The results of the poll were not much of a surprise to me after reading the course material. When I answered the questions, I truly thought that I was correct, as I am sure most of my classmates also thought the same. My reasoning for choosing "Yes" to both questions centered more around the idea that if something "seemed" to be illegal, or could be "proven illegal" that it could be fought and taken into consideration. However, after reading the Overview of Employment Laws content, I definitely realized I was way off course.
In the case study, it does seem rather unfair that the President of the company is making it a requirement for all employees to acquire handheld wireless devices or cell phones, and that all expenses were to come out of the employees' pockets. Yet, after reading the article of Employment Laws, I realize just because something seems unfair, this does not necessarily mean that it is illegal. If the company were to have a policy regarding this decision, then employees should be expected to follow the policy. Additionally, it is important to keep in mind that just because the policy is written does not mean the company would have to follow.
What Questions Would You Ask?
Some of the important questions I would ask and information I would try to gather would center around the following:
1. Is there a written policy in place either when new hires start their employment, or in the company handbook that employees can refer to to be informed that policies can be changed at any time?
2. How would the organization plan to record all of the overtime that involved employees would be putting into being on call?
a. Would this require that all Non-Exempt employees move to Exempt status as a means to cover this issue?
3. How will this new direction affect employees' work/life balance?
a. Will the morale of the company decrease? Will employees feel burned out, or overworked?
b. Will employees start to fell as though they are being taken for granted?