbk/. Students should additionally read and adhere to the Bauer Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, http://www.bauer.uh.edu/BCBE/BauerCode.htm. Academic Honesty: The University of Houston Academic Honesty Policy (also contained in the Student Handbook) is strictly enforced by the C. T. Bauer College of Business. No violations of this policy will be tolerated in this course. A discussion of the policy is included in the University of Houston Student Handbook, http://www.uh.edu/dos/hdbk/acad/achonpol.html. Students are expected to be familiar with this policy. Students with Disabilities: The C. T. Bauer College of Business would like to help students who have disabilities achieve their highest potential. To this end, in order to receive academic accommodations, students must register with the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) (telephone 713-743-5400), and present approved accommodation documentation to their instructors in a timely manner.

READINGS:

There is no text required for this class. We are very fortunate that one of the few things that our Federal Government and other entities do well is to provide resources for lawyers and managers that address these major laws. Therefore, students will be provided a list of resource websites that the professor trusts for information. These can be used to reinforce the class lectures/discussions. All materials are in the public domain and, therefore, we can use them as we deem appropriate.

GRADE INPUTS:

Quizzes:

There will be three quizzes administered during the semester. Each of the first two quizzes will be worth a possible 70 points. The third quiz will be worth a possible 40 points. None of these quizzes will be comprehensive in nature.

Current Legal Issue summary:

During the semester, a BRIEF written summary will be required. It will be worth a possible 20 points. The papers will be the student’s supplemental analysis of a current issue related to the legal aspects of employment and labor relations law. The student will be required to identify a current issue being discussed in the media (newspaper, television, magazine, internet, etc) and/or litigated in the courts. It can address any legal matter that the student can defend as relevant for this class. Thus, the current issue does not need to be about something happening in a for-profit organization. It might be political, religious, sports, or business related but it must be current. In all cases, however, you should address why the issue might have implications for this course. And, you should let us know where things currently stand on the issue as well as what might happen in the future. An example of a current, relevant issue is the United States Supreme Court’s recent 5-4 ruling in Janus versus AFSCME. The Court’s actual opinion can be found at https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-1466_2b3j.pdf. The court determined that Mr. Janus could not be compelled to pay agency fees to a union which he had chosen not to join, but, that represented him through its collective bargaining agreement. Although this case involved a public employees’ union, it has profound implications for all unionized organizations, especially those that conduct business in “Right to Work” states. (BTW…you may not use this case/issue for your analysis!!)

So how long is a “brief” summary of an issue such as this one? I have a short attention span and so do most managers. I will “give up” very quickly if you haven’t convinced me that you’re adding to our understanding of the legal aspects of management. Be succinct, precise, and get to the point. Your entire analysis of the current issue cannot exceed three pages MAX! The first page or two of the paper should summarize the circumstances and the relevant laws of the current issue that you’ve chosen. The third

page of the paper should be a list of bullet points (3 to 5 is typical) of the most important aspects of the analysis you’ve done and its relevance to this course. You must use 1 inch margins, double-spaced typed, Times New Roman or Arial font with 12-point type size. You must also include a properly formatted reference to your source of information, and, it must be a source that is accessible to the professor.

BE WARY of PLAGIARISM! Summarizing the issue doesn’t mean stealing someone else’s writings/analyses.

If you have any doubt about whether a current issue you would like to analyze is relevant for this class, ASK rather than assume because relevance is a major part of the grading criteria that will be used to evaluate these analyses. Overall, you should ask yourself whether the current issue that you’re analyzing is something that the professor would want to spend time covering in class during the spring 2019 semester if he teaches this course again. Ah ha!! Think of these assignments as helping the professor to stay on top of the most important legal issues that we should be covering in this course. Your analysis can be written and turned in to the professor anytime during the semester. It should be turned in through blackboard. These analyses are, however, due absolutely no later than noon on Monday, November 26th.

Summary Grade Inputs

Quiz 1: 70 points Quiz 2: 70 points Quiz 3: 40 points Analysis: 20 points TOTAL 200 points Grade Scale 182 – 200 A 142 – 157 C 178 – 181 A- 138 – 141 C- 162 – 177 B 122 – 137 D 158 – 161 B- Below 122 F