Running head: GOOD GROCERS, INC.

Good Grocers, Inc.
Rochelle Nkumba
Strayer University
Business Law I
LEG 100
Professor Sarah Uhimchuk
February 16, 2015

Good Grocers, Inc.
As Assistant Human Resources Manager, it is my responsibility to provide the best possible advice to our store managers when legal, and personnel matters occur. This last couple of weeks has been tough. We had two major situations that occurred that needed immediate attention. In situation one, the produce manager reported a slip and fall in the produce department. A lady allegedly slip and fell on a banana peel on the floor and her husband was yelling and visibly upset. The husband threatened to sue the store. The second situation, our bakery manager was short an employee and called in an independent contractor, Ms. Greene to fill the void on one of our busiest weekends of the year. Ms. Greene works for us part time; however, she put in a full shift all weekend. Now, she is requesting to receive the same benefits as the other part-time employees with our company, such as paid time off and employee discounts. Each of these scenarios required much attention to details and state laws. Let’s see how each situation was handled.
This week we met with produce manager to go over the details of the slip and fall with the woman with NewsNow. The manager took the appropriate steps with calling 911 and filling out an incident report. Now, it was time to determine how this situation will be handled? Would we handle this situation through litigation or by arbitration and mediation? We began by looking at the details of the incident at hand. The woman that allegedly slipped and fell in produce did not appear to look injured, at first sight. She was wearing five-inch heels of which she was still wearing when the produce manager approached the scene. Also, we took a look at the banana peel that was slipped on, and it appeared to still be yellow and did not appear to be tampered with to take it out of its original state. If the banana had been slipped on the coloration in the peel would be distorted and brown. We met with the stores legal department, and it was determined we would seek arbitration as the alternative dispute resolution. In the state of Virginia, the state uses the law of contributory negligence when an injured person is found to share some level of blame for the accident in which they were hurt. (Goguen, D., 2015) We could use this in our defense that the customer intentionally fell to look like she slipped on the banana peel. The counter claim can show that the customer was somewhat at fault for slipping on the peel. Her husband is the alleged witness to this fall and the officers collected a statement from the husband as well as the victim. It is important that we compare stories of what occurred that day in the produce isle. Now to begin the process of resolution.
The first step in our arbitration process will be to send the other party a written demand for arbitration. Sending a written demand will advise all parties of the dispute at hand and the type of resolution we are seeking. We then will wait for the other party to respond in writing indicating they believe the dispute is arbitral. With all the relevant facts gathered, we called Hanson Merri-Peninsula Mediation Centers to assist us to resolve this matter. Once the date is set to meet, and both parties will begin by providing opening statements and then facts of the incident. Evidence is presented, and cross-examinations will take place to dispute the fact the customer slipped on the peel and that there were injuries. Did the victim go to the doctor or the hospital? Is there a bill from doctor visits or hospital stays? Were there any visible marks of injury? Were there cameras in the produce section that can show if the customer slipped on the peel? After reviewing the video of the incident and presenting all the facts, it was determined the client did not slip on the banana peel. It