Discussion: Why Employment Laws are Important in
Healthcare: Impact and Consequences
Less than century ago it was not uncommon to have children working in factories, long work days and weeks, and unfair wages. Over the past 50 years, employment laws have been enacted to protect workers from discrimination, unfair termination, and disparity in wages. In the healthcare field, leaders and managers must know these laws and how they impact the management of a diverse workforce and assess and manage the legal, ethical, and financial risks associated with not complying with these laws.
In this Discussion you will analyze two cases from the list of cases found in this week’s Learning Resources.
Note:This Discussion covers important regulations and laws that will impact your decision-making as a leader in healthcare. Please note that this Discussion is more substantive and is worth 48 points, rather than the 24 points allotted to all other Discussions in this course.
To prepare for the Discussion:
Review this Week’s Learning Resources.
Review the Week 3 Case Studies found in the Learning Resources and select two to focus on for this Discussion.
By Day 3
For each of the cases your selected(you must select two),posta cohesive and substantive response to the following:
Identify the cases you selected and address the questions posed in the scenarios you chose.
Support your post with reputable and current references from the Learning Resources and or other professional/academic/government resources.
Below are the case studies
Week 3 Discussion - Case Studies
Dr. Rashida Jones, Regional Office Director, Great Plains Medical Supply and Service Company
Dr. Rashida Jones is the new director of the regional office of the Great Plains Medical Supply and Service Company. Her Customer Care Delivery Team (CCDT) employees are responsible for responding to online orders from their health system clients and ensuring deliveries are completed within 24 hours. To accomplish this, the CCDT employees drive company vehicles and, on occasion, assist with direct purchase transactions. Safety and reliability are key characteristics of the CCDT employees.
As a new director, Rashida is taking the time to review the new hires and terminations for her department over the past year. She also wants to ensure that there are no pending concerns with violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Rashida knows that if an employee is terminated, compliance with ADA is an important consideration. As she makes her way through the hiring and termination files from the previous year, she notes that the following four terminations have recently occurred in her regional office:
1. Charlie was terminated after the company discovered he was an alcoholic. 2. Jennifer was terminated after the company discovered she had a history of cancer. 3. Jose was terminated after he was diagnosed with epilepsy. 4. Conner was terminated after he was seen on the news at a Gay Pride March. 5. Bruce was terminated after the company discovered he had a compulsive gambling problem.
Employee termination decisions can be difficult for any manager. If you were Rashida, which of these terminations would you think violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), if any? Explain your answer. How would you recommend Rashida address these termination issues and possible violations of ADA? Support your Discussion with evidence from this week’s Learning Resources and any additional research you have done.
Mr. Thomas Cantu, Human Resource Manager, Kind Hearts Assisted Living Center
Mr. Thomas Cantu is the Human Resource Manager at Kind Hearts Assisted Living Center. The assisted living facility is seeking to ensure that unintended instances of unlawful discrimination do not occur during either recruitment or promotion processes within the organization. Explain at least one method you would recommend that would be most effective in preventing unintended instances of unlawful discrimination during recruitment and one method you would recommend that would be most effective in preventing unintended instances during promotion. Support your Discussion with evidence from this week’s Learning Resources and any additional research you have done.
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Ms. Camille Cooper, Director of Nursing, River Basin Healthcare System
Four Rivers Regional Healthcare System and Rural Middle America Healthcare, with facilities across three states, recently merged and became River Basin Healthcare System. There is concern that both health systems have potential instances of discrimination in their past and that there is potential for these discriminatory practices to continue to be used for promotions within the newly formed River Basin Healthcare System. The merger presents new opportunities for advancement within the nursing department.
How would you suggest that Ms. Cooper, Director of Nursing, address the potential for discrimination? Specifically, Ms. Cooper has been told that promotions often happened by “word of mouth” recommendations. What are the advantages and disadvantages of “word of mouth” recommendations? What do you recommend Ms. Cooper do to address the concerns? Support your Discussion with evidence from this week’s Learning Resources and any additional research you have done.
Chester Cruise, Human Resources Manager, Springfield Clinical Healthcare Associates
Chester Cruise is the Human Resources Manager for Springfield Clinical Healthcare Associates. Chester recently investigated a complaint from an Asian American nurse who quit his job in the outpatient center because he noticed that Asian American nurses were being passed over for promotions in favor of Caucasian nurses. Chester decided to review the promotion reports from the past two years to see if the reports substantiated or refuted the claim. Chester summarized the data contained in the reports in the following table.
