HRM 4304: Collective bargaining, Unit VII Case Study

HRM 4304: Collective bargaining, Unit VII Case Study

Instructions

Read Case Study 11-2, “Sleeping on the Job,” on pages 426-427 of your textbook. Then, answer the following questions:

1. Should the company’s treatment of the grievant for the first two “sleeping on the job” incidents influence the outcome in this case? Explain.

2. Did the Company have just cause to dismiss the grievant for violating safety rules when in each instance cited, the truck was out of gear with the safety brake on?

3. Is the union’s argument that the grievant just appeared to be “sleeping” creditable in the absence of any testimony of support by the backhoe driver, a fellow union member?

Your response should be a minimum of 150 words per question. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations, and cited per APA guidelines

Should the company’s treatment of the grievant for the first two “sleeping on the job”

incidents influence the outcome in this case? Explain.

The company disciplinary procedures often involve many activities. Some of the tasks during the disciplinary process including the issuance of warnings. When warnings are issued to the employee, it is expected that they will heed this warning and adopt a behavioral modification strategy (Kate, 2019). There was no proper recording of the first incident. If there was any form of recording, it would have provided the needed evidence that shows that indeed this employee was warned and he was expected to change behavior. In any critical incident it is important that recording of the verbal warning incident takes place so that when the cause is escalated to other authorities, there is that right evidence that indeed this worker was warned before they took some actions. Therefore the treatment of the first two initial incidents should influence the outcomes of the second incident provided the employee was given adequate warning to ensure that there is no repeat incident.

Did the Company have just cause to dismiss the grievant for violating safety rules when in each instance cited, the truck was out of gear with the safety brake on?

The just cause in the proceedings of dismissing an employee is evident in the contract. It can be gross misconduct that goes against the contract between the employer and the employee. The inability to continue with the safety rules and the failure of the employee to meet the common bargaining agreements are some of the notable grounds that can make an employee to be dismissed from his work position (Carrell & Heavrin, 2010). Running of the truck, in an out of gear position and the inability of the driver to put in place while also sleeping on the job endangered his own personal life and also the lives of people around him, hence the company has justifiable claims to dismiss him. Since this is also the third violation of the incident, the company finds out that it has justifiable grounds to dismiss the driver because it is not the first time and it was not the first incident. There is a growing chance that the incident could have occurred again.

Is the union’s argument that the grievant just appeared to be “sleeping” creditable in the absence of any testimony of support by the backhoe driver, a fellow union member?

There is a thin line when someone says that they are sleeping and then another person realizes that they are appearing to be sleeping. Sleeping continuity can be seen when the person has long deep breathes but this is not the only way to check if someone was sleeping or just appearing to be asleep (Horton, 2017). The union is not justified to say that the driver was just appearing to be asleep and he was not really properly sleeping. Someone who appears to be sleeping does not suddenly become startled when they are awakened. It only means that this person has been in deep slumber and it is only that time when they are waking up. The fact that the driver did not see or observe the supervisor physically mounting the truck and also opening of the cab door shows that he was sleeping because the supervisor could have done even more without him noticing anything.

References

Carrell, M. R., & Heavrin, C. (2010). Labor relations and collective bargaining : cases, practice, and law. Prentice Hall.

Horton, C. L. (2017). Consciousness across Sleep and Wake: Discontinuity and Continuity of Memory Experiences As a Reflection of Consolidation Processes. Frontiers in Psychiatry,

8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00159

Kate, L. (2019, March 20). What are the steps in a disciplinary procedure? | citrusHR. Citrus HR.

https://citrushr.com/blog/hr-headaches/disciplinary-procedure-steps/