7 Module 3 Case 1 – Critical Thinking Student’s Name Institution Full

7

Module 3 Case 1 – Critical Thinking

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Module 3 Case 1 – Critical Thinking

Human resource management (HRM) plays a crucial function in ensuring that there is optimum utilization of assets in an organization in terms of input and output. Some of the functions that help them achieve this include planning, organizing, leading, and controlling the organization control. The HR department ensures that the organization adheres to the labor laws offers training to employees, and recruitment activities. The department is also responsible for addressing organizational performance by ensuring that there is efficient allocation of resources. The dynamic nature of the environment brought by the rise in technology has greatly affected the operation of human resource management. The changes in regulations and employment laws, particularly modification of government regulations, have also affected the functions of human resources. Some of the roles affected by the departments include termination of contract, compensation, training, and selection. In this paper, the focus is to examine employment at will and its exceptions, essential changes needed in the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), and USERRA’s impact on human resource management functions in private sector workplaces.

Employment at Will

The doctrine, employment at will refers to a law that provides the employer or employee the opportunity to terminate or quit their job at any particular time without any prior notification. The law also gives employers the opportunity to terminate the contract of employees for good, bad or no reason or cause of termination. There are also some exceptions where the rule of employment at will does not apply. The exceptions include collective bargaining policy, the handbook, public policies, implied contracts, good faith, and fair dealing (Doyle, 2021). The implied contract agreement exception is usually highlighted in the employment, especially during the interview or upon recruitment. Good faith prevents an employer from terminating the employee contract for personal benefit, and the failure to do so might lead to a legal suit for the employer by the employees. In Montana, employees are protected from termination of their contract by the employer without cause after they have completed the probation period, while in other states like Florida, New York and Georgia, the at-will exception applies.

The exception that has had the significant effect on private sector workplaces among the above listed is public policies. The policy has made many employees sue private companies who have terminated their contracts while ignorant of the public policies. The exception prohibits private sectors from terminating their employees’ contracts when they refuse to break certain laws for their request. The exception has caused private companies in the United States to lose millions of dollars through court (Hero, 2017). Public policy exception has also affected the function of human resource management. The factor that suffers from the exception involves workforce maintenance. The effect of this hinders the human resource management department from maintaining the company employees. It also stresses the role of HRM in the private sector to adhere to all public policies regarding employee contracts to avoid such losses in the future.

Immigration Reforms and Control Act (IRCA)

The passing of IRCA in 1986 played a vital role in providing guidelines to employers in various organizations on actions to take before hiring employees in their company, especially immigrants. It prohibits hiring undocumented immigrants in their companies by addressing the sanctions on employer and border security; in the United States, it was established to control competition for employment opportunities available between the locals and the immigrants in various organizations. It ensures that immigrants’ identity is effectively checked and their qualifications for various roles are established. In the event the employer fails to verify the eligibility of the recruited immigrants in the country for their job, the employer is free to terminate their contract (U.S. Department of Agriculture, n.d.). Despite the effectiveness of IRCA in its regulation, it also has various negative shortcomings that need to be addressed.

One of the most important changes that I need to address involves amending the part that requires the immigrant to ascertain if their documents are valid. The clause should be amended to ensure the verification of immigrant documents are done by the government and letter issued to the immigrants looking for jobs in U.S. companies. Changing the clause will help companies in the United States find employees who do not have appropriate documents, allowing them to work in the country from losses they usually incur. There is a need to make the change in the cause despite it being a requirement of the law based on complications incurred in verifying the legitimacy of the documents provided. The amendment of these parts will help the companies in the United States. The amendment will not only help the government to secure employment for their citizen but also boost security in the country. The companies can deal with the issue by updating the functions of HRM and including document verification to ensure they comply with the one required for work in the United States.

USERRA Review

The USERRA regulation is the federal labor law that applies to all employers in the United States and defines the duties and rights that are costumed to service members within the state. The law prevents employers from denying members of the armed forces work in the civilian job position. The legislation offers protection to the uniformed members to effectively go about their activities by working outside without any problem that defines them. USERRA does this by defining how the uniformed members are expected to relate with civilians in various contexts as they work. The Act also offers protection to people who wish to join the informed services or want to leave the job at will.

USERRA has various positive and negative implications on the private sector workplace environment and human resource management. The legislation helps in minimizing the discrimination that existed against the uniformed members or costumed services. It reduces discrimination by creating a conducive working environment for individuals working or who were previously employed in the uniformed services. In the private sector workforce, USERRA offers the business opportunity to reemploy individual who leaves their active duty for more than five years and has the required skills required to handle the job. It also helps the private sector, giving them notification of active-duty status for effective planning. The negative impact of USERRA on employers in the private sector is that it can lead to losses. The loss happens if the private company employer fails to provide employment to their employees who leave their jobs to meet their service duties. The employees, in such cases, can sue the private company for various damages like loss of wage, reinstatement, and benefits granted in the company during the active services (HR Hero, 2017). The lawsuit of such a case can also damage a private company’s reputation in the country and affect its ability to acquire uniformed service members in the future with the required skills.

References

Doyle, A. (2021, June 21). What does employment at-will mean? The Balance Careers. https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-does-employment-at-will-mean-2060493

HR Hero. (2017). USERRA (The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act). http://topics.hrhero.com/userra-uniformed-services-employment-andreemployment-rights-act

U.S. Department of Agriculture. (n.d). IRCA antidiscrimination provisions. The Center for Regulatory Effectiveness. https://www.thecre.com/fedlaw/legal19/ircadisc.htm

Appendix: 1

Employment at Will

Employment at will doctrine gives the employer the right to terminate an employee contract in the company without cause. It also allows employees to leave the job at any time, with or without any reason. The doctrine also prevents an employer from terminating employee contact in the company for unlawful reasons. At will also offer exceptions for its applications in the private sector workplace to prevent unethical action of employers. The exceptions include collective bargaining policy, the handbook, public policies, implied contracts, good faith, and fair dealing.

ERICA

IRCA was formed in 1986 to control unauthorized immigration in the United States. The Act gives conditions where employers in the U.S. can be liable for breaking the clauses in the Act during the hiring process. The bodies that help in ensuring there is strict adherence to the IMRC include OSC and USDOJ. IMRC applies to employers with four workers or more where OSC investigates and changes the company employer responsible for immigrant discrimination, especially during the hiring, termination, and documentation process.

SIERRA

The USERRA regulation offers the members of services men protection from discrimination based on their service after a period of uniformed services. The law ensures that members such as the armed forces and the National Guard are not discriminated against in their civilian careers. The Act requires the uninformed service members to get reinstated in their private jobs without losing benefits associated with leadership jobs.