SOLUTION MANUAL FOR j j
EmploymentjLawjforjHumanjResourcejPractice,j7thjEdition
Chapterj1-17
Chapterj1
Solution and Answer Guide j j j
DAVIDJ WALSH,JEMPLOYMENTJ LAWJFORJ HUMANJ RESOURCEJ PRACTICEJ 2024,JEDITION:J7,J97803577
17547;JCHAPTERJ 1:JOVERVIEWJ OFJ EMPLOYMENTJ LAW
TABLE OF CONTENTSJ J
CasejQuestions ............................................................................................................................................. 2
Warnerjv.jUnitedjNaturaljFoods,jInc. ......................................................................................................... 2
OTO,jL.L.C.jv.jKho ................................................................................................................................... 4
EEOCjv.jAUTOZONE, ............................................................................................................................. 7
JustjThejFacts .............................................................................................................................................. 8
PracticaljConsiderations ........................................................................................................................... 10
ChapterjQuestions ..................................................................................................................................... 11
©j2024jCengage.jAlljRightsjReserved.jMayjnotjbejscanned,jcopiedjorjduplicated,jorjpostedjtojajpubliclyjaccessible 1
website,jinjwholejorjinjpart.
,CASE QUESTIONS
J
WARNER V. UNITED NATURAL FOODS, INC.
J J J J J
513jF.jSuppj3dj477j(M.D.jPa.,jJanuaryj13,j2021)
PlaintiffjwasjanjemployeejofjUnitedjNaturaljFoods,jInc.j(―UNFI‖),jajRhodejIslandjcorporationjthatjmai
ntainsjajwholesalejfoodjdistributionjoperationjinjYork,jPA.jOnjDecemberj16,j2019,jUNFIjhiredjPlaintiffj
DennisjWarnerjasjajloaderjatjthatjYorkjlocation.jNeitherjofjPlaintiff‘sjtheoriesjofjliabilityjwasjplausiblyjal
legedj(HejwasjwrongfullyjterminatedjbasedjonjhisjcomplaintjtojthejDepartmentjofjHealth;jPlaintiffjclaim
sjhejwasjfiredjbecausejhejstayedjhomejfromjworkjwhilejhejawaitedjthejresultsjofjhisjCOVID-
19jtest),jthejcourtsjgrantedjthejmotionjandjdismissaljofjthisjcase.
1. Whatjwasjthejlegaljissuejinjthisjcase?jWhatjdidjthejcourtjdecide?
Answer:
ThejlegaljissuesjwerejwhetherjthejPlaintiffjwasjwrongfullyjterminatedjinjretaliationjforjhisj
complaintjtojthejDepartmentjofjHealth,jorjbecausejhejmissedjworkjpendingjthejresultjofjhisj
COVID-
19jtest.jFurthermore,jthejcasejquestionsjwhetherjthejPlaintiffjcanjallegejthejterminationjvio
latesjaj―clearjmandatejofjpublicjpolicy.‖
2. Whatjargumentsjandjevidencejsupportjthejplaintiff‘sj(Warner)jclaimjthatjhejwasjwrongfullyjte
rminated?
Answer:
ThejPlaintiffjarguesjthatjhejwasjwrongfullyjterminatedjbasedjonjhisjcomplaintjtojthejD
epartmentjofjHealth.jThisjargumentjdoesjnotjholdjasjPlaintiffjwasjnotjunderjanyjaffirm
ativejorjstatutoryjdutyjtojreportjallegedjviolationsjofjthejexecutivejbranch‘sjCOVID-
19jmitigationjorders.
Plaintiff‘sjsecondjtheoryjalsojfails.jTojreiterate,jPlaintiffjclaimsjhejwasjfiredjbecausejhejstayedjh
omejfromjworkjwhilejhejawaitedjthejresultsjofjhisjCOVID-
19jtest.jHejaversjthatjbecausejthejSecretaryjofjHealth‘sjAprilj15jorderjinstructedjthatjsymptomat
icjemployees
―shouldjnotifyjtheirjsupervisorjandjstayjhome,‖jhejwasjfollowingjthejgovernmentjordersj(Penns
ylvaniajDiseasejPreventionjandjControljLaw).
