Due Date: 11:59 pm EST on Friday of Unit 5 Points: 100

Overview: This week’s assignment forum focuses on the fringe benefits provided by an employer’s

compensation plan. This is the fifth assignment forum related to your final project.

Your Unit 5 assignment forum is based on the Whitley vs BP, P.L.C. case study found in

Chapter 12 of your textbook. The case involved a denial of benefits. At issue was the

legality of a stock-drop suit directly in light of the Supreme Court's recently stated

requirements for such cases. The appellate court ultimately found the stockholders'

amended complaint as insufficient, and the district court erred in granting the

stockholders' motion to amend. You will explore the facts leading up to a decision in this

case and evaluate the importance of this ruling to human resources practice and your

role as a human resources practitioner.

Instructions: As the Human Resource Manager at GreenTech Ltd., you are ready to prepare your

next report. You will review, assess, and analyze a topic, event, or case, and based on

your findings, you will share a written report with your supervisor, the Chief Human

Resources Officer (CHRO). Your report will summarize the topic, event, or case and will

include a recommendation for improving HR practice at your company.

Unit 5 Topic:

Read the Whitley vs BP, P.L.C. case study found in Chapter 12 of your textbook readings this week.

Based on your review of the case study, consider the following:

The appellate court ultimately found the stockholders' amended complaint as

insufficient, and the district court erred in granting the stockholders' motion to amend.

Consider the determining factors that led to this conclusion. In responding to this topic,

be sure to consider any types of pension plans the court referenced in their ruling.

Benefits such as pension plans and healthcare plans are commonly leveraged to attract

HRM341 – Employment Law

Unit 5 Assignment Forum

and retain top talent. Evaluate how the role of benefits as a compensation strategy

impacts your practice as a Human Resources Manager.

Based on your review of the case study, address the role of benefits, in particular

retirement benefits, in hiring practices in general and what the employer’s mandatory or

discretionary obligations are regarding the structure of those benefits.

Part 1

• Summarize the law or legal principle involved. (This can generally be done in one

paragraph.)

• Summarize the case or event. Share the important facts and highlights that are

important from a Human Resources practice perspective. (This can generally be

done with one or two short paragraphs.)

• Explain why the facts and highlights you chose were important for the practice of

HR.

Part 2

• List at least five ways this case or event might impact the practice of HR. (This is

a brainstorming activity. A bulleted list is fine for this.)

• Identify which of the five items is most important to HR. Provide an assessment

and analysis of that item, along with one directly related specific recommendation

for the HR team. The recommendation must be actionable, must be explained,

and must be supported with evidence from your readings and research.

(Keep in mind generic statements, broad ideas, unsupported personal opinions, and merely repeating what is in this assignment description do not satisfy the assignment requirements.) This assignment is your opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the law or

legal principles based on the case or event reviewed as it relates to the practice of HR.

This assignment is also your opportunity to demonstrate your critical thinking and

analytical skills by using the case or event as a catalyst to explore how HR practices

can be improved.

The goal of this assignment is not to do as much writing as possible but to do as much

focused and thoughtful idea-sharing as possible.

Make sure you use evidence and support for each section of your response. The ideal assignment will include the following:

• Introduction

• Response to Part 1 (with citations linked to a reference)

• Response to Part 2 (with citations linked to a reference)

• Conclusion (with citations linked to a reference)

• References (with a minimum of three references)

Requirements:

• Submit your assignment in the text box of the designated Unit Assignment

Forum. APA format is not required for any assignment forum submission.

However, all assignments should be well-organized and include an introduction

and conclusion.

• Support your answers with evidence from at least three resources (text, readings,

research, etc.) using citations and references.

• The required length of your entire response is approximately four to five

paragraphs (summary, evaluation, comparison, opinion).

• Review one to two classmate's postings after posting your submission to the

assignment forum. Use the RISE model of peer feedback to provide your

classmates with constructive feedback that they may consider when finalizing the

final project later in the semester.

Be sure to read the criteria below by which your work will be evaluated before you write and again after you write.

Evaluation Rubric for Unit Assignment Forum

CRITERIA

Needs Improvement Proficient

Exemplary

0 – 14 points 15 – 19 points 20 – 25 points

Part # 1 Response

Only answered one aspect of Part 1, did not provide an adequate response, and/or key requirements are missing or not met. Relevancy to the practice of HR missing.

Answered some but not all aspects of Part 1, did not provide a thorough response, and/or key requirements were not fully met. Relevance to the practice of HR is not thoroughly developed and/or not supported.

Answered all aspects of Part 1, provided a thorough response, and all requirements were fully met. Relevance to the practice of HR is clearly and thoroughly stated and fully supported.

Part # 2 Response

Only answered one aspect of Part 2, did not provide an adequate response, and/or key requirements are missing or not met. Relevancy to the practice of HR missing.

Answered some but not all aspects of Part 2, did not provide a thorough response, and/or key requirements were not fully met. Relevance to the practice of HR is not thoroughly developed and/or not supported.

Answered all aspects of Part 2, provided a thorough response, and all requirements were fully met. Relevance to the practice of HR is clearly and thoroughly stated and fully supported.

Response to Classmates

Did not provide adequate feedback using the RISE model and/or provided 0 replies.

Provided adequate constructive feedback using the RISE model that may be used to improve classmate’s work product and/or provided 1 reply.

Provided valuable constructive feedback using the RISE model that may be used to improve the classmate’s work product. Provided 2 or more replies.

0 – 8 points 9 – 13 points 14 – 15 points

Resources 0 -1 resources and/or the sources are not associated or aligned with the assignment content.

2 resources and/or sources are not clearly associated or aligned with the assignment content.

3 or more resources and/or sources are clearly associated or aligned with the assignment content.

0 – 5 points 6 – 8 points 9 – 10 points

Clear and Professional Writing

Writing and format show significant errors that impede professional presentation.

Writing and format contain few errors that do not impede professional presentation.

Writing and format are clear, professional, and error-free.