Problem Solution: Coastal County Clerk of Clerk, Essay Example

The major causes of conflict are based on the premise that the Coastal County Clerk of Clerk’s Office is changing management from a liberal manager to a very traditional manager. There are veteran workers that have been accustomed to working in a liberal environment and have to submit to change. The new manager is not willing to bend and wants to implement a very rigid form of management without knowing the full implications of the legalities of such implications. There appears to be no formal human resource policy plan with regards to discrimination policies and any pre-disposed forms of alternative dispute resolution implemented such as arbitration. Henceforth, if a violation occurs, the only means for resolution is a civil action in court.  Much conflict occurs when a young pregnant worker is given temporary leave to a medical appointment yet a veteran Deputy is denied leave to care for his elderly parents.  The principal behind such denial is based on legislation and statutory law of discriminatory practices. Another infringement takes places when 16 workers including the Deputy are terminated in order to outsource the entire department. All workers terminated are of approximate age 50. This again gives rise to an action of age discrimination. What comes to light is whether there should be a settlement in ADR for the best of the company in the public’s eye considering the new County Clerk has only been in position for a few months and has already infringed rights of employees.

Describe the Situation

Issue and Opportunity Identification

The issues are that there is no formal human resources policy giving effect to discrimination in the workplace.  There are no formal procedures for employment violations with particular reference to termination and procedures to arbitrate internally.  The company does not promote a fair and just workplace with respect to the Family Medical and Leave Act and Age Discrimination Act.  Rather it practices retaliation practices which are contrary to legislation and statutes.  The most important identifiable information that led to these violations were the termination of the Deputy after he filed a court action for age discrimination based on denial to leave work to take care of his elderly parents yet another employee, pregnant and young was allowed to leave work for medical appointments.  Another point to bring rise to the action was the fact that 16 employees around the age of 50 were terminated at the same time as the Deputy bringing sight to the idea that perhaps an indirect reasoning of ‘outsourcing’ was used as a cover-up to justify the termination.

There are ambiguous messages being sent to the employers and the public because of such actions by the County Clerk.  Now that the press and other governmental agencies are involved, it makes the case stronger for the employers leading me to believe their claim is justiciable in a court of law.  Justiciable means worthy of a court action.

Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas

What are we and what do we want to be is the approach to consider at this point? This helps to access actual company performance and potential performance. The key is using current resources or technology.  “The goal of gap is to identify the gap between optimized allocation and integration of the inputs and the current level of allocation. This helps the company to identify specific areas of improvement.” Cornell University School of Industrial Labor and Relations holds a seminar that costs $1500 and provides training to employers to improve workplace and workplace life.  (Menard, K., Prescott, R. & Horyath, T., 2009).

Monitoring data, benchmarking including cyclic patterns and seasonal effects are all positive modes to increase productivity and give human resources power.  Six Sigma projects can contribute to staff functions and service within a company.  Predictions are based on statistical analysis provided by gap analysis.

Gap analysis can provide information to ethical issues through investigations of compliance. The Navy does gap analysis regularly for compliance of ethical issues. “The European Charter for Researchers protects scientists’ rights when conducting experiments with relation to human rights”. (Linn, A., 2009).

Frame the “Right” Problem

Pre-Accord Government

Art Brewer, County Clerk prior to new administration of Stan Accord-2005 was accused of having a very relaxed management style that failed to account for management work and even stated department heads did not spend all day in the office. In response, Art presented that there was no need for his department heads to be in the office all day as long as he could see their accomplishments.  He also stated that issues and problems are not found in the office and his department heads are out and about in the community finding and dealing with everyday issues.

This continued approach is why his governmental approach is and has been a success throughout the years.

Deputy Dennis Munger is running elect to Stan Accord for County Clerk position as Art Brewer is not running for re-election.  Munger plans to continue the same managerial philosophy as Art Brewer. Stan Accord’s philosophy is quite opposite as he will focus on efficiency and philosophy and Munger and Brewer’s philosophy was to keep things simple and computer free.