ThejPlaintiffjpleadsjthatjhejquarantinedjwhilejwaitingjforjtestjresultsjatjthejdirectionjofjhisjs
upervisors.jItjisjimplausiblejthatjDefendantjinstructedjhimjtojstayjhomejfromjworkjwhilejw
aitingjforjhisjtestjresults,jandjthenjfiredjhimjbecausejhejstayedjhomejwhilejwaitingjforjhisjte
stjresults.
3. Whyjdoesjthejcourtjrulejforjthejdefendant-employerjdespitejexpressingjsympathyjforjthejplaintiff?
Answer:
©j2024jCengage.jAlljRightsjReserved.jMayjnotjbejscanned,jcopiedjorjduplicated,jorjpostedjtojajpubliclyjaccessible 2
website,jinjwholejorjinjpart.
, Asjmentionedjinjquestionj2,jthejcourtjsaidjthatjitjcouldjnotjsustainjajclaimjpledjinjthisjmann
er.jBecausejneitherjofjPlaintiff‘sjtheoriesjofjliabilityjisjplausiblyjalleged,jthejcourtjthusjgran
tedjthejdismissaljofjthisjcase.
ThejPublicjPolicyjexceptionjcouldjbejusedjifjlegislationjwasjdisobeyed,jbutjthatjisjnotjthejca
sejhere.jWhatjconstitutesj―publicjpolicy‖jinjthejCommonwealthjisjdeterminedjbyjreference
jtojjudicialjdecisionsjofjPennsylvaniajcourts,jthejPennsylvaniajconstitution,jandjstatutesjpro
mulgatedjbyjthejPennsylvaniajlegislature.jThejcourtjisjsympatheticjtojPlaintiff‘sjargumentjt
hatjDefendant‘sjconductjpotentiallyjunderminedjthejCommonwealth‘sjabilityjtojmitigatejth
ejspreadjofjCOVID-
19.jItjisjalsojtruejthatjthejGovernor‘sjandjSecretaryjofjHealth‘sjpowersjtojmandatejcertainjpa
ndemicjmitigationjstandardsjdojderivejfromjstatute,jnamelyjthejEmergencyjCode.jThejcourt
jisjhesitantjtojpronouncejthatjanjemploymentjdecisionjpotentiallyjinconsistentjwithjanjexecu
tivejbranch‘sjCOVID-
19jmitigationjeffortjclearlyjviolatesjpublicjpolicyjwherejtherejisjnojaffirmativejindicationjth
atjthejlegislaturejwouldjagree.
Furthermore,jPennsylvaniajcourtsjhavejrecognizedjthejpublicjpolicyjexceptionjwherejtheje
mployer:j(1)jcompelsjthejemployeejtojengagejinjcriminaljactivity;j(2)jpreventsjthejemploye
ejfromjcomplyingjwithjajdutyjimposedjbyjstatute;jorj(3)jdischargesjthejemployeejwhenjajstat
utejexpresslyjprohibitsjsuchjtermination.jThejcourtjsaidjthatjitjwasjskepticaljaboutjPlaintiff‘
sjargumentjthatjtherejwasjanjarticulablejandjrecognizablejpublicjpolicy,jwhichjwouldjbejajpr
emisejforjajwrongfuljterminationjclaimjunderjeitherjtheory.
