LAW/531 Version 8 / 1
Week 4 Study Guide: Employment Law
Readings and Key Terms
· Ch. 31 of Business Law
o Employment law
o Worker protection law
o Immigration law
o Workers’ compensation
o Occupational Safety and Health Act
o Fair Labor Standards Act
o Family and Medical Leave Act
· Ch. 32
o Labor law
o Collective bargaining
o Norris LaGuardia Act
o National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act)
o Labor Management Relationship Act (Taft-Hartley Act)
o Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act
o Railway Labor Act
o Union security agreements
o Right-to-work laws
· Ch. 33
o Equal opportunity in employment
o The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
o Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
o Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009
o Title VII
o Disparate treatment discrimination
o Disparate impact discrimination
o Age Discrimination in Employment Act
o Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)
Content Overview
· Employment, worker protection, and immigration ;aw
o Workers’ compensation is insurance that is paid if a worker is injured on the job and is an exclusive remedy which means that you cannot collect both workers’ compensation and initiate a lawsuit against your employer for that injury.
o Occupational Safety and Health Act, (OSHA) is the law that defines safety in the workplace and is enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
o Fair Labor Standards Act, (FSLA) protects workers in the area of child labor, minimum wage, and overtime pay and is enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor.
o Family and Medical Leave Act, (FMLA) guarantees workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave due to the birth of a child, adoption of a child, a serious health condition, or to care for a sick spouse, child, or parent.
· Labor law and collective bargaining
o Labor and management are regulated by several important federal statutes: Norris LaGuardia Act, National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act), Labor Management Relationship Act (Taft- Hartley Act), Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, and the Railway Labor Act.
o The National Labor Relations Act created the National Labor Relations Board who oversees virtually all union activity.
o Collective bargaining occurs after a union has been elected and is where the employer and union negotiate the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.
o Union security agreements are often negotiated where either a closed shop, a union shop, or an agency shop are installed.
· Closed shop requires employers to hire only union members
· Union shop allows employers to hire anyone but that person must join the union
· Agency shop allows employers to hire anyone and they can either elect or not elect to join the union.
o Right-to-work laws allow states to outlaw union or agency shops and are achieved by constitutional amendment or statute.
o Union solicitation may take place on company property under certain conditions
· Equal opportunity in employment
o Equal opportunity in employment exists to guarantee treatment free from discrimination in the workplace and gives employees the right to sue employers that do not follow this guarantee.
o The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was set up to enforce discrimination laws. Major legislation such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 were enacted to prevent discrimination.
· Title VII applies to companies with more than 15 employees, to all employment agencies, to all unions with more than 15 members, to all state and government agencies, and to most federal employees.
· Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin as well as in hiring, promotion, compensation, fringe benefits, training and referral programs, and contain provisions covering disparate treatment discrimination and disparate impact discrimination.
o Disparate treatment discrimination occurs where an employee is treated less favorably than others because of race, color, national origin, sex, or religion.
o Disparate impact discrimination occurs where an employer discriminates against an entire protected class.
o Remedies for Title VII violations include back pay, attorneys’ fees and can include punitive damages.
o Lilly Ledbetter Act provides that each discriminatory pay decision committed by an employer restarts the statutory 180-day clock.
o Sexual harassment that creates a hostile work environment violates Title VII.
o Discrimination based on one’s religious beliefs is protected under Title VII and requires employers to accommodate religious beliefs as long as it does not create undue hardship on the employer.
o Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 prohibits age discrimination against employees over 40 years old.
o Bona Fide Occupational Qualification, (BFOQ) is a permissable discrimination in instances in which it is employment-related and it pertains to a true job qualification.
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