Employer`s Duty of Care

Gabriel R. 1ones
William Little
Law, Ethics, and Corporate Governance - LEG 500
November 18, 2011



1. Explain whether 1ake`s actions are in or out of ~his scope of employment.
Scope oI employment reIers to anything a person does in the ordinary course oI
doing his or her job or iI the person was directed to do a particular action (Alexis W).
Jake`s action oI giving additional services to customers aside Irom oil change is already
out oI his 'scope oI employment. As an employee, Jake`s responsibility is to Iollow the
instructions oI his superior/employer Herman. The company is oIIering Iree oil change
only as part oI its marketing strategy and Jake must comply. Checking the basics . . .
brakes, tires, transmission is not included in the company`s oIIerings.

2. Explain whether or not Herman is responsible for 1ake`s injury.
Herman is not responsible because Jake`s injury occurred while doing work
outside his scope oI employment. The accident happened because he got too tired doing
'other tasks that he could not distinguish his thumb Irom the spark plug. The work
expected oI him is to render only an oil change to every customer. It is clear that the
spark plug has nothing to do with oil change. And because Jake is out oI his scope oI
employment when he got the injury, he is not entitled to workers compensation legally.
Worker's compensation is basically an insurance program, mandated by law, that
protects employees iI they become ill or injured while carrying out the duties oI a job. In
some cases, worker's compensation may also pay damages to a worker's Iamily iI the
employee is incapacitated Ior the long term or Iatally injured (Holetzky).

3. Explain whether or not 1ake should be paid the overtime.
No, Jake must not be paid with overtime work. The case took place when Jake
has been promoted as Service Manager. This means that Jake is already part oI the
management team which are no longer entitled with overtime pay. Over time pay applies
only Ior manual laborers Ior work rendered in excess oI the regular working hours per
day. Managers are excluded Irom overtime pay according to labor standards (Wallace).
However, it`s up to management iI he will be given additional incentives as what Herman
did.
. Explain the rights 1ake and Herman have individually in this scenario.
As an employer and the superior, Herman has the right to demand on Jake to
render the work within the scope oI his employment or as he has directed. And since Jake
did not comply on Herman`s instruction, corrective actions can be taken by the employer.
An employee who is not respecting authority is in a state oI insubordination. II an
employee is insubordinate, an employer will have speciIic remedies in place to address
and correct the behavior (Richardson)
On the other hand, Jake being a service manager, may have some privileges Ior
working extended hours but not as overtime pay. It could be an additional incentive or a
paid sick leave as oIIered by Herman.



ReIerences
Alexis. 'What is the Scope oI Employment 9 Sept 10, 2010. WiseGeek. 12 Nov. 2010.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-scope-oI-employment.htm~
Halbert, Terry, & Elaine, Ingulli. (2010). Law and ethics in the business environment.
Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
Holetzky, Sherry.What is Worker`s Compensation? 9 Sept. 2010. WiseGeek. 12Nov.
2010. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-workers-compensation.htm~
Ricahrdson, Melvin. 'What is the Meaning oI Insubordinate? 1 December 2009.
Ehow.12 Nov. 1020. http://www.ehow.com/about5233673meaning-
insubordinate.html~
Wallace, Josephine. ' How to Get Unpaid Overtime. EHow. 12 Nov 2010.
http://www.ehow.com/how5105371unpaid-overtime.html~