4. Dojyoujagreejwithjthejdecisionjinjthisjcase?jWhyjorjwhyjnot?
Answer:
Students‘janswersjwilljdiffer,jbutjmostjmayjconcludejthatjthejPublicjPolicyjexemptionjdoes
jnotjapplyjhere.jThejwrongfuljterminationjevidencejalsojdoesjnotjhold,jasjEmploymentjinjP
ennsylvaniajisjtypicallyjat-will.j―[T]hejpresumptionjofjalljnon-
jcontractualjemploymentjrelationsjisjthatjitjisjat-
willjandj…jthisjpresumptionjisjanjextremelyjstrongjone.‖
5. What,jifjany,jimplicationsjdoesjthisjdecisionjholdjforjthejeffortsjofjpublicjhealthjofficialsjtojdealjwi
thjthejCOVID-19jpandemic?
Answer:
ThejspreadjofjCOVID-
19jwasjcontainedjwithjdifferentjexecutivejorders,jwhichjwerejeffectivejinjpublicjhealthjobj
ectives.jThejgovernorjprohibitedjalljnon-life-
sustainingjbusinessesjfromjoperatingjonjMarchj19,j2020.jAprilj15,j2020,jthejSecretaryjofjH
ealthjorderedjessentialjbusinessesjtojimplementjcertainjsocialjdistancing,jmitigation,jandjcl
eaningjprotocolsjtojhelpjcontainjthejspreadjofjCOVID-
19.jThejSecretaryjofjHealthjalsojinstructedjthatjemployeesjofjessentialjbusinessesjwhojdeve
lopjCOVID-19jsymptoms
―shouldjnotifyjtheirjsuperiorjandjstayjhome.‖jSoonjafter,jthejDepartmentjofjHealthjcreat
edjanjonlinejCOVID-
©j2024jCengage.jAlljRightsjReserved.jMayjnotjbejscanned,jcopiedjorjduplicated,jorjpostedjtojajpubliclyjaccessible 3
website,jinjwholejorjinjpart.
, 19jcomplaintjformjforjbusinessjpatronsjandjemployeesjtojreportjanyjrelevantjissuesjorjco
ncerns.
©j2024jCengage.jAlljRightsjReserved.jMayjnotjbejscanned,jcopiedjorjduplicated,jorjpostedjtojajpubliclyjaccessible 4
website,jinjwholejorjinjpart.
EmploymentjLawjforjHumanjResourcejPractice,j7thjEdition
Chapterj1-17
Chapterj1
Solution and Answer Guide j j j
DAVIDJ WALSH,JEMPLOYMENTJ LAWJFORJ HUMANJ RESOURCEJ PRACTICEJ 2024,JEDITION:J7,J97803577
17547;JCHAPTERJ 1:JOVERVIEWJ OFJ EMPLOYMENTJ LAW
TABLE OF CONTENTSJ J
CasejQuestions ............................................................................................................................................. 2
Warnerjv.jUnitedjNaturaljFoods,jInc. ......................................................................................................... 2
OTO,jL.L.C.jv.jKho ................................................................................................................................... 4
EEOCjv.jAUTOZONE, ............................................................................................................................. 7
JustjThejFacts .............................................................................................................................................. 8
PracticaljConsiderations ........................................................................................................................... 10
ChapterjQuestions ..................................................................................................................................... 11
©j2024jCengage.jAlljRightsjReserved.jMayjnotjbejscanned,jcopiedjorjduplicated,jorjpostedjtojajpubliclyjaccessible 1
website,jinjwholejorjinjpart.
,CASE QUESTIONS
J
WARNER V. UNITED NATURAL FOODS, INC.
J J J J J
513jF.jSuppj3dj477j(M.D.jPa.,jJanuaryj13,j2021)
PlaintiffjwasjanjemployeejofjUnitedjNaturaljFoods,jInc.j(―UNFI‖),jajRhodejIslandjcorporationjthatjmai
ntainsjajwholesalejfoodjdistributionjoperationjinjYork,jPA.jOnjDecemberj16,j2019,jUNFIjhiredjPlaintiffj
DennisjWarnerjasjajloaderjatjthatjYorkjlocation.jNeitherjofjPlaintiff‘sjtheoriesjofjliabilityjwasjplausiblyjal
legedj(HejwasjwrongfullyjterminatedjbasedjonjhisjcomplaintjtojthejDepartmentjofjHealth;jPlaintiffjclaim
sjhejwasjfiredjbecausejhejstayedjhomejfromjworkjwhilejhejawaitedjthejresultsjofjhisjCOVID-
19jtest),jthejcourtsjgrantedjthejmotionjandjdismissaljofjthisjcase.
