HRM 546 Week 1 The Legal Framework for Employment Example

Thirty-Eight Stores, Two States and a Union Contract: Mapping the Federal, State and Local Employment Law That Governs Keystone Fresh Markets

[Student Name]

University of Phoenix

HRM/546: Human Resource Law

Week 1 Assignment

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

Keystone Fresh Markets and all details are composites written for a model paper; laws are summarized generally from the sources listed and should be confirmed with counsel.

Keystone Fresh Markets, a composite regional grocery and pharmacy chain headquartered in Pittsburgh, operates 38 stores, 27 in western Pennsylvania and 11 in eastern Ohio, with about 2,600 employees: cashiers, stockers, deli and bakery workers, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, store managers and a corporate staff. Workers at nine Pennsylvania stores are represented by a union under a collective bargaining agreement. A new HR director, hired from a company that operated in one state, asked counsel for a map of the employment law that applies to Keystone. An employer cannot comply with laws it has not identified, and a multistate, partly unionized chain is governed by more layers of law than many managers realize. This paper builds that map.

Sources of Employment Law

Employment law comes from several sources (Walsh, 2023). The Constitution protects public employees from government action and shapes how statutes are interpreted. Federal statutes passed by Congress, such as the Civil Rights Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act and the National Labor Relations Act, set nationwide rules. Agencies issue regulations and guidance that interpret statutes. Courts develop common law, such as rules on wrongful discharge and defamation, and interpret statutes in decisions that bind lower courts. Contracts, including employment agreements and collective bargaining agreements, create rights between the parties. Each source has a different force and a different process for change.

Employment at Will and Its Limits

Both Pennsylvania and Ohio follow employment at will: either side may end employment for any lawful reason or none. The doctrine is limited by statutes that forbid discrimination and retaliation, by public policy exceptions that bar firing an employee for reasons such as serving on a jury or filing a workers' compensation claim, by implied contracts created by handbooks or assurances and, for union-represented employees, by the just-cause standard in the collective bargaining agreement. Keystone's handbook therefore includes a clear disclaimer that it is not a contract, reviewed by counsel in both states.

Coverage Thresholds

Federal statutes apply based on employer size and activity. With 2,600 employees, Keystone is covered by Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act, which apply at 15 employees, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act at 20, the Family and Medical Leave Act at 50 and the WARN Act's notice requirements for large layoffs at 100. The Fair Labor Standards Act applies to virtually all of its operations.

Enforcement Agencies

Different agencies enforce different laws. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission handles discrimination charges, which must generally be filed before a lawsuit. The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division enforces wage, overtime and family leave rules. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration enforces safety rules. The National Labor Relations Board protects employees' rights to organize and act together, including workers who have no union at all. State agencies, such as the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, enforce state antidiscrimination laws.

State Law Layers

Pennsylvania and Ohio differ. Ohio's minimum wage, adjusted annually for inflation, exceeds the federal $7.25, which Pennsylvania still follows. Pennsylvania's antidiscrimination law covers employers with four or more employees, broader than federal coverage for small businesses. The states differ in rules on final paychecks, drug testing and medical marijuana users, background checks and noncompete agreements. Keystone must follow whichever rule is more protective in each state.

Local Law Layers

Cities add more. Pittsburgh's paid sick leave ordinance requires covered employers to provide paid sick time to employees working in the city, so Keystone's eight Pittsburgh stores must follow it. Some municipalities also restrict asking about criminal history early in hiring. HR must track ordinances store by store.

The Collective Bargaining Agreement

At nine stores, the union contract sets wages, seniority rules for scheduling and layoffs, a grievance and arbitration process and the just-cause standard for discipline. The contract adds rights beyond the law for covered employees, and the National Labor Relations Act requires Keystone to bargain over changes in wages, hours and working conditions at those stores rather than changing them unilaterally.

Recent Supreme Court Decisions

Several recent decisions affect HR practice. In 2020, the Court held that Title VII's ban on sex discrimination covers sexual orientation and gender identity. In 2023, it held that employers must show substantial increased costs, not merely more than minimal ones, before denying a religious accommodation as an undue hardship. In 2024, it held that an employee challenging a discriminatory transfer need show only some harm to a term or condition of employment, not a significant one. In 2025, it held that plaintiffs from majority groups need not meet a heightened standard to bring discrimination claims. Each decision broadens the circumstances in which employers face claims.

Discrimination as a Persistent Problem

Law responds to evidence that discrimination persists. Quillian et al. (2017) analyzed field experiments in hiring over 25 years and found no decline in discrimination against Black applicants since 1989, though discrimination against Latino applicants showed some decline. Such evidence explains why enforcement remains active and why employers need systems, not just policies, to prevent discrimination.

The Compliance Map

The map lists each law, which stores and employees it covers, the responsible owner and review dates. Federal antidiscrimination and wage laws apply everywhere; state wage and leave rules differ by state; Pittsburgh's sick leave applies to city stores; the union contract applies at nine stores. The HR director owns the map, with store managers responsible for posting and local compliance and labor relations staff for the union stores.

Wage and Hour Basics

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires minimum wage and overtime for nonexempt employees, with the overtime premium owed for every hour beyond 40 in the workweek. Store managers may be exempt if they meet the salary and duties tests, but assistant managers who spend most of their time stocking shelves and running registers may not be, a classification question that has produced costly class actions in retail. Pharmacists usually qualify as exempt professionals, while pharmacy technicians do not. Keystone will audit job classifications in both states, since Ohio and Pennsylvania apply their own overtime rules alongside federal law.

Common Law Risks

Beyond statutes, common law claims arise from everyday management. Bennett-Alexander and Hartman (2019) describe how defamation claims can follow careless statements about a former employee's conduct, how negligent hiring claims can follow when an employer ignores warning signs about a worker who later harms a customer and how promissory statements during recruiting can create enforceable expectations. For a grocery chain, negligent hiring is a real exposure because employees deliver groceries to homes and handle prescription drugs. Keystone's reference policy will confirm only dates and titles, and background checks will be tailored to roles with home or controlled-substance access.

Keeping the Map Current

Laws and interpretations change. HR will subscribe to updates from counsel, review the map quarterly and train store managers annually on changes.

Conclusion

Keystone is governed by overlapping layers: federal statutes chosen by coverage thresholds, agency regulations, two states' laws, city ordinances, court decisions and a union contract. At-will employment provides less freedom than it seems because of statutory and contractual limits. A compliance map that assigns owners for each layer gives the new HR director a foundation for applying each body of law in the weeks ahead.

References

Bennett-Alexander, D. D., & Hartman, L. P. (2019). Employment law for business (9th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Quillian, L., Pager, D., Hexel, O., & Midtbøen, A. H. (2017). Meta-analysis of field experiments shows no change in racial discrimination in hiring over time. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(41), 10870-10875. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1706255114

Walsh, D. J. (2023). Employment law for human resource practice (7th ed.). Cengage.