Stan Accord, newcomer and newly elected County Clerk of Coastal County would like to promote accountability and good business practice through efforts of tighter supervision with particulars of requiring department managers to account for their time in and time out of the office.

It certainly appears that the balance of power has shifted in the County since Stan Accord has defeated Munger.  He has implemented that all department head work a full day at the office.  Any absences from the offices must be requested in advance and approved by Stan Accord, personally.  This is a more traditional approach to management.

Issues concerning Stan Accord, newly appointed County Clerk’s participation in employee discontent will be addressed at a public hearing.  Picketing arose due to the discontent and upset county government employees and citizens will be able to address concerns of new government at the hearing.  Channel 58 is invited to the hearing which will broadcast live in Island Cable channel.

Mona Michael, Senior Vice President of the Southeast Region, National Association for Aged Americans  desires to help elderly citizens in need by making Dennis Munger a poster child for such cause.  Mona believes this effort will illustrate the need for legislation and policy allowing workers to care for their aging parents.  Mona plans to make this a national story to serve the associations agenda assuming that publicity will help serve the anticipated cause quickly.

Dennis Munger makes allegations Stan Accord that he is practicing discrimination based on age by allowing a younger mother leave to take care of her children without hesitation but vicariously doubting whether he will allow leave to care for older maternal and paternal family members.  Accord suggests to speak about this later next week but Munger suggests it warrants a discussion sooner than a week.

Dennis Munger officially files legal action against Stan Accord for infringement of human rights/civil rights based on age discrimination and the Family Medical Leave Act.  This was based on the premise that Munger and other employees must have permission to leave the building.  Mona Michael recognizes the increasing need for flexible leadership about enacting legislation to protect the rights of workers to accommodate their obligations to their parents while still meeting the needs of the employer.  In an effort to show he does not discriminate, Accord emphasizes his empathy for pregnant young women, but Monger points out that it is discriminatory against older family member and employees of such.  Other employees who have so remained anonymous such far will come forward to support Munger in his efforts for equal opportunity.

Accord has eliminated 15 positions related to data records management and computer systems replacing them with contract positions of which include Dennis Munger’s long standing position.  This is quite controversial considering the strained relationship amongst the two men. Accord claims that Munger’s position is an ‘at will’ position and he has not violated any legislation.  He further maintains since the computer jobs are being outsourced, there is no further need for a Deputy Clerk to oversee the computer positions.

“It is pretty obvious by statistics that Accord has managed a pre-meditated ageist attack by laying off all of the average age of 50” as reported by vocal critic Dan Bodkin.

Former Deputy County Clerk Dennis Munger has filed another court action alleging ‘wrongful termination’. Munger and 14 other County employees were laid off by Stan Accord after Accord outsourced the Department. It was claimed that some of the employees had been distributing union information. Bob White, President of the AFL-CIO Union made statement “Management cannot unilaterally discharge employees just because they are exercising their statutory right to form a union”.  Mona Michael, Vice President for Aged Americans will be rallying support for Munger. They expect Munger to be reinstated and Mr. Bodkin as well and for the County to establish reasonable policies to assist employees who need accommodations for personal caretaking or medical issues.

The County Commissioner Tommie Griffith is calling for an appearance by Stan Accord to account for the conflicts that have happened early in the months of his office stay.

Describe the “End-State” Vision

If the issue is solved by means of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as opposed to litigation in the courts of law, the County Clerk will save valuable time, costs and embarrassment to the Clerk and other employees.  Human Rights/Civil Liberties are afforded by the Bill of Rights; first ten amendments of the US Constitution and any such infringement of such rights are a violation of such laws and statutes.  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is one of the strongest supporting federal regulatory commissions available to citizens when a public body violates a worker’s rights in the course of employment.