Health System Nursing Personnel Promotion Rates Units Year Caucasian Rate Asian American Rate Ambulatory Care Facilities XXXXXXXXXX% 8.35% Ambulatory Care Facilities XXXXXXXXXX% 9.76% Medical Surgical Units XXXXXXXXXX% 7.57% Medical Surgical Units XXXXXXXXXX% 8.97% Quality Assurance Division XXXXXXXXXX% 7.66%
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Based on the data contained in this table, explain whether there is evidence to support the claim that Springfield Clinical Healthcare Associates passes over Asian American nurses in favor of promoting Caucasian nurses. How might this positively or negatively impact Springfield Clinical Healthcare Associates? How do you recommend that Chester address the situation? Support your Discussion with evidence from this week’s Learning Resources and any additional research you have done.
Dr. Barbara Bennett, Medical Director, Greybull Medical Center
Workplace violence is a growing concern within the healthcare employment sector. Dr. Barbara Bennett is the medical director for Greybull Medical Center, a rural hospital in Greybull, Wyoming. Over the past year, there has been an increase in workplace violence reports coming from the operating room facilities. This trend is deeply concerning to her, as well as the fact that several of the reports have included incidents with some of her physicians. One nurse has indicated that she is planning to press criminal charges including battery. To counter workplace violence at her facility, what do you recommend that Dr. Bennett do, in partnership with the Human Resources team to address the issue? Along with your recommendation, outline the steps you would have Dr. Bennett follow. Support your Discussion with evidence from this week’s Learning Resources and any additional research you have done.
Mrs. Carmen Silva, Medical Technologist, Rocky Mountain Medical Systems
Mrs. Carmen Silva is a medical technologist with Rocky Mountain Medical Systems and a native Brazilian. She had applied to become the supervisor of the clinical lab department and was shocked when she found out that she did not receive a promotion. Carmen believed that she was fully qualified for the specified responsibilities of the supervisor position, so she filed a lawsuit alleging national origin discrimination. Identify at least two specific points from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that the courts will need to apply to decide her case. Explain your answer. Support your Discussion with evidence from this week’s Learning Resources and any additional research you have done.
Mr. Mark Winters, Project Manager, Goodcare Medical Center
Mark Winters is a project manager in the human resource department at Goodcare Medical Center. He is currently working with the food service employees to better understand their needs. He is also working with Viola Jensen, the Food Service Director, to design training programs to enhance job satisfaction. Identify at least two specific and fundamental goals of human resource management that Mark will be addressing as he works on this project. Explain
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how partnering with Viola will help achieve these goals. Support your Discussion with evidence from this week’s Learning Resources and any additional research you have done.
Ms. Josie Davis, Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator, and Mrs. Patsy Buckinghorn, Senior Clinical Research Coordinator, Garrison-Craig Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Josie Davis is 26 years old. She recently graduated from college and was just hired on as the Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator at Garrison-Craig Pharmaceuticals, Inc. She is young and energetic and excited to be working on the clinical research team.
Patsy Buckinghorn is 59 years old. She has worked for Garrison-Craig Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since she was 21. She began as an Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator and was eventually promoted to Associate Clinical Research Coordinator and then Senior Clinical Research Coordinator. She is good at her job and she is confident in her skills.
Generational differences can impact an individual’s approach to work. These differences can be observable in the workplace. Explain how employers may tend to view older workers like Patsy as compared to younger workers like Josie. Consider characteristics like productivity, attractiveness, and expense to the organization in your explanation. Support your Discussion with evidence from this week’s Learning Resources and any additional research you have done.
Mr. Dennis Bennett, Human Resources Specialist, North American Managed Care Health Insurance Company
Dennis Bennett is a Human Resources Specialist for North American Managed Care Health Insurance Company. He specializes in investigating discrimination and sexual harassment cases, as well as creating and delivering corporate training on these topics. Over the last few months, Dennis has been working on investigating the following cases that were reported to the Office of Human Resources.
1. Ms. Carl contacted the HR office to report that Ms. Ange, a coworker, invited her out to a bar and that Mr. Ange encouraged her to wear something sexy and fun…the more revealing the better. 2. A colleague of the health plan’s medical director, Dr. Choi, contacted HR to report that Dr. Choi told him that Ms. Blackstone did not get a raise because she refused to engage in the sexual activities that he had asked for. 3. It has come to the Office of Human Resources attention that Mr. Kelly and Ms. Tisdall have been dating and have willingly agreed to have intercourse. 4. Ms. Connor, a utilization review nurse in the Medicaid managed care office, has reported that Dr. Kensic refuses to give her a favorable performance evaluation unless she agrees to go out on a date with him.
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Sexual harassment continues to be a serious issue in the workplace. Consider the four examples provided. Which of these examples do you think are not examples of sexual harassment? For each example, provide your rationale and supporting evidence. Support your Discussion with evidence from this week’s Learning Resources and any additional research you have done.