1. Whatjwasjthejlegaljissuejinjthisjcase?jWhatjdidjthejcourtjdecide?
Answer:
ThejlegaljissuesjwerejwhetherjthejPlaintiffjwasjwrongfullyjterminatedjinjretaliationjforjhisj
complaintjtojthejDepartmentjofjHealth,jorjbecausejhejmissedjworkjpendingjthejresultjofjhisj
COVID-
19jtest.jFurthermore,jthejcasejquestionsjwhetherjthejPlaintiffjcanjallegejthejterminationjvio
latesjaj―clearjmandatejofjpublicjpolicy.‖
2. Whatjargumentsjandjevidencejsupportjthejplaintiff‘sj(Warner)jclaimjthatjhejwasjwrongfullyjte
rminated?
Answer:
ThejPlaintiffjarguesjthatjhejwasjwrongfullyjterminatedjbasedjonjhisjcomplaintjtojthejD
epartmentjofjHealth.jThisjargumentjdoesjnotjholdjasjPlaintiffjwasjnotjunderjanyjaffirm
ativejorjstatutoryjdutyjtojreportjallegedjviolationsjofjthejexecutivejbranch‘sjCOVID-
19jmitigationjorders.
Plaintiff‘sjsecondjtheoryjalsojfails.jTojreiterate,jPlaintiffjclaimsjhejwasjfiredjbecausejhejstayedjh
omejfromjworkjwhilejhejawaitedjthejresultsjofjhisjCOVID-
19jtest.jHejaversjthatjbecausejthejSecretaryjofjHealth‘sjAprilj15jorderjinstructedjthatjsymptomat
icjemployees
―shouldjnotifyjtheirjsupervisorjandjstayjhome,‖jhejwasjfollowingjthejgovernmentjordersj(Penns
ylvaniajDiseasejPreventionjandjControljLaw).
ThejPlaintiffjpleadsjthatjhejquarantinedjwhilejwaitingjforjtestjresultsjatjthejdirectionjofjhisjs
upervisors.jItjisjimplausiblejthatjDefendantjinstructedjhimjtojstayjhomejfromjworkjwhilejw
aitingjforjhisjtestjresults,jandjthenjfiredjhimjbecausejhejstayedjhomejwhilejwaitingjforjhisjte
stjresults.
3. Whyjdoesjthejcourtjrulejforjthejdefendant-employerjdespitejexpressingjsympathyjforjthejplaintiff?
Answer:
©j2024jCengage.jAlljRightsjReserved.jMayjnotjbejscanned,jcopiedjorjduplicated,jorjpostedjtojajpubliclyjaccessible 2
website,jinjwholejorjinjpart.
, Asjmentionedjinjquestionj2,jthejcourtjsaidjthatjitjcouldjnotjsustainjajclaimjpledjinjthisjmann
er.jBecausejneitherjofjPlaintiff‘sjtheoriesjofjliabilityjisjplausiblyjalleged,jthejcourtjthusjgran
tedjthejdismissaljofjthisjcase.
