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The Cooperative Work Experience-Nancy Carr

 

The Cooperative Work Experience and

 

Business School  Law Faculty: 

 

 

A Synergistic Combination

 

Nancy Carr

Academy of Legal Studies in Business

August 2008

 

THE COOPERATIVE WORK EXPERIENCE

           

The Cooperative Work Experience is a highlight, or at least a part, of the business school college education of many students.  “Cooperative” is defined in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language as “done in cooperation with others”.  For the business administration/management Cooperative Work Experience, this means a program involving both the students’ college or university and an outside employer.  Generally the employer may be from the private or public sector, a profit or not-for-profit organization, range from small family businesses to multi-national corporations, be military or civilian, offer paid or volunteer positions, and have a unionized or non-unionized workforce.  Sometimes participants are called “interns” or the program referred to as an “internship”.  The American Heritage Dictionary defines “intern” as “a student or a recent graduate undergoing supervised practical training”.  The term “extern” is also heard and according to the same dictionary refers to a person associated with but not officially residing in an institution, especially a non-resident physician on a hospital staff”.  All Cooperative Work Experience programs require cooperation between employers who offer positions to students, as well as the faculty who coordinate programs, integrate the academic and work experience, and approve or grade the experience for college credit.   

            While everyone would agree that “real world” experience is valuable for business administration students, various ideas on what that means are given by proponents of Cooperative Work Experience Programs.  Some advocates of Cooperative Education emphasize the skills in the functional areas such as accounting, finance, marketing, human resource management etc.; other advocates propose the benefit of familiarity with formal and informal organizational behavior.  Other proposed benefits include experiencing workplace discipline, creating networking opportunities, experiencing diversity, and having a no/low risk trial work experience.  No doubt some people perceive the main benefit of the Cooperative Work Experience to be a resume builder, fulfilling a curriculum requirement, a different type of elective, or a way to subsidize tuition and college living expenses.  In some colleges and universities, the availability of the Cooperative Work Experience is a major draw to the school and at other institutions it is one of many options for students.  No matter how divergent the views on Cooperative Education, everyone would agree that “real world” experience is valuable for business students. 

 

THE “REAL WORLD” EXPERIENCE

The employers and faculty who are involved in Coops come from varied backgrounds and possess varied expectations but all aim for mutual benefit of the programs.  Some professors require detailed student work logs, while other professors require analytical and reaction papers.  In some colleges, the Cooperative Work Experience is graded while at other colleges it is pass/fail.  The amount of contact and grade input between employer and professor varies greatly with some professors purposely minimizing their employer contact to maintain high student openness and confidentiality.  Job placement differs between colleges with some colleges placing students, while other colleges provide an approved list of Coop employers, and other colleges leave students on their own to find a position and have the college Coop Director approve the position.  While “real world” skill application in functional areas such as finance, information technology, marketing, etc. is essential for a successful Coop experience, if the legal responsibilities and rights within the workplace are not understood, the student participant is not having a “real world” experience.  Even though Coops are usually a “capstone” experience and most students have had courses in business law, legal environment of business, employment law, human resource management, and sometimes Labor Law/Collective Bargaining, the “real world” legal issues that arise in Coop require business school law faculty to have great participation in the program.  Hence, this author proposes that business school law faculty have heavy involvement in the “teaching”, administration, and design of Cooperative Work Experience programs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

AUTHOR’S EXPERIENCE WITH COOPERATIVE WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAMS

 

This author is the first attorney from the Business School faculty to run the Management Coop at the Community College of Philadelphia.  The College is an urban community college of over thirty-thousand students with four campuses, numerous community service sites, and a significant Distance Education program.  The student population is very diverse in age, ethnicity, race, sex, and socio-economic status.  The students in Cooperative Work Experience–Management 199(Exhibit 1-Course Description) reflect that diversity.  While the College is a two-year college granting Associate degrees, many of the Coop student participants are older and have managerial positions but not college degrees.  Other Coop participants have managerial roles in family or small businesses, have progressed in civil service positions, locate qualifying positions in the not-for-profit sector, own businesses, or have managerial or supervisory positions but have degrees in non-business fields. Participation in Community College of Philadelphia’s Coop requires a job with managerial responsibilities in decision-making and/or directing subordinates.  Cooperative Work Experience is taken near degree completion to integrate the academic experience into the “real world”.  A sample syllabus is provided in Exhibit 2. Cooperative Work Experience is now offered in both Fall and Spring semesters with eighteen students per section.  There is high student demand for more sections and waiting lists are maintained.  The College funds refreshments for Group Meetings and provides nice conference rooms for a business-like setting.  Usually the students like and respect each other and form outside of class friendships and contacts.  Meetings run three hours plus and there is very frequent contact in person, by telephone, and e-mail between the professor and students individually and in groups. 

While protecting the students’ identity and privacy, I will show the legal issues occurring in a randomly selected eighteen member Coop section.  Names and identifying facts have been changed.  Notes are given on the Group Discussion topics that ensued.

