ISM 600 Employment Law: Selected Topics
May 2011 Residency
Course Project
INTRODUCTION: The project required for ISM 600 is a written paper dealing with an area of employment law. Students are required to register their topic with Prof. Cihon.
PROJECT REQUIREMENTS: The written paper should explore the management implications of the legal requirements of a particular area of employment law — what do the legal requirements mean for managers in their day-to-day operations. Students are expected to outline the legal requirements of a topic discussed in class and then discuss how firms develop, implement and enforce policies regarding that issue. The provisions of the law and the rules of the cases studied in class should be the starting point; your project should explore how do employers translate the legal requirements into management policies and practices.
An example would be whether firms have revised their sexual harassment policies in light of the recent Supreme Court decisions setting up a defense for the employer. The project would involve first discussing the latest court decisions regarding sexual harassment and legal rules regarding employer’s liability for sexual harassment, and then discuss what is the employer’s sexual harassment policy, how was it revised, how is it implemented, how was/is it communicated to employees, what training were employees given about the policy, and how is it enforced?
Suggested topics include drug testing policies, sexual harassment, same-sex domestic partner benefits policy, diversity and affirmative action programs, development and distribution of an employee handbook, non-competition and non-disclosure agreements, employer Email policies, employee privacy policies, “family-friendly” working conditions and benefits packages (including Family and Medical Leave Act reqts.), employee testing and the selection process. Each student is required to register her or his chosen topic with Prof. Cihon; to prevent duplication, each student is required to have a different topic — no topic can be covered by more than one student. In the event that two or more student choose the same topic, the person first registering the topic with Prof. Cihon gets that topic. Prof. Cihon also reserves the right to reject proposed topics.
Students are expected to gather information regarding employment policies and the management implications of the legal requirements from their own employer or other relevant organizations. Prof. Cihon may be able to suggest firms and contact persons within those firms that may be appropriate for particular topics.
The paper should be at least fifteen pages in length. Students are required to inform Prof. Cihon of their topic by June 1st. A rough draft will be due on July 15th. Prof Cihon will provide feedback, comments, and a critique of the draft; students will be required to revise the draft in light of the feedback they receive. The final version of the project is due August 15th.
EVALUATION: Students will receive a grade for the written paper. A student’s grade for the project accounts for approximately 75% of the student’s final grade for the course.