This assignment is a continuation of the project started in Week 3.  Read the scenarios and the questions that follow.  Select any four (4) scenarios and the recommendations section.  Identify and analyze the legal issue(s).  Apply legal concepts and make potential arguments as directed using laws, cases, examples, and/or other relevant materials.  Consider using short headings (consult APA materials) to separate the topics.  Summarize the facts; do not copy the scenarios into the paper.  Support your answers with information from the textbook and at least five scholarly sources other than the text and course lectures.  By the due date assigned, prepare a 5 to 8 page paper that identifies the legal issues and potential solutions and answers all questions presented, supported by relevant legal authority.  Do not exceed the page length by more than two pages

Overview

Headquartered in Bristol, Tennessee, [Restaurant Name] operates two pizza restaurants, one in Bristol, Tennessee and one is Bristol Virginia.  Approximately 35% of the employees work full time; however, [Restaurant Name] primarily hires part-time employees as pizza makers, delivery drivers, and order takers.  The owners, Ashton Brown and Miranda Connor, seek your advice on the following legal and ethical issues.

Scenario 1 – Agents and Insurance

Mitch, an employee of [Restaurant Name] was cleaning up a table when a customer used a racial slur while talking about some of his co-workers.  Mitch wheeled around and punched the customer in the mouth, breaking the customer’s nose and several teeth.

• Discuss the potential liability for [Restaurant Name]
• Evaluate the types of insurance that may be involved and the types [Restaurant Name] should have.

Scenario 2 – Agents, Employees, Liability and Insurance 

Drew, the manager, was allowed to drive the company delivery vehicle to and from work because he was responsible for sales, advertising, participating in community events and on occasion, picking up supplies.  Taking the car home allowed Drew to go directly to the various events without wasting time and gas to pick up the car each day.  Additionally, the car was wrapped in the company’s logo, which provided opportunities for free advertising.

Drew stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few items while on his way home.  When pulling out of the parking lot, Drew was involved in a collision with Hanh Nguyen.  Nguyen’s vehicle was totaled and she missed one week of work recovering from her injuries.  Nguyen sued Drew, [Restaurant Name] and State Farm, [Restaurant Name’s] automobile insurance carrier.  Drew suffered a broken arm, collapsed lung and a compound fracture in his left leg.  Drew missed two months of work.

• Discuss the arguments each party (Drew, [Restaurant Name and Nguyen) will make related to liability in the accident.  Decide which party or parties should be liable and provide support for your choice.  

Scenario 3 – Discrimination

Although Ashton, one of the owners, considers himself an equal opportunity employer, he refuses to hire anyone who is not a heterosexual male or female based on his religious beliefs.  Ellis, a 40-year-old woman with 5 years of experience in managing pizza restaurants applied for the position of assistant manager.  Ashton hired Susan who only had two years of waitressing in a restaurant and no management experience.  Ellis felt that she was discriminated against because she was a lesbian.

• Determine the bases Ellis has for a lawsuit against Ashton and the restaurant.  Present the arguments for both parties and select the most probable outcome.  Use both state and Federal laws to address at least two theories of discrimination. 

Scenario 4 – Bailments

Because Miranda often worked 12 to 14 hour days in the summer, she took her Chihuahua, Rambo, to doggie daycare.  Miranda completed all of the forms and signed the authorizations without reading them.  One day when Rambo was at daycare, he became covered in mud after running around with a husky on the playground.  When the groomers gave Rambo a bath, he collapsed and died.

• Using principles of bailment, determine whether Miranda could recover damages from the doggie daycare for Rambo’s death.

Scenario 5 – Property, Leases and Liability

[Restaurant Name] leases one of their buildings from Davenport Commercial Properties (DCP).  Ashton noticed that the stair railings leading up the walk to the restaurant wobbled and appeared unsteady.  Ashton hammered a nail in each side to secure the railing.  When the railing continued to wobble, Ashton called Dale at DCP to repair it.  Dale came to fix the railing on Ashton’s day off.  Dale replaced the nails with screws.  Several days later, a plus-size customer grasped the railing while climbing the stairs.  The railing came loose causing the customer to lose his balance and fall down the steps.  The customer suffered a broken hip and spent two weeks in the hospital and three weeks in a rehabilitation center.  The customer sued Dale, DCP and [Restaurant Name] to recover his medical expenses, damages for emotional distress and pain and suffering.

• Evaluate and describe the arguments for the three parties named in the lawsuit.  Determine which party should win.  Explain your selection and support your answer with relevant scholarly sources.

Scenario 6 –  Physical Access and Public Accommodation

Customers have an option to place orders for pizza by phone or through the [Restaurant Name] website.  The website does not contain features that allow a blind person full access, such as the ability to order online.  The National Organization for the Blind filed suit on behalf of a group of blind individuals who were not able to order their favorite pizza online.

• Evaluate the basis on which lawsuits might be filed on behalf of blind individuals and propose a potential outcome supported by cases or scholarly sources.

Scenario 7 – Employment Privacy

Ashton and Miranda included a statement in the employee handbook prohibiting employees from discussing [Restaurant Name] on social media and other websites.  Ashton and Miranda also use Facebook and other social media sites to check up on current employees and screen applicants before interviewing them.  

•  Evaluate and explain the legal and ethical issues of prohibiting employees from discussing work on social media. 
• Discuss legal and ethical issues related to using social media in hiring decisions.
•  Provide references to at least two scholarly sources in your response.

Recommendations

Conclude your paper by justifying suggestions for [Restaurant Name] to help prevent future occurrences of these types of legal problems.  Identify any ethical issues you find and present recommendations as  applicable. Be specific in your recommendations.

• Use APA format for the paper. Review the APA materials located in the Library Research Guide.

Submission Details:

• Name your document SU_BUS2038_W5_LastName_FirstInitial.doc
• Submit your document to the Submissions Area by the due date assigned.