How would you characterize the employment relationship of the salespeople and Pharmmedix?

Human Resource Dilemmas – Pharmmedix employs 13 salespeople to market its wonder drug Rejuvenate, which has been designed to reverse the aging process.  Each salesperson has been designated to cover a 50-mile radius.  Salespeople have the discretion to determine the number of hours worked, the number of physicians visited, and which enticements, such as gifts, dinner, and so on, to offer to physicians who prescribe Rejuvenate.  A generous commission-based wage is given, but each salesperson is responsible for his or her transportation.  Pharmmedix regards its sales staff as independent contractors.  The sales staff bring a lawsuit claiming they are employees entitled to all of the required benefits.  Pharmmedix is seeking advice.

Assignment

Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper, written in the third person voice, and address the following questions:

• How would you characterize the employment relationship of the salespeople and Pharmmedix?
• Identify and describe the specific issues the salespeople believe make them companyemployees in the workplace. What elements of law are important for the salespeople to consider in advancing their case?
• Evaluate the actions of Pharmmedix in this situation. What could have Pharmmedix done to prevent the situation and what more could the company do to ensure that this type of situation would not occur in the future?
• What are the broader implications of this situation for Pharmmedix? What consequences can occur to Pharmmedix?
• What resolution to this situation might the Human Resource Director suggest?

Include justification for your responses by citing a minimum of two laws and a minimum of two legal cases in your discussion.

Relate the legal cases you select to the issues presented in the case scenario.

Consider issues such as corporate culture, traditional ways of employing pharmaceutical representatives in the industry, the IRS 20 Factor Test, employment contracts, and any strategic steps that should be addressed in your responses.

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

Use headings to appropriately signal the topics and keep your document organized.

Include a minimum of two in-text citation sources within the paper, in addition to the two laws and two legal cases required above, and identify them in your APA correctly formatted References page.