Discussion Questions: select any THREE questions from the list below (preferably at least one from each chapter) and post your response in the discussion forum.

Think about a restaurant, store, office or factory where you have worked. What safety and health hazards existed in that workplace? What measures were used to address those hazards? Was safety given sufficient attention? (Ch 15)

The “historic bargain” that resulted in workers’ compensation laws occurred at a time (the early 1900’s) when there were almost no other employment laws and courts routinely ruled against workers with disabling injuries caused by their employers’ negligence. Is workers’ compensation a fair bargain now, or does it too often shield employers from the consequences of their negligence? (Ch 15)

Does OSHA do enough to protect the safety of workers? Does it over-regulate? Should the trend toward relying on voluntary compliance by employers be continued? (Ch 15)

Would you recommend that an employer use a forced distribution approach to performance appraisal? What are the pros and cons? (Ch 16)

Would you advise an employer to use training contracts? Under what circumstances? What might such contracts look like? (Ch 16)

What does privacy mean to you? What do you think is reasonable for employees to expect in terms of privacy in the workplace? Is the current privacy protection for e-mail and internet use sufficient? (Ch 17)

What does your company’s workplace privacy policy look like? What issues does it address? What does it say about those issues? Should anything about the policy be different? (Ch 17)