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Employer's Duty of Care

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EMPLOYER’S DUTY OF CARE

Strayer University
LEG 500 – Law, Ethics, and Corporate Governance
February 20, 2011

1. Explain whether Jake’s actions are in or out of “his scope of employment”
The actions of Jake’s work on the vehicles that include checking breaks, tires, and the transmissions is included within his scope of employment. The scope of employment includes any tasks that are included in the contract of the position that an individual is hired to complete (USLegal). This also includes any specific task that an employer asks an employee to perform. The purpose of documenting an individual’s scope of employment is for the employer to be responsible for a liability that may occur in case of an injury to that individual. The scope of employment can also be used to help benefit the employer as well. If an employee is not performing within their scope, the employer is not responsible for the actions of the employee. The position of Jake’s employment is that of Service Manager. Herman did give Jake specific instructions to change the oil no matter what is wrong with any of the vehicles. However, Jake is there to service vehicles. As long as he is performing duties that include servicing vehicles and furthering the business of the company then he is performing within his scope of employment. It is expected of a mechanic to perform other tasks of servicing a vehicle other than just changing the oil. Even if an employee is doing something that they are not directed to do by the employer does not justify an employee performing outside of their scope employment. Since a Service Manager of a car dealership is expected to service the vehicle, Jake is performing within his scope. If Herman were to hire Jake specifically for changing oil only and nothing else, then checking for other areas would be out of his scope of employment. 2. Explain whether or not Herman is responsible for Jake’s injury
Herman is responsible for Jake’s injury that occurred. Jake’s injury was a result of tasks he was completing while he was at work. Jake was performing within his scope of employment. As long as an employee is performing within their scope the employer is responsible for any injuries that may occur while the employee is on duty. The scope of employment is used for the purpose of the Superior Respondent Doctrine. Superior Respondent is Latin for “let the master answer” (Legal Information Institute). This doctrine states that an employer is responsible for employee actions while working under that employee (Legal Information Institute). Under this doctrine an employee is acting under the employer so the employer must assume some of the responsibility. Whenever an employee is hurt or if an employee hurts someone while acting as an agent of the employer then the employer will have to assume liability. Jake is working as an agent of Herman while in his scope. Herman should be held accountable for injuries that were sustained while on the job.
3. Explain whether or not Jake should be paid overtime
Jake should not be paid overtime due to him being a part of the management team at Herman’s business. Most management positions receive a paid salary for compensation along with benefits paid to the employee. The compensation that employees receive is paid to them whether they work a full times day of work or a half time day of work. This creates an advantage for Jake as well as a disadvantage. Jake will be paid the same compensation when there are days in which he works and there is not much work to do. Unfortunately, the compensation remains constant when employees work over the typical full time hours that they would usually work. When Jake has a busy day of cars to service then he will be paid for the same amount of compensation even if he has to work overtime. Offering Jake overtime compensation will affect the pay of other employees who are also working under a management position. If Jake were to receive overtime compensation for the hours that he has worked then all the other employees that are a part of the management team will be expected to receive overtime compensation as well. This will sustain extra expenses that the business will have to pay out. Also, if Jake received overtime compensation then it would be expected that his salary compensation will decrease when he does not work full time hours.
4. Explain the rights of Jake and Herman individually in this scenario
In this scenario the two issues that arise is Herman paying Jake overtime compensation and the injury that Jake incurred while on the job. Herman indicates that he wants the job done fast no matter the condition the vehicles are in. Jake indicates that he wants overtime pay for all the extra hours being put into his work because of the deal that Herman is giving to customers.
Herman is expected to provide some type of extra compensation to Jake in case of an injury that may occur while he is on the job. Herman is expected as an employer to provide payment to any employee that may become injured while working at his place of business. Within the scenario it is implied that the company that Herman is running does have worker’s compensation for employees. Worker’s compensation is a state mandated insurance that covers an employee once they have incurred injury while on their job (Nolo Law for All). This can be any type of injury that occurred while the employee was on the job whether it is related to another employee, a customer or any other third party that may have occurred while completing job related tasks. The compensation can be used for time that an employee is unable to work due to the injury or any other problems associated with the injury that occurred while at work. The compensation is also used to pay for any expenses that an employee may have incurred due to the injury. Jake does have rights to receive worker’s compensation for the injury that occurred while he was working. Because Jake was performing within his scope of employment, Herman is held accountable for injuries that he sustain. Although Jake was only supposed to change the oil on the vehicles, he is still performing within his scope because servicing vehicles is what is expected of him.
Worker’s compensation not only protects all employees from injury, but it also protects employers when necessary. Employers allocate funds intended for worker’s compensation in case of injury that may occur. Once an employee continues to file a worker’s compensation claim it prevents the employer from being sued by the employee. This protects an employer from having to issue any payments for liability expenses of an employee once worker’s compensation has been issued. If an employee decides to sue an employer instead of filing a worker’s compensation claim, there is always a possibility of the employee not receiving anything for their injuries that they sustain if the employer is found not liable for the employee’s injury. If Jake does file a claim for worker’s compensation, he cannot sue Herman once the claim has been filed. Employees can also be ineligible to receive worker’s compensation if certain restrictions apply. Restrictions includes: alcohol and drugs as a contributing factor, an employee committing a serious crime as an contributing factor, an employee not being on the job at the time of the injury, and an employee not following the policies and procedures of the company (Nolo Law for All). Herman will not have to pay anything for Jake’s injury if Jake is found ineligible to receive worker’s compensation.
The other issue in this scenario is Herman paying Jake overtime pay for his work. Overtime compensation from employers to employees is required under federal and state laws, but there are exceptions in which employers do not have to pay overtime compensation. “Employees who are eligible for overtime are called non-exempt employees while employees who are not eligible for overtime are called exempt employees” (Steingold F.). Any employee that is covered under the Fair Labor Standards is eligible to receive overtime compensation (Steingold F.). Employers are required to pay non-exempt employees overtime compensation for any hour that the employees work that is over forty hours. A non-exempt employee is paid time and a half for the any hour that is worked over forty hours within a course of the pay period. Employers are not required to pay overtime that employees work within a day of work. Employers are not required to pay overtime compensation for employees who have any administrative, executive, or professional position that are being compensated with salary benefits (Steingold F.). Herman is not required to pay Jake any type of overtime compensation if his management position is a salary base compensation.

Resources
Legal Information Institute (August 2010). Respondent Superior. Retrieved February 17, 2011 from http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/respondeat_superior.

Nolo Law For All (2010). Worker’s Compensation Benefits. Retrieved February 15, 2011 from http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/workers-compensation/.

Steingold, F. (2010). When Must Employers Pay Overtime. Retrieved February 16, 2011 from http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/employer-pay-overtime-laws-29928.html.

USLegal (2011). Scope of Employment Law and Legal Definition. Retrieved February 17, 2011 from http://definitions.uslegal.com/s/scope-of-employment/.

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