ThejPublicjPolicyjexceptionjcouldjbejusedjifjlegislationjwasjdisobeyed,jbutjthatjisjnotjthejca
sejhere.jWhatjconstitutesj―publicjpolicy‖jinjthejCommonwealthjisjdeterminedjbyjreference
jtojjudicialjdecisionsjofjPennsylvaniajcourts,jthejPennsylvaniajconstitution,jandjstatutesjpro
mulgatedjbyjthejPennsylvaniajlegislature.jThejcourtjisjsympatheticjtojPlaintiff‘sjargumentjt
hatjDefendant‘sjconductjpotentiallyjunderminedjthejCommonwealth‘sjabilityjtojmitigatejth
ejspreadjofjCOVID-
19.jItjisjalsojtruejthatjthejGovernor‘sjandjSecretaryjofjHealth‘sjpowersjtojmandatejcertainjpa
ndemicjmitigationjstandardsjdojderivejfromjstatute,jnamelyjthejEmergencyjCode.jThejcourt
jisjhesitantjtojpronouncejthatjanjemploymentjdecisionjpotentiallyjinconsistentjwithjanjexecu
tivejbranch‘sjCOVID-
19jmitigationjeffortjclearlyjviolatesjpublicjpolicyjwherejtherejisjnojaffirmativejindicationjth
atjthejlegislaturejwouldjagree.
Furthermore,jPennsylvaniajcourtsjhavejrecognizedjthejpublicjpolicyjexceptionjwherejtheje
mployer:j(1)jcompelsjthejemployeejtojengagejinjcriminaljactivity;j(2)jpreventsjthejemploye
ejfromjcomplyingjwithjajdutyjimposedjbyjstatute;jorj(3)jdischargesjthejemployeejwhenjajstat
utejexpresslyjprohibitsjsuchjtermination.jThejcourtjsaidjthatjitjwasjskepticaljaboutjPlaintiff‘
sjargumentjthatjtherejwasjanjarticulablejandjrecognizablejpublicjpolicy,jwhichjwouldjbejajpr
emisejforjajwrongfuljterminationjclaimjunderjeitherjtheory.
4. Dojyoujagreejwithjthejdecisionjinjthisjcase?jWhyjorjwhyjnot?
Answer:
Students‘janswersjwilljdiffer,jbutjmostjmayjconcludejthatjthejPublicjPolicyjexemptionjdoes
jnotjapplyjhere.jThejwrongfuljterminationjevidencejalsojdoesjnotjhold,jasjEmploymentjinjP
ennsylvaniajisjtypicallyjat-will.j―[T]hejpresumptionjofjalljnon-
jcontractualjemploymentjrelationsjisjthatjitjisjat-
willjandj…jthisjpresumptionjisjanjextremelyjstrongjone.‖
5. What,jifjany,jimplicationsjdoesjthisjdecisionjholdjforjthejeffortsjofjpublicjhealthjofficialsjtojdealjwi
thjthejCOVID-19jpandemic?
Answer:
ThejspreadjofjCOVID-
19jwasjcontainedjwithjdifferentjexecutivejorders,jwhichjwerejeffectivejinjpublicjhealthjobj
ectives.jThejgovernorjprohibitedjalljnon-life-
sustainingjbusinessesjfromjoperatingjonjMarchj19,j2020.jAprilj15,j2020,jthejSecretaryjofjH
ealthjorderedjessentialjbusinessesjtojimplementjcertainjsocialjdistancing,jmitigation,jandjcl
eaningjprotocolsjtojhelpjcontainjthejspreadjofjCOVID-
19.jThejSecretaryjofjHealthjalsojinstructedjthatjemployeesjofjessentialjbusinessesjwhojdeve
lopjCOVID-19jsymptoms
―shouldjnotifyjtheirjsuperiorjandjstayjhome.‖jSoonjafter,jthejDepartmentjofjHealthjcreat
edjanjonlinejCOVID-
©j2024jCengage.jAlljRightsjReserved.jMayjnotjbejscanned,jcopiedjorjduplicated,jorjpostedjtojajpubliclyjaccessible 3
website,jinjwholejorjinjpart.
, 19jcomplaintjformjforjbusinessjpatronsjandjemployeesjtojreportjanyjrelevantjissuesjorjco
ncerns.
©j2024jCengage.jAlljRightsjReserved.jMayjnotjbejscanned,jcopiedjorjduplicated,jorjpostedjtojajpubliclyjaccessible 4
website,jinjwholejorjinjpart.