If the case of age discrimination against the Deputy and the other 15 workers as well as the private anti-discriminatory suit supported by the Family Medical Leave Act and Age Discrimination Regulation are settled, the Clerk may want to reconsider educating himself on human right practices and violations in order to keep his employment. There should always be a formal plan in effect that is written for all employees to view that supports equal opportunity for workers and support of a human rights policy.  The company should support such actions and discrimination should not be tolerated directly or indirectly at all costs.  The public will not tolerate such infringements against fellow citizens and it certainly does not look favorable when a politician is the one infringing upon a citizens fundamental rights. The Clerk may actually lose his position as County Clerk if the workers are successful with their suit because as a politician he should have been aware of human rights issues and possible implications of violating such rights.

Future vision is to educate all employees as well as administration on human rights and violations and pledge to have a written human rights policy and to adhere to such policies with respect to workers and citizens. Also, it would be a great idea to have annual inspection by independent contractors to ensure that the company is adhering to the policy and to have input from workers on a regular basis by the use of weekly meetings and anonymous feedback sheets.

Identify the Alternatives and Benchmarking Validation

An issue is that Mr. Art Brewer has run a laxed managed County Clerk department for years not even requiring management and department heads to be in the office all day. Because of this long term practice when the new County Clerk came in and made changes the management resisted the changes alleging discriminatory practices. Possible solutions to this effort could have been to explain to the employees why a new management regimen could improve relations in the workforce and allow the workers to continue their personal efforts with their family.  Pre-negotiation meetings between the Clerk and employees could have been held to get the employees involved in the decision making process to make them feel they were participating and to ensure their cooperation.

Issue brought up in relation to anti-discriminatory practices by County Clerk in relation to Family and Medical Leave Act.  National Association for Aged Americans, AFL-CIO, EEOC were motivated by the discriminatory actions of Deputy Clerk being denied access to leave work to attend to his elderly parents and by Deputy Clerk and 15 other company employees losing their position due to outsourcing of the computer department. Alternative solutions to this issue would have been to cut down the size of the department or give pay cuts rather than to outsource the entire department.  It appears that all of the workers were of the age 50 and this appears to be age discrimination.

The importance is to promote a fair and just working environment for all by providing a clear and definite working policy that can be easily understood by all employees and easily discussed if there are any disputes arising from such policy.

Evaluate the Alternatives

Of relative importance are anti-discriminatory infringements by the Country because these rights protected by legislation and statute as afforded by the US Constitution. Any such infringement can be brought to the Supreme Court for rectification and with that comes extreme political impact by the press including news, magazine and internet exposure.

Liability on a public governmental company can be extremely harsh when it is found in violation of a civil liberty because of such political forces governing such rights.

Narrowed List of Alternatives

Alternatives to violation of human rights are to propose in house solutions to meet both the workers and the company’s need.  This can be accomplished through various forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution processes which promote early settlement rather than litigation.

Identify and Asses Risks

The law clearly establishes that in relation to mitigation, the employer must put itself in the shoes of the employee when accessing what would be acceptable employment henceforth, and not put itself in the shoes of the employer.

The onus is on the employer to prove that the employer failed to take reasonable steps to secure employment and had she/he taken reasonable steps she/he would have secured employment.

If it is proven that an employee failed to mitigate, there will be a corresponding reduction in the award of damages if the suit is won.

Make the Decision

Based on the premise the County is in violation of basic human rights with regard to aged discrimination and the Family Medical Leave Act it might be wise for the County to develop a new vision plan that reflects a more just plan that reflects an open spirited plan that reflects participation in participating with all levels of employment anti-discrimination.  Individual behavior, employee performance goals, identified benchmarking training practices all prove to be effective measures in workforce success.  Following the passage of the Civil Rights Act 1964 practices of anti-discriminatory procedures in the workforce commenced and certain behaviors were forbidden under state and federal law. “With particular emphasis came note to sexual harassment laws and Americans with Disabilities Act.  Diversity training and strategic planning became the key essential element to a non-discriminatory workplace”.  ( Lofhjelh, S. 2001).  Taking into account human behavior and emotions with respect to change and adaptation should be considered when implementing a new management plan.

In Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, it was held that there cannot be a legal retaliation against an employee for a complaint against another employee or subordinate.  This is similar to the situation where Deputy Clerk made a claim of age discrimination under the Family Medical Leave Act and later as a result he and 15 others were discharged from their employment due to outsourcing of the department.  This is certainly an abuse of the new County Clerk’s position through indirect sourcing.  But there are two forms of discrimination one of direct discrimination and one of indirect discrimination and both are henceforth discrimination.  With Indirect Discrimination an employer can argue that there may be discrimination, but that it is actually required for the job, (this is known as a “genuine occupational requirement” (GOR)).  This will not pass with the situation with regards to the 16 terminated for outsourcing because keep in mind they were all around the age of 50.  The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) protects certain applicants and employees 40 years of age and older from discrimination on the basis of age in hiring, promotion, discharge, compensation, or terms, conditions or privileges of employment. The law is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Develop and Implement the Solution

Developing and implementing a fair and respectful human resource policy includes handling internal and external complaints of discrimination that satisfies employers and the public. The purpose is to help organizations to draft their own policy that addresses issues and solutions directly related to their company and employees including an explanatory guide of the anti-discriminatory policy in writing with a proposed resolution settlement process with an aim towards effective and efficient settlement without litigation.

The first part of the policy should adhere to a statement of commitment by the employer to adhere to the policy with strictest regulations under all conditions including recruitment, selection, placement, promotion, compensation, benefits, termination, provision of services and the work environment.

The second part of the policy should include the legal framework of the policy as afforded through legislation and statutes.

The third part of the policy should include the rights and responsibilities of all included in the policy such as the employer, the employees, managers and supervisors and clients.

The fourth part of the policy should include any undertakings or legal contracts with respect to anti-discriminatory practices.  A typical undertaking or legal contract might state as such:  “The County agrees to provide a discrimination free environment for all people to work and conduct business in and will take complaints of discrimination seriously if they arise.”

The fifth part of the policy will state who the policy applies to such as owners, managers, employees and applicants. It will also state that the policy applies to all scopes of the employment as related to business trips, contract sites and on-site practices.

The sixth part of the policy will clearly define the complaints procedure including investigation procedures and time order of investigation procedures. Issues of privacy, confidentiality, retaliation and outcomes and remedies will be discussed in full.

The final part of the policy will discuss the appeal process and right to have the situation investigated by an outside independent agency.

Evaluate the Results

The key to successful implementation of a human resource policy is to avoid creating policies for every contingency.  There must be an allowance for management to address the needs of the individual employee.  Policies must be clear and fair so that employees feel that the working environment is not a ‘free for all environment’.  The HR manual is to be utilized as an effective communication tool thus there is no set time limit to incorporate it into practice.  Success of a plan should be monitored by whether the employers are following the plan with little ease and whether there are violations to the plan.  Successful plans have been from Vice President Susan Stockton, Carreker Corporation, Kate Martine’, Senior Vice President, The Trustmart Companies and Stan Bulger, Director, Central Garden and Pet Company.

Conclusion

The findings allocated are that the County Clerk’s Office failed to have a formal Human Resource anit-discrimination policy outlining the rights of employees and citing the responsibilities of the employer with regards to the employees and public. As a result they have portrayed very poor managerial practices and set themselves up to be sued in court. The fact that the new Clerk has violated the Deputy’s rights under the EEOC and Family and Medical Leave Act gives rise to anti-discriminatory practice and termination of 16 employees of the age 50 clearly defines discriminatory practice under such federal and state laws. It would be in the best interest of the County and the new Clerk to settle this dispute through ADR to ‘save face’ and to limit future negative exposure.  This is a very premature risk that the County Clerk chose to take and it appears to be a very disadvantaged risk as such.

References

Family Medical and Leave Act and Age Discrimination Act

Menard, K., Prescott, R. & Horyath, T., (2009) School Strategic Human Resource Planning< http://www.seminarinformation.com/qqaquj/strategic-human-resources-planning>accessed 15 August 2009.

Linn, A., (2009) European Charter for Researchers Charter and Code: Gap Analysis< http://www.uhr.no/documents/Avviksanalyse_for_Norge_engCJS_endelig.pdf>accessed 15 August 2009.