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ANSWERS TO LABOR LAWS QUESTIONS
1. The Fair Labor Standards Act controls the employment of children. Child labor, defined
as employment of children less than eighteen years of age, has become increasingly
common in American society, and it is widespread in many societies around the world. In
the United States, under the Fair Labor Standards Act, children under sixteen years of age
may not work during school hours, and, by law, limits are set on the number of hours of
employment allowed on each school day and cumulatively for each school week. In
general, employment should be in a non-hazardous, non-agriculturally related job where
restrictions are in place regarding work that would be hazardous to this age group. For
example, no one younger than eighteen is allowed to work in mining, logging, brick
making, roofing, or excavating, or to operate power-driven machinery. In other settings,
work is prohibited with equipment such as meat slicers, box crushers, and power-driven
heavy equipment.
2. Discrimination in employment and occupation means treating people differently and less
favorably because of characteristics that are not related to their merit or the requirements of the
job. These characteristics include race, color, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction
and social origin. Other kinds of discrimination that the ILO and its constituents are concerned
with include age, disability, HIV AIDS, religion and sexual orientation. Anti-union discrimination
is also persistent and widespread. The elimination of discrimination is a key aim, contained in
the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Human development and
human dignity both depend on freedom from discrimination at work. It is a fundamental human
right, and individuals, enterprises and society at large all stand to gain. Eliminating
discrimination is essential if individuals are to be able to freely choose their professional paths,
develop their talents and skills and be rewarded according to merit. Discrimination produces
inequalities in the labor market and unfair disadvantages. Fairness and justice at the workplace
boosts the self-esteem, morale and motivation of workers.
A more productive and loyal workforce combined with efficient management of human
a loyal workforce combined with efficient management of human resources makes for more
productive and competitive enterprises. Discrimination creates stress, lowers morale and
motivation, affects self-esteem and reinforces prejudices. The risk of social tension and conflict
is also reduced when opportunities are more evenly distributed among different groups in
society. Long-term discrimination and exclusion can lead to poverty and social fragmentation
that compromises economic growth.
3. The five major kinds of employment laws are:
1. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) prescribes standards for wages and overtime
pay, which affect most private and public employment. The act is administered by the Wage and
Hour Division of the Employment Standards Administration (ESA). It requires employers to pay
covered employees who are not otherwise exempt at least the federal minimum wage and
overtime pay of one-and-one-half-times the regular rate of pay. For nonagricultural operations, it
restricts the hours that children under age 16 can work and forbids the employment of children
under age 18 in certain jobs deemed too dangerous For agric Workplace Safety & Health
2. The Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act is administered by the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Safety and health conditions in most
private industries are regulated by OSHA or OSHA-approved state programs, which also cover
public sector employers. Employers covered by the OSH Act must comply with the regulations
and the safety and health standards promulgated by OSHA. Employers also have a general duty
under the OSH Act to provide their employees with work and a workplace free from recognized,
serious hazards. OSHA enforces the Act through workplace inspections and investigations.
Compliance assistance and other cooperative programs are also available.
In cultural operations, it prohibits the employment of children under age 16 during school hours
and in certain jobs deemed too dangerous.
3. The Family and Medical Leave Act. Administered by the Wage and Hour Division, the
law requires employers of 50 or more employees to give up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected
leave to eligible employees for the birth or adoption of a child or for the serious illness of the
employee or a spouse, child or parent.
4. Employee Polygraph Protection Act. This law bars most employers from using lie
detectors on employees, but permits polygraph tests only in limited circumstances. It is
administered by the Wage and Hour Division.
5. The Workmen’s Compensation Act was passed in 1923. It aims to provide
workmen and/or their dependents some relief in case of accidents arising out of and in the course
of employment and causing either death or disablement of workmen. It provides for payment by
certain classes of employers to their workmen compensation for injury by accident.
4. Congress passed OSHA "to assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the
Nation safe and healthful working conditions." To meet this lofty goal, Congress created a vast
federal bureaucracy empowered to regulate most businesses. OSHA touches nearly every
American workplace and has become a landmark in the history of labor, employment, and public
health law.
State regulation of workplace safety began as part of the Progressive response to the industrial
revolution during the late nineteenth century. Early in the twentieth century, the burgeoning
labor movement lobbied successfully for further regulation. Eventually, the federal government
became involved in workplace safety during Franklin Roosevelt's presidency. In 1936, as part of
Roosevelt's New Deal, Congress passed the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act, which allowed
the Department of Labor to ban federal contract work done under hazardous conditions. In 1966,
President Johnson directed his secretary of labor, Willard Wirtz, to develop a comprehensive
national program to protect workers. In the wake of alarming revelations about cancer among
uranium miners, on 23 January 1968, Johnson adopted Secretary Wirtz's plan and urged
Congress to act. Congress promptly introduced bills embodying the administration's proposal.
