UHRM 392-01
Wednesday, 5:45 - 8:25
p.m.
2003 Fall Semester
Philip A. Costa
Uptown Campus
525-1586 or
Office hours: by appointment only
Course Description
This course will allow you to become aware of those
rules, regulations and statutes governing your status as either an employer or
employee. The purpose of the course is
to prevent or curtail lawsuits against you if you are an employer or manager or
to protect your rights as an employee.
You will be made aware of both federal and state statutes, including
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, OSHA regulations, ADA, ERISA, The
Immigration and Control Act, Workers’ Compensation, Fair Labor Standards Act,
and others. Emphasis will be placed upon
those laws covering current events. At
the end of the course, students should be able to discuss and understand
today’s news pertaining to employment and labor law.
Reading Material
The textbook will be Employment Law for Business,
4th Edition, by Dawn D. Bennet-Alexander and Laura B. Pincus. There will also be class material distributed
or made available for reading, which will include newspaper and magazine
articles, web site stories, and other topical writings.
Course Format
The course grade will be determined by (1) three
exams during the semester, (2) class attendance and participation, (3)
individual or group projects, and (4) the final exam. There will be no makeup exams and there
will be no exceptions. Tulane does
not allow an instructor to give extra assignments in order to earn extra credits
that are not part of the syllabus.
Regular attendance is expected.
The syllabus may be changed with notice during the semester at the sole
discretion of the instructor but according to the interests of the students.
Projects
Each student is required either to write a research
paper on a given topic or to give an oral presentation, which relates to
employment and labor law. The research
paper shall be a solo project with no collaboration. It shall consist of 15 to 20 pages,
double-spaced, with references. The
presentation can be solo or with a group of not more than four individuals and
shall be between 15 and 20 minutes. All
projects must be pre-approved by the instructor.
Grading Format
The final grade will not be determined by the
customary averaging format but by an accumulation of points. The three semester exams and the final exam
will be worth at least 100 points each. (You will be allowed to drop your
lowest test grade. If you miss a test,
that will be considered your lowest test grade.
Remember: No makeup exams.) The project will be worth 100 points. Class attendance and participation will be
worth up to 10 points per class. Oral
presentations will be graded by your fellow class members.
Attendance
You and I are required to attend every class. There are no excused absences. If you miss a class, an exam, or an
assignment, you will get zero points added to your accumulation of points. If you are late for class or if you leave
early, you can earn up to only 5 points
for that class. Please refer again to
the section entitled “Course Format” regarding extra credit.
Academic Integrity
Academic honesty is expected of all students at
Tulane. Your responsibilities as a Tulane student include being familiar with
the honor code and the plagiarism policy of the University. Cases of cheating
or plagiarism will be reported to the Honor Board, and may result in a failing
grade for the class, academic probation, or expulsion.
Except for those individuals who give oral
presentations with others, all exams, research papers and other assignments
shall be completed with no collaboration of
fellow students. If you decide to
complete a research paper, you should know what constitutes plagiarism, which
is an Honor Code violation. Plagiarism
is defined as the use of another’s words or ideas as your own without
acknowledging the source of the material.
Grading Scale
500 - 475 A
474 - 450 A-
449 - 430 B+
429 - 415 B
414 - 400 B-
399 - 380 C+
379 - 365 C
364 - 350 C-
349 - 330 D+
329 - 315 D
314 - 300 D-
299 - 0 F
WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS
August 27 Basic
Understanding of the legal system (Send email address to instructor before
Sept. 1 - worth 5 points of grade for class attendance and participation.)
Sept. 3 Chapters
1 & 2
Sept. 10 Chapters
3 & 4
Sept. 17 First
Exam (Legal system; Chapters 1, 2, 3
& 4) - Project topic due (10 points
- 0 points if turned in after this date.)
Sept. 24 Chapters
5 & 6
October 1 Chapter 7 & 8
October 8 Chapters 9 & 10
October 15 Second
Exam (Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10)
- Project outline due (10 points
- 0 points if turned in after this date.)
October 22 Chapters
11, 12 & 13
October 29 Chapters
14, 15 & 16
Nov. 5 Third
Exam (Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 & 16) - Project references and
bibliography due (10 points - 0 points if turned in after this date.)
Nov. 12 Chapters
17 & 18
Nov. 19 Chapters
19 & 20 (Written research projects due - 70 points - 5 points deducted for
each day that it is late)
Nov. 26 Thanksgiving
Holiday - No class
Dec. 3 Oral
Presentations (80 points)
Dec. 10 Final
Exam (Chapters 17, 18, 19 & 20)
Examples of Topics for Projects
Affirmative Action (No
Further need - protective classes no longer need protection)
Affirmative Action (Still a
need)
Sexual Harassment (How to
protect yourself as an employer or an employee)
Sexual Harassment (Recent
developments and cases of interest)
Immigration Reform and
Control Act (Protection from terrorism?)
Immigration Reform and
Control Act (Racism?)
College Diversity in light of
the recent Supreme Court cases (Its implication for the workplace)
Labor Unions (Necessity;
past, present and/or future)
Polygraph Tests in the
Workplace (State by State Comparison)
Polygraph Tests (Use and
Abuse in the Workplace)