$0.00 – $6.50
JAMS/ Endispute
Two-party negotiation between representatives of a company and an employee over the terms of termination and severance pay amid charges of past sexual harassment by the employee
SCENARIO:
Arthur Hangtough has been employed by Enterprise Manufacturing Corporation (EMC) for 15 years. He currently holds the position of Vice President for Personnel and Labor Relations. The new company president has threatened to discharge Hangtough, who has no employment contract; Hangtough claims he would fight a discharge.
The president is concerned about Hangtough because of the possibility of his involvement in a conflicting commercial venture, failure to meet ostensible performance objectives, and recent sexual harassment charges filed against Hangtough. Hangtough claims that he is being attacked unfairly because he insists on avoiding any legal hedging at work. He also alleges that he is being discriminated against because of his age.
Unbeknownst to EMC, Hangtough wants to leave EMC immediately to accept a better job offer. Unbeknownst to Hangtough, EMC wants Hangtough to leave immediately in order to hire a promising new employee. In this context, two attorneys for EMC and two attorneys for Hangtough are meeting to discuss the issue of Hangtough's potential termination.
MAJOR LESSONS:
- Both parties want to have the termination issue settled immediately, without revealing their reasons to the other side. This raises interesting questions about the effect of time pressures on the negotiation.
- Each party has information about which the other party is unaware. How does one decide when, how, and what to disclose?
- Both parties have very different narratives about Arthur's employment history, and different viewpoints about what should be done going forward. Is it possible to reconcile these narratives? Is it necessary? Does the outcome somehow reflect one or both narratives.
- Each party has a potential legal "threat" against the other: EMC has a potential sexual harassment claim against Hangtough, and Hangtough has a potential age discrimination claim against EMC. What effect did the existence of these potential claims have on the negotiation dynamics — whether or not they were voiced explicitly?
Teacher's Package includes:
- Participant materials only
Matter of Arthur Hangtough Attributes
| Time required: | 1-2 hours |
|---|---|
| Number of participants: | 2 |
| Teams involved: | No |
| Agent present: | Lawyer |
| Neutral third party present: | None |
| Scoreable: | No |
| Teaching notes available: | No |