Wirtz lobbied vigorously for the bills. He testified that each year 14,500 workers died, 2 million
were disabled, and more than 7 million hurt as a result of industrial accidents, and that these
numbers were steadily rising.
OSHA's impact on American business has also varied much in response to evolving
administrative rulemaking. Under the administration of President Bill Clinton, OSHA attempted
to shift from a top-down, command and control system in which the government tells industry
what it should do or else, to a partnership between regulators and private businesses. Under a
partnership system, businesses that proactively implement comprehensive safety and health
programs obtain flexibility and leniency in meeting OSHA standards.
5.
In 1964, the United States passed one of its strongest civil rights laws in history, the Civil
Rights Act. The act bans discrimination because of a person's color, race, national origin,
religion, or sex; it primarily protects the rights of African Americans and other minorities. Major
features of the Civil Rights Act include the freedom to vote and use hotels, restaurants, theaters,
parks, and all other public places. The law also encouraged the desegregation of public schools
and authorized the withdrawal of federal funds from programs practicing discrimination. Other
major features included the prohibition of job discrimination and the creation of the Equal
Employment Opportunities Commission. The Civil Rights Act was an attempt to improve the
quality of life for African Americans and other minority groups.
6. The case of Commonwealth v. Pullis of 1806, was the first reported case arising from a labor
strike in the United States. Eight leaders of the Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers
were brought to trial and accused of conspiring to increase their pay rates after leading an
unsuccessful strike for higher wages. The employers, not the government, paid the prosecution's
expenses. The arguments in Pullis promoted the idea '"that workers were transitory,
irresponsible, and dangerous", and were, thus, properly the subject of judicial control'. After a
three day trial, the jury found the defendants guilty of "a combination to raise their wages". The
union of Philadelphia Journeymen Shoemakers was convicted of and bankrupted by charges of
criminal conspiracy. The defendants were fined US$8 each (the cost of one week's wages) and
made to pay the costs of the suit.
The law established in this case, that labor unions are illegal conspiracies, would remain the law
until Commonwealth v. Hunt, tried in Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
7. The Workmen’s Compensation Act was passed in 1923. It aims to provide workmen
and/or their dependents some relief in case of accidents arising out of and in the course of
employment and causing either death or disablement of workmen. It provides for payment by
certain classes of employers to their workmen compensation for injury by accident.
8. The YELLOW-DOG CONTRACT is an employment contract in which the employer forbids
the employee to join a labor union. Yellow-dog contracts are not legally enforceable.
9. Labor relations laws protect workers’ rights. Labor rights or workers' rights are a group of
legal rights and claimed human rights having to do with labor relations between workers and
their employers, usually obtained under labor and employment law. In general, these rights'
debates have to do with negotiating workers' pay, benefits, and safe working conditions. One of
the most central of these "rights" is the right to unionize. Unions take advantage of collective
bargaining and industrial action to increase their members' wages and otherwise change their
working situation. The labor movement initially focused on this "right to unionize", but attention
has shifted elsewhere.
Many labor movement campaigns have to do with limiting hours in the work place. 19th century
labor movements campaigned for an Eight-hour day. Worker advocacy groups have also sought
to limit work hours, making a working week of 40 hours or less standard in many countries.
Labor rights advocates have also worked to combat child labor. They see child labor as
exploitative, cruel, and often economically damaging. Child labor opponents often argue that
working children are deprived of an education.
Labor rights advocates have worked to improve workplace conditions which meet established
standards.
The International Labour Organization was formed in 1919 as part of the League of Nations to
protect worker's rights. The ILO later became incorporated into the United Nations. The UN
itself backed workers rights by incorporating several into two articles of the United Nations
Declaration of Human Rights. These read:
Article 23
1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable
conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favorable remuneration ensuring for
himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if
necessary, by other means of social protection.
4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
Article 24
1. Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working
hours and periodic holidays with pay.
10. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was established to enforce
provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII forbids discrimination in the
workplace based on race, age, handicap, religion, sex, or national origin. Title VII covers all
phases and aspects of employment including but not necessarily restricted to hiring, termination
of employment, layoffs, promotions, wages, on-the-job training, and disciplinary action.
Businesses covered by Title VII include employers in the private sector with 15 or more
employees, educational institutions, state and local governments, labor unions with 15 or more
members, employment agencies, and, under certain circumstances, labor-management
committees.