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Case Study on Human Resource Management

Student Name

Institutional Affiliation

Course Number and Name

Instructor Name

Assignment Due Date

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Case Study on Human Resource Management

The case under study is about a 57-year old worker named Joe Petersen, who is being

threatened by his manager, Joann Demeter, of getting fired or terminated because he refuses to

perform his work due to health and safety reasons. Joe works in a vehicle dealership company

performing labor intensive tasks. Majority of his tasks requires him to carry around 300 cases of

oil filters from one building to another by going up the stairs towards a storage room with

temperatures usually going over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. He complained to his boss about the

physical pain he suffers from carrying large volume of items due to his arthritis. In addition, he is

concerned about the debilitating effects of the extreme heat conditions in the workplace as he

worries for his health from a possible heat stroke. Both Joe and Joann decided to set up a

meeting with the dealership manager with the presence of the HR representative to settle the

problems they are both facing.

The HR representative should inform Joe of his rights to refuse performing a dangerous

work. Joe can file a complaint with the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) if

he thinks that his working conditions are hazardous enough that it poses a threat to his health and

safety at any given time. However, filing a complaint does not mean that Joe should already

leave his workplace. He should stay at his workplace until he is ordered to leave by his boss or

employer. If the working conditions, without a doubt, present an indefinite risk or hazard on the

worker’s health and safety, and that there is no more time for OSHA to conduct an inspection of

the workplace of the concerned worker, Joe has the right to bring this matter to the immediate

attention of his employer and ask them to correct the hazardous working conditions before he

goes back to work. Joe also has the right to ask his employer to assign him to another work that

poses no hazard (Workers’ right, n,d.). Joe’s refusal to work would not be considered as
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insubordination because he is protected by OSHA if he is acting in good faith that performing his

work poses an imminent danger to his life (What constitutes, n.d.).

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References

What constitutes insubordination? (n.d.). Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-qa/pages/what-constitutes-

insubordination.aspx

Workers’ right to refuse dangerous work (n,d.). United States Department of Labor

https://www.osha.gov/workers/right-to-refuse