 

 

 

LEGAL ISSUES IN SAMPLE COOPERATIVE WORK EDUCATION GROUP

 

  1. Clifford– A supervisor in a unionized workplace, Clifford was surprised when a subordinate came to a scheduled meeting accompanied by a union representative.  We talked about Weingarten Rights and the difference in unionized and non-unionized workplaces, labor laws, and unfair labor practices.

 

  1. Marc– He wants to buy an on-going business located in a typical Philadelphia rowhouse.  He was told he could not continue the business if he bought the property.  We discussed zoning, variances, and non-conforming use exceptions.

 

  1. Carol– This Caucasian woman was asked by her employer if she has an Afro-American boyfriend.  She told the Coop Group that “she does but doesn’t think it is any of her employer’s business”.  We discussed discrimination, the Civil Rights Act, EEOC and HRC, and discrimination due to association with a person in a protected class.

 

  1. Ruth– She fears for her job security if owner of business she works for reneges on his promise to give his girlfriend/manager the business one day.  We discussed contracts, quasi-contract, detrimental reliance, and promissory estoppel. 

 

  1. Alisha– Needing a maternity leave, and hoping for one with pay, we discussed the Family and Medical Leave Act, mandatory benefits, contractual benefits, and how neighboring state New Jersey will be a Constitutional test of whether a state can require paid maternity leaves supported by a payroll tax of approximately $33.00 per employee per year.

 

  1. Lin– What is the legal significance of a replacement chart and career progression discussed at pre-employment interview?  We told her not to pack to move her office!  Also discussed employment contracts and employee handbooks.

 

  1. Amir– Owner/manager of a small business, he was surprised when “a friend who helped in the business” filed for Unemployment and Workers’ Compensation.  Group discussed employee v. independent contractor v. “friend” status and government mandated benefits.  We also discussed the legal problems of married couples “having a business together”.   

 

  1. Zack/Sue– How do they approach their direct reports on suspected alcohol and drug use without having defamation charges against them?  Group discussed progressive discipline, documentation, focusing on job performance, subtle hints, selective shadowing, etc.

 

  1. Sal/Omar– A student from a unionized workplace tells a student who is a supervisor in a non-unionized workplace that “he better lighten up or his workers  will unionize”.  Group discussed the Wagner Act, unfair labor practices, differences in unionized and non-unionized workplaces, the role of the National Labor Relations Board, and certification and decertification elections.

 

  1. John– Can he use different leadership styles (assignment five) with different subordinates without being guilty of discrimination?  Can he legally hire people who he feels will respond best to his preferred leadership style?  We discussed the Civil Rights Act and protected classes.

 

  1. Henry– He questioned whether a bar owner and/or manager can be legally responsible if a bartender serves a drunk person.  We discussed agency law, respondeat superior, Dram Shop Statutes, and negligence law for states without Dram Shop Statutes.

 

  1. Sarah– She told the Group that she fears the company she works for is closing.  The Group discussed business forms such as sole proprietorships, general and limited partnerships, C and S corporations, LLCs, and their dissolution procedures in addition to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) requirements. 

 

  1. Dimitri– Visibly tired, Dimitri asked about the value of a job description ending with “and other related duties”.  Another student said her job description ended in “and other duties as needed”.  Group discussed vague and indefinite contracts, adhesion contracts, requirements of a contract, and employment-at-will.

 

  1. Many students– Although familiar with the term employment-at-will, many students were surprised that employees could be so easily dismissed by employers.

 

COMMON LEGAL ISSUES ARISING IN THE COOPERATIVE WORK EXPERIENCE

  1. Constitutional issues
  2. Federal preemption
  3. Jurisdiction, venue, and conflict of laws
  4. Technology and privacy
  5. Contracts
  6. Statutes
  7. Administration Agencies
  8. Agency law/Respondeat Superior
  9. Unions, bargaining units, and collective bargaining
  10. Real estate and zoning laws
  11. Employees and independent contractors
  12. Incorporated and unincorporated businesses
  13. Employee/Company Handbooks
  14. Sexual harassment and hostile environment
  15. “No dating”, fraternization, No solicitation, No distribution issues
  16. Covenants not to compete
  17. Dress codes, uniforms, and religious attire
  18. Job descriptions, replacement charts, and seniority lists
  19. Small and family business issues
  20. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and intermittent leave
  21. Drug testing
  22. Formation, operation, and dissolution of sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations
  23. Discrimination
  24. Benefits– government mandated, contractual, and voluntary
  25. Job security and employment-at-will

 

THE COOPERATIVE WORK EXPERIENCE AND THE BUSINESS SCHOOL LAW FACULTY:  A SYNERGISTIC COMBINATION

To provide a “real world” Cooperative Work Experience which integrates functional skills, organizational behavior, and legalities of the workplace, the Business School Law Faculty should be heavily involved in designing, “teaching”, and administering the Cooperative Work Experience.  Faculty possessing both the Master of Business Administration and Juris Doctor (MBA/JD) degrees are ideal for these roles.  Another approach is to team faculty members from various business specialties with the business school law faculty.  (Of course the law faculty should use a standard disclaimer—Exhibit 3)  The involvement of business school law faculty in the Cooperative Work Experience will ensure that “real world” issues on the evolving responsibilities and rights of employees, employers, owners, managers, customers, and the public are covered in the Cooperative Work Experience.