Human Resource Issues Case
Phone and Build’s subsidiary in Shining Sand, Shinecall, is a joint stock company directly controlled by Phone and Build and incorporated in Delaware.
Twenty-five expatriates from the United States and one from Germany are on the executive team at Shinecall. Two Shining Sand nationals are also part of the executive team. The rest of the 70 employees are all nationals of Shining Sand. The head of the human resources department at Shinecall mistakenly sent an e-mail listing the salary and benefit packages of one of the US executive expats to the two local Shinecall executives. The local Shinecall executives are angry because their salaries are much lower, and their benefit packages are completely different.
John has been dealing with the troubles in Shining Sand for a few months and has been consulting with the local national head of human resources. John decided to try to fix the problems by sending out two more expatriates from the United States on five-year contracts. One is 66-year-old Dan, who has a lot of international human resources experience. The other is Sarah, a 42-year-old woman, with 15 years of experience in management. Shinecall has applied for visas and work permits for both Dan and Sarah, as required under Shining Sand law.
The head of human resources wants to fire the top ranking local national executive, Ali, because she says he is the cause of all the trouble. She wants to replace Ali with Mohammed, a national of the country who would be glad to take Ali’s place.
The employment law of Shining Sand requires mandatory retirement at age 65, so the labor office of Shining Sand is refusing to grant Dan a work permit. Although there is no local law prohibiting women from taking management positions, the labor office of Shining Sand refuses to grant a work permit for Sarah.
Belinda has asked you to include the following information in your memo. As you think about your answers to each of the following questions, take notes and create an outline for your memo:
From solely an ethical perspective (not a legal perspective), what is the right thing for Phone and Build to do with respect to the disparity in pay and benefits between the US employees and the non-US employees in Shining Sand? Should expatriates be paid more than the local nationals of Shining Sand? Why or why not? How would you explain the reasons for the differences in salary and benefits if you were sent to Shinecall's offices in Shining Sand?
What laws would govern these employment issues if Mohammed, Ali, Dan, and Sarah all worked for Phone and Build's headquarters in the United States? Describe each person's situation, the laws that apply, and what rights each person would have.
Do the laws listed in your answer to the previous question apply to Mohammed, Ali, Dan, and Sarah as employees of Shinecall in Shining Sand? Describe the laws that would apply or not apply to each of the four individuals and explain your reasoning.