Case Analysis I - Plastec Company

Case Analysis I- Plastec Company

Learning Team 1

Webster University

Case Analysis I- Plastec Company

The Plastec Company is currently facing many obstacles that are affecting their business, including high turnover rates, a lack of knowledge and understanding of employee rights, unethical business practices, and minimal data capturing and analysis of the company's overall performance. The issues within the company have become alarming to Paul in the Human Resource department and pose a serious need to take immediate action in order for the company to continue to grow. If the company does not take the necessary steps to address these issues, they stand a chance of facing serious consequences, including lawsuits. There are many areas of the company that Plastec could focus on in order to accomplish these goals.

The most important issue within the company that Paul should direct his attention to is the open discrimination practices by his supervisors John and Roy. In order to address this issue, Paul should pay attention to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), which protects men and women who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment from sex-based wage discrimination. Based on the data captured from recent turnover, many of the people who left the company were all women and minorities. Their reasons for leaving the company included finding similar jobs with better benefits and higher wages. Also, with respect to John and Roy's reference to employees speaking in their native language and being hard to understand, Paul should also pay attention to Chapter XIV, EEOC, 29 CFR 1606.7(a), which states:

A rule requiring employees to speak only English at all times in the workplace is a burdensome term and condition of employment. The primary language of an individual is often an essential national origin characteristic. Prohibiting employees at all times, in the workplace, from speaking their primary language or the language they speak most comfortably, disadvantages an individual's employment opportunities on the basis of national origin. It may also create an atmosphere of inferiority, isolation and intimidation based on national origin which could result in a discriminatory working environment.

The open discrimination that was being allowed within the workplace created an environment where there was a tremendous lack of respect. The managers attended a training in which they learned that the behavior they allowed within the company was illegal. The company should follow up by offering this training to all of their employees.