HRM 3304 Unit IV Project, Bird Dog Freight Company Limited

You are the human resource manager of Bird Dog Freight, a large, long-haul trucking company. It is your responsibility to ensure you consider all legal ramifications of hiring, or not hiring, candidates for employment in order to protect and balance the rights of both the company and the candidate.

You are looking to hire Susan Florence as a new long-haul driver. Susan is a 58-year-old African American with an exceptional resume and extensive long-haul experience.

Your company required a physical as part of the hiring process and during the physical, Susan revealed she has lupus. In his evaluation, the doctor stated concerns that her age and health may affect her driving ability.

First, provide a detailed, written assessment to the Bird Dog Freight CEO describing potential legal concerns regarding Susan’s hiring or non-hiring. This may be in either email or memorandum format. Be sure to explicitly indicate any statutes and laws (federal or from your own state) concerning discrimination that are applicable in this case.

Next, recommend a course of action to the CEO regarding the hiring of Susan, and fully explain your position. Be sure to indicate how Affirmative Action policies may factor into Susan’s hiring or non-hiring. Your recommendation must paint a picture for the CEO so he fully understands the ramifications of hiring or not hiring Susan.

HRM 3304 Unit IV Project

Bird Dog Freight Company Limited

FROM: The Human Resources Manager.

TO: The Chief Executive Officer.

SUBJECT: Susan Florence Hiring Situation.

Dear Sir,

The company requires a new long-haul driver. As part of the recruitment process, the company has identified Susan Florence. Susan is an experienced driver. She has had an impeccable long-distance driving record. The company was considering hiring her, but the firm has received the doctor's report indicating that she has lupus. Since she has lupus, it is an indication that she may not be able to do her job. Her health condition may significantly affect her ability to perform exceptionally, her qualifications notwithstanding. For this reason, this memorandum brings to your attention some of the legal concerns that may impact or affect the ability of the organization to hire Susan.

According to the United States Department of Labor Occupational Health and Safety Administration, the employees in any organization have a right to work in an environment where they are safe and free from any physical harm. It is the organization's responsibility to receive the medical records of the potential employee and then examine whether their suitability for the job will not harm their health. According to the Equal Opportunity Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is not suitable for the organization to be discriminated against them on account of her disability. Therefore looking at that act alone, Susan deserves to be hired to show her capabilities in the workplace (Equal Employment Opportunity Act, 2016). Susan is also allowed by the law to seek accommodation from the organization. Once she asks for this accommodation, it is the company's responsibility to grant the accommodation, bearing in mind that the rest of the employees in the organization do not feel like one person is receiving preferential treatment (Green law, 2010). However, examining the OSHA act, hiring Susan is dangerous because it may endanger her life and cause accidents.

It is recommended that Susan be hired, but the Chief Executive Officer needs to sanction an assistant or a supervisor who will be with her all the time she will be driving. This is meant to act as a risk-mitigating factor if she gets tired or is affected by her conditions. The affirmative actions in place in the organization are that she should be hired on account of her being an African American and a woman. Specifically, the company does not have a lot of women who are long-haul drivers. Therefore this is an opportunity to demonstrate a high level of inclusivity in the hiring activities.

Despite the recommendations to hire Susan should be employed, there are risks that the company may assume if the hiring is continued. A risk assessment and mitigation plan needs to be carried out so that the organization carries out forward strategies on how it is going to mitigate these risks. For instance, as a result of her condition, she may not have the ability to think and act quickly in the event she experiences a difficult situation like driving in a fog. It is also imperative to note that driving concertation will be affected if she continues to drive with lupus as she will experience pain in her legs. The facility also needs to develop where she can be educated on the dangers and the risks that she may face if the organization goes ahead and hires her. The organization may also put a self-management program that will help her deal with the condition on her own while she is at work (Williams et al., 2016).

References

Equal Employment Opportunity Act. (2016). Employer-Provided Leave and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Retrieved from US EEOC website: https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/employer-provided-leave-and-americans-disabilities-act

Green law, E. (2010). Lupus on the Job: Your Rights and Responsibilities. Retrieved from WebMD website: https://www.webmd.com/lupus/features/lupus-ada-rights

Williams, E. M., Loring, K., Glover, S., Kamen, D., Back, S., Merchant, A… Oates, J. C. (2016). Intervention to Improve Quality of life for African-American lupus patients (IQAN): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial of a unique a la carte intervention approach to self-management of lupus in African Americans. BMC Health Services Research, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-016-1580-6