Employment Law

EXAM 3                                 MBA 631                                (200 points)

PART I:  INTERNATIONAL/ECOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT (40 POINTS)

1.  Regarding the following video:  Sunday, November 16th, 2010’s 60 Minutes 15 minute segment “The Wasteland” [go to www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id-4586903n or www.ban.org & click on the watch video].   Propose solutions to this global ecological problem. (20 points)

2. Watch PBS’s “FRONTLINE: Young & Restless in China” in 11 segments @ www.pbs.org/wbgh/pages/frontline/view ].  Report the things that are similar to the United States & those that are different, also comment on things that surprise you & that you find interesting.  (20 points)

PART II:  EMPLOYMENT LAW (160 Points)

3. There is one benefit that most businesses are expected to provide their employees that is increasingly impeding the ability of US organizations to be competitive with developed countries and the EU where businesses are not responsible for providing this benefit and it is instead provided by the government.  What is this benefit & why has it become a hot topic politically?  As it has become the bane of existence for many businesses, what is the conservative pro-business argument that organizations are quietly making to support transitioning this benefit from an employer’s responsibility to a governmental one.  (25 points)

4. Legislation that affects the workplace was passed & signed into law shortly after President Obama took office in 2009 in response to a Supreme Court decision regarding an employment law in a lawsuit against Goodyear.  This legislation has a special connection to Gadsden, Alabama—what is this connection?.  What is the name of the legislation and what does it do? (25 points)

5. Despite its politicization & publicly disseminated misinformation, most policy makers agree that Social Security has been the most successful government program ever.  Why has it become & is increasingly so necessary?  Why was former President Bush’s attempt to turn the defined benefit program that Social security offers into individual private 401K-like accounts rejected by most Americans? In hind-sight, would Bush’s plan most likely have been a success? Why or why not? (30 points)

Since President Franklin Roosevelt signed Social Security into law on August 14, 1935, the retirement program has been one of the nation's most successful anti-poverty programs. Before Social Security existed about half of America's senior citizens lived in poverty. Today, Social Security not only provides retirement security but also enables millions of people to live in pride and security.

Republican President George W. Bush outlined a major initiative to reform Social Security that included partial privatization of the system, personal Social Security accounts, and options to permit Americans to divert a portion of their Social Security tax into secured investments. Many ways for the system to be adjusted were discussed among its advisory board. Eliminating the cap would make this a more progressive tax and would reduce or eliminate the projected deficit.