- Kane may receive some credit for previous years of work for the Company as he is a valuable employee judging by the history of his hiring. It is also possible that Kane’s poor health was caused by years of work in harsh conditions for the benefit of the Company, since the temperature reached 100 degrees (Holley, Wolters, & Ross, 2017). Even if the influence of such conditions was almost imperceptible, it still worsened the health of Kane, who also had several other diagnoses.
- Kane’s doctor has more weight in this matter than the Company’s doctor. Although the Company’s doctor is more often faced with situations that arise because of working processes, Kane’s doctor is familiar with his medical history and is more aware of his health problems. In addition, there is a possibility that the Company’s doctor may feel loyalty to his employer or be afraid of a negative management attitude, and, therefore, subconsciously testify in favor of the Company.
- In this decision, the prevalence of evidence should be used as the Company needs to prove that Kane deliberately indicated incorrect data in his application. According to Strecker (2016), the defendant wins in case of equivalent evidence, as the plaintiff bears “burdens of evidence”. As can be noted from the case, although the evidence of the Company and Kane was almost the same, Kane’s words were convincing enough to decide in his favor.
- Yes, the Company should have fired Kane, as it believed that he lied in his medical form. Moreover, according to The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, the employer is required to provide employees with a safe working environment, and Kane’s identified health problems put his life at risk. For this reason, the Company had to terminate Kane to protect him and its own interests. However, after the trial and admittance of Kane’s innocence, the Company needs to review his terms of employment and offer him a suitable position.
References
Holley, W. H., Wolters, R. S., & Ross, W. (2017). The labor relations process (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Strecker, D. E. (2016). Labor law: A basic guide to the National Labor Relations Act. BocaRaton, FL: CRC Press.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 29 USC.