Download Employment Ch 21.1 PPT

Chapter 21.1: Employment
Conditions & Benefit Laws
Section 21.1
Health & Safety
Fair Wages & Benefits
Privacy
Employment
Condition Laws
• There are 3 areas covered by Employment Law:
• Health & Safety
• Fair Wages & Benefits
• Privacy
Employment
Condition Laws
• Health & Safety
• Occupational Safety & Health Act of 1970
• Ensures employees are protected in workplace
• Established Occupational Safety & Health
Administration (OSHA) - an agency of the
federal government that sets safety & health
standards for companies
Employment
Condition Laws
• OSHA uses 2 approaches to accomplish its mission
• 1. Imposes upon employers the duty to maintain a safe &
healthy work environment
• 2. Creates rules that outline the safety steps businesses must
maintain
• DONE THROUGH
****random workplace inspections
(worksite visits after a death, disaster or employee complaint)
****fines
Employment
Condition Laws
• Wages, Hours & Benefits
• The Federal Gov’t. has passed laws that set
standards for employers regarding the above:
•
•
•
•
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Equal Pay Act (EPA)
Employment Retirement Income Security Act
Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Employment
Condition Laws
• Fair Labor Standards Act
• Requires certain employers to pay their works a
legal minimum hourly wage rate
• PLUS time and a half (overtime) for all work
over 40 hours per week
• Regulates the employment of minors
Employment
Condition Laws
Employment
Condition Laws
• Equal Pay Act - 1963
• Amendment to FLSA
• Established Equal Pay Rule - employers
engaged in interstate commerce must pay
women the same rate of pay as men holding
same type of job – This is a GENDER law not a
RACE law.
Hourly workers
Executives & Administrators
Salaried salespeople
Professional employees
Employment
Condition Laws
• Employment Retirement Income Security Act
Prevents abuse of employee retirement money
• Pension Plan - program established by an
employer or union designed to provide income
to employees after they retire (not controlled by
employer but outside fund)
Before…funds in retirement plans were
mismanaged or used for other business expenses
resulting in loss of benefits for employees
Employment
Condition Laws
• Family & Medical Leave Act
Employees of companies with 50+ workers are
entitled to 12 weeks of leave during any 12
month period
Examples:
Birth or adoption of a child
Care for spouse, child or parent who has a serious
medical condition
Employment
Condition Laws
• Employee Privacy Rights
• 3 areas of concern:
• Privacy for government employees
• Testing employees for drug use
• Using polygraphs (lie detectors) in making
hiring/firing decisions
• 3 Laws related to Employee Privacy:
• Federal Privacy Act
• Drug-Free Workplace Act
• Employee Polygraph Protection Act
Employment
Condition Laws
• Federal Privacy Act
The privacy of government employees is often given
greater emphasis than privacy of employees in
private sector. People want less government in their
life.
Under Federal Privacy Act government employees
are given the right to:
Restrict inspection of their employment files
Be informed of employment files & their contents
Fix any mistake they might find in their files
Employment
Condition Laws
• Drug-Free Workplace Act
Firms must have a plan to be sure employees
don’t use drugs on the job.
It does not order companies to include drug
testing.
If a drug test is performed improperly it can
violate 4th amendment prohibiting
unreasonable search & seizure.
Employment
Condition Laws
• Employee Polygraph Protection Act
Just like drug testing, polygraph use can violate
employee privacy rights (4th Amendment)
This law prohibits employers from using lie
detector tests for screening of employment
applicants or for random testing of employees
Employment
Condition Laws
• Laws Providing Worker Benefits
These laws protect workers who have left the job
because of retirement, injury or disability
… as well as provides assistance to workers who
have been laid off or discharged.
Laws include:
Social Security
Work Opportunity
Unemployment Insurance
Worker’s Compensation
Employment
Condition Laws
• Social Security Act – Government program that
provides continuing but limited income to
workers and their dependents
• Provides benefits to employees and their families
when their earnings stop or are reduced because
of retirement, disability or death
Employment
Condition Laws
• Unemployment Compensation Laws
is a system of government payments to people who
are out of work and looking for a job
Payments are made from an unemployment
insurance fund financed by payroll taxes or
unemployment insurance paid by employers
Employment
Condition Laws
• Worker’s Compensation Laws
Is an insurance program that provides income for
workers who are injured or develop a disability
or disease as a result of their job
Paid by Employers!
Employers typically pay a tax on their payrolls to
fund the state’s workers compensation fund
Employment
Condition Laws
• Work Opportunity Laws
• Welfare – a government system providing
assistance to poor Americans with dependent
children
• - Criticized for many reasons.
• As A Result….In 1996 Congress passed the
Personal Responsibility & Work Opportunity Act
Employment
Condition Laws
• Work Opportunity Laws
• Also as a result of welfare criticism…
• Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
(TANF)
• A majority of all welfare recipients must hold a
job, enter career programs or face a loss of
payments. This is a 2-year period.