QUESTION

Facts (what are the facts relevant to deciding the case?) Issue (what is the precise legal issue that must be resolved in the case?) Rule of Law (what is the applicable legal principle explained by the court)? What does it require or prohibit? Analysis (here, you apply the relevant Facts to the applicable Rule of Law) Conclusion (based on your Analysis above, does the employer or employee prevail? Why?) Take-home message (what should we learn from this case that is applicable to future management conduct?)

ANSWER

Disability discrimination case within the last 5 years
1 page
Find, print out, FIRACT, and attach one recent appellate employment law case (within last 5
years and not in text or on course website) from CA, 9 th  Circuit, or U.S. Supreme Court [not from
federal district court or other trial court]
Case should add substantive value from a management perspective (vs. procedural
technicalities); no unpublished, memorandum and order, "per curiam" cases, or others lacking
precedential value for applying stare decisis)
Emphasize high-quality take-home message 

if you can't come up with one, the case probably isn't good enough

1-page in length MAX! If you can't fit it within 1 page, you haven't condensed or understood it
well enough--keep at it!
Use bullet points to save space for this assignment only
Grades will be based on quality/recency of case, value of take-home message, and written
communication quality

1.5 to 2 pages
Fact situation
Construct a scenario [target length 1.5 pages] that presents an employment law issue; provide
enough detail, in chronological order, to resolve the issue using stare decisis based on the cases
you find. If you know of or have been involved in a relevant real-life situation yourself, use that
as a starting point and elaborate as necessary to generate non-obvious legal issues. If not, cruise
the newspapers, business periodicals, case law, or websites for something usable. Use a situation
of interest to you and presents a real problem in managing the employment relationship.
Legal issue(s) in the employment context
Let the fact situation drive the legal analysis and spot issues from plaintiff's and defense
counsels' perspectives (i.e., what arguments would you make if you were representing an
aggrieved employee? How would you defend if you were representing management?).
Legal research
Find 3 original appellate cases from California, the 9th Circuit, or the U.S. Supreme Court
[caution: federal District Court and other trial court cases have no precedential value] from
within the last 5 years and NOT in the text or on the course website that are relevant to the legal
issue(s) and management problem(s) identified. Attach hard copies to your paper. Use the facts,
as well as the court's legal analysis and decisions, to figure out how your case will likely turn out
if pressed, based on it's similarity to or difference from the cases you cite. Warning: you will not
get full credit for this assignment if you merely attach the cases you find, and cursorily list them.
You must digest them (briefly) in the body of your paper and show how they help by factual
analogy to evaluate your situation. Use a highlighter to show me the portions of each case on
which you are relying so I know you read and understood the cases.

Legal and practical analysis
evaluate the potential legal liability to the employer, but in greater depth than you do in class
firacts (i.e., discuss in greater detail the pros and cons of each side's position and your conclusion
as to the likely outcome if the case went to court). Advise whether to settle or try the case, and
what to do in terms ofmanagement practices to improve the situation in the future. Write from
the perspective of a senior line or HR manager. Be sure to recommend detailed, specific, non-
obvious improvements in employment policies or practices that would justify payment of your
fees if presented as a professional management consultant.
Online library research sources and tutorials
get started using Westlaw and/or Google Scholar well in advance so you know what you are
dealing with. A case-finding demo will be done in class.
To conclude, make sure to have enough facts on both sides, particularly the employer’s defense,
and do not have an one-sided "slam dunk" scenario which leaves you with nothing to really
research. More will be discussed in class as the time approaches.