Application of Legal and Ethical Obligations in the Employment Relationship
HRM/546 Version 2 / 1

University of Phoenix Material

Application of Legal and Ethical Obligations in the Employment Relationship

In this assignment, you will be able to:

  • Apply human resource policies and procedures to support the total organization.
  • Evaluate the role of legal and ethical perspectives in the human resource management decisions.
  • Implement human resource management solutions to address organizational challenges.

An Arizona woman claims she was fired from her job for using medical marijuana, which was legally obtained for medical reasons related to a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She had been in a serious car accident just over a year ago and the Jaws of Life were used to extricate her from her demolished vehicle. When she came out of her coma and after she was released from the hospital, she suffered from tremors and panic attacks. She is contemplating whether to sue her former employer.

The woman claims she informed her former employer before she was hired that she had the required written prescription from her physician allowing her to purchase marijuana under her state’s voter-approved medical marijuana law and has a registration card for which its issuance could be verified. She claims the medical marijuana aids her in alleviating anxiety and keeping her in a calm state necessary for her to function steadily in any work she maintains. She does not use the substance during the work day, but rather uses it before she goes to work and again at bedtime. She claims she does not sense the preverbal “high” that most people associate with smoking marijuana. Before she was hired by her employer, she advised that if drug testing was required, she would test positive for the medical marijuana. The employer hired her anyway, leading the woman to believe that her use of medical marijuana was not an issue for the employer. The employer maintains the company has a zero-tolerance workplace but never provided her with a policy of any kind nor a consent form to test for drugs and alcohol as a condition of employment. Additionally, the woman never saw a zero-tolerance drug and alcohol policy in the employee handbook and it was not discussed during the onboarding process.

Within a month of her employment as a data entry clerk for a medium-sized insurance company, she was randomly selected to be drug tested. Again, she advised her employer of her allowed medical marijuana use, and also informed the testing site lab where she signed a consent form to be tested. As expected and as she advised, she tested positive for marijuana and resultantly was terminated.

She contacted the Human Resource department to protest her termination, but the HR representative informed her that the company follows federal law in this regard because they conduct business with the federal government signing up employees under the Affordable Care Act. She believes nothing she did in her position or employment posed a safety threat to herself or anyone else. Her supervisor never informed her that her performance was below par, but she acknowledges she was still within her new-hire probationary period. Arizona treats employees using medical marijuana as a protected class.

The woman is contemplating suing the company for wrongful termination, misrepresentation, discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), emotional distress, and violations of her state rights as a protected class employee under Arizona law. She believes she should be reinstated in a same or similar position with back pay and an accommodation given to excuse her from drug testing due to her medical disability, which interferes with basic work-related activities unless she is able to take her prescribed medical marijuana.

Copyright ©2016by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.