08 Oct FM Security, Inc. is a private company engaged in the provision of security services for individuals and companies.

FM Security, Inc. is a private company engaged in the provision of security services for individuals and companies. The company employs approximately 250 full-time employees at two sites: about 210 employees at its headquarters in State College, Pennsylvania, and another 40 employees at a satellite office in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The majority of the employees at both sites work as Security Officers. The duties of the Security Officer position are diverse, including such functions as monitoring security video cameras, patrolling the premises of plants and construction sites, manning front desks in office buildings, and in some cases serving as body guards for individuals. Security Officers do not have any supervisory duties.

Sean, Juan, and Marsha all apply for Security Officer positions with FM. Sean and Marsha are white, and citizens of the United States. Juan is a citizen of Canada who is a properly registered alien and allowed to work in the United States. Juan is also Hispanic, dark skinned, and speaks English with a strong Spanish accent.

On their first day of work, all report to the Human Resources office of FM. Sean and Marsha are handed some papers concerning their income tax withholding status and fringe benefits, as well as copies of the company handbook. Juan is also given these documents, but he alone is asked by the HR Manager to present documentation required for FM to fill out an I-9 form. Juan presents a copy of his alien-registration card, which has all appearances of being authentic. However, the Manager requests that he present two additional documents as well, just to verify the information on his registration card. Juan complies.

After Marsha is hired, her first assignment is to act as a bodyguard for a client named Linda on certain occasions. The terms of this assignment are that Marsha is to accompany Linda as her bodyguard upon request at any time of the day or night. Arrangements are made that Linda will request such services by sending an e-mail to Marsha’s home computer. Marsha is required to report to Linda’s home to escort her within 20 minutes of receiving the e-mail requesting her services. Linda lives five minutes away from Marsha’s home. If Marsha does not report on time, she is subject to discipline by FM. While Marsha is at home awaiting assignment, she is only paid $2.00 per hour. Marsha is free to do whatever she wants while waiting to be e-mailed as long as she responds to every e-mail within the required 20 minutes.

After Sean is hired, he is assigned to monitor a building’s video security system eight hours per day, five days per week. He is paid a wage rate of $7.50 per hour. Some weeks, Sean has to work an extra day, giving him a total of 48 hours in such weeks. FM compensates him for this extra work by giving him 12 hours of compensatory time, rather than paying him his hourly rate.

Questions

Did FM comply with the requirements of the Immigration Reform and Control Act with respect to Sean and Marsha? Why or why not?

Did FM comply with the requirements of the IRCA with respect to its handling of Juan’s documents? Why or why not?

Do you think that FM is properly paying Marsha for the time she spends waiting to be called by Linda? Explain why or why not.

Do you think that FM is properly compensating Sean for his work based on the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act? Explain why or why not.

Suppose Marsha filed a claim against FM based on the FLSA, and it was determined that the claim did not have merit. Based on Marsha’s actions making FM “look bad,” FM discharged Marsha. Is this legal? Why or why not?

Part 2: With respect to each of the situations listed below, state whether or not you believe the hypothetical employer may be violating an employee privacy right. If you think the employer may be acting illegally, explain why.

A private-sector employer decides to monitor e-mail and computer usage to determine if employees are using computers for personal e-mail, etc. on work time in violation of company policy.

A federal government agency maintains its personnel files in a set of unlocked file cabinets. A custodian employee secretly looks in several employee files and spreads information about performance appraisals of other employees to some of his coworkers.

During an investigation of the disappearance of a personal computer belonging to a private-sector employer, a manager questions employees who worked in the office containing the computer where they were on the evening that the computer disappeared.

After smelling a strong scent of marijuana outside employee lockers, a public-sector supervisor immediately calls together her crew and advises them that she will be searching their lockers for the possible presence of drugs. One employee refuses to give consent for the search.

A manager at a private-sector company finds out from the human resources director that an employee has missed work due to complications from a sexually transmitted disease. He proceeds to inform a number of his friends at work about this interesting information, as well as several of his non-work friends who live in the same small community.