The Department of human resource management performs a central role in any organization. When dealing with employees, it is important to master the labor laws so that the department can perform its roles within the stipulated laws. This paper aims at discussing several labor laws which are essential for any organization.
The Americans with Disability Act is a legislation prohibiting any kind of discrimination against people living with disabilities in schools, jobs, hospitals and any other areas of private and public lives. The law aims at ensuring that individuals living with disabilities get equal opportunities and rights just like any other person (Edmonds, 2016). Employers can violate this act in several ways. For example, denial of job application on the basis of the condition of disability is a violation of this act. It is illegal to deny any individual job opportunity because of a disability condition if the applicant qualifies for the position applied. Another way through which this activity can be violated by employers is through demotion or non-promotion of the individuals living with disabilities (Edmonds, 2016). The act considers any disabled individual when he or she has a mental or physical impairment which limits his or her activities. Every employer should provide accommodation to the employees who are living with disabilities such as modification of a work schedule, making it easy for the employees with disabilities to access assistive devices and doing adjustments whenever necessary for these individuals to feel accommodated. The act also prohibits any form of harassment to the people with disabilities. Employers who are found to violate this act can be accused in a court of law and if found guilty can be terminated.
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Age Discrimination in Employment Act is a civil rights law which prohibits discrimination against people who are more than 40 years in the workplace (von Schrader & Nazarov, 2016). Some states also apply this law to the younger workers. This violation occurs when the person being inflicted and the victim are both 40years or older. This violation can do done through harassments on the employees who are more than 40 years old. Also when the employer uses age as a determining factor during hiring, compensation, promotion, demotion or giving privileges to the employees then it can be considered as a breach of this act (Player& Sperino, 2017). One way of dealing with employers or organizations which violate this act is to document such acts and forward to the court of law.
Harassment at the workplace is a common thing in many workplaces. Many cases of harassment go unreported because many employees are not sure of what exactly qualifies to be classified as harassments. Workplace harassment can do a great damage to an organization and turn the organization into a toxic and unproductive environment. Harassment can be defined in several ways. To some companies, harassment is defined as any unwelcoming physical or verbal behavior against an employee based on religion, race, gender, nationality, age, or disability (Kim, Kim & Sohn, 2014). Harassment becomes illegal when an employee is compelled to endure offensive conduct for them to get an employment opportunity or to continue with their job (Kim, Kim & Sohn, 2014). Harassment also becomes unlawful if the conduct is pervasive or so severe that the workplace becomes abusive, hostile or intimidating for an employee. Some supervisors and employers harass their junior to a point that they change the salary status of their juniors. This form of violation can be exposed through documentation, and if gross then the employers can be charged in a court of law and the people found guilty be terminated.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act indicates that all employees are entitled to the safe workplace which is free of any dangers which can cause them harm and other coworkers. The basic role of this act is to reduce the hazards at workplaces and put in place safety and health programs for the employers and employees (Friend& Kohn, 2018). Under this act, employees are supposed to get all necessary information and training on the hazards at the workplaces and ways of avoiding them, obtaining documentation which is related to any form of injuries or illnesses at the workplace, not being discriminated against if an employee makes a complaint or inquiries about the hazards at the workplace (Friend & Kohn, 2018). If an employer does not address the safety and health issues at workplace even if the hazards have been brought to their attention then the employees can take an initiative of contacting the OSHA offices through a written complaint. Once the complaint is made, the OSHA will investigate and determine whether or not there are reasonable grounds to believe that the dangers or violations exist. If the case is true, then the OSHA would conduct inspections including the measures that need to be met to ensure there is safety in the workplace.
The family and medical leave act is a law passed by the federal government which acknowledges changes in the workplace, families, sicknesses and the expectations from both the employers and employees. The act aims at dealing with the dilemma that the working parents have when it comes to job security and caring for their loved ones. Under this act, an employee who goes for unpaid leave still has job security and can return to the same position after the leave (Armenia, Gerstel & Wing, 2014). If in case the position is not available, the employer should ensure that there is another equal position with the same pay. This act can be violated if the employer interferes or denies an employee the permission to exercise this right. Also, employers can violate this act when they discriminate against an employee who opposes any action deemed unlawful under this act (Armenia, Gerstel & Wing, 2014). Should this act be violated, the department of labor is allowed to investigate the matter and resolve the violation or complaints.
Fair Labor Standards Act is legislation at the federal level which determines the minimum wage the eligibility for overtime pay, child labor, record keeper and any other standards which can affect part-time or full-time workers in federal, local governments or states (Sargeant, 2016). This act can be violated if an employee including the management falsifies a time record. This act can also be violated if the manager instructs a junior employee to falsify reports or alter time record for other employees. Under this act, employees should not work outside their scheduled normal working hours. Any employee who violates this act is subject to disciplinary action from the management including termination.
The Equal Pay Act requires that all employees are given equal work with equal pay (Dunleavy, Engelsted & Morris, 2017). The jobs which attract equal pay should be equal jobs. Any form of payment is covered under this act. This includes salaries, overtime pay, profit sharing or any other kind of payment. This act can be violated in several ways including paying some employees with equal work higher because of sexual favors (Reich, 2015). Inequality in wages can also amount to the breach of this act. An individual who alleges such violation can go to court and report this violation. Any employer who is found to violate this act is subject to disciplinary action including termination.
There is also the policy which refrains employees from using technology against the organization that they are working for. Many employees violate this act when they use technology to expose the company they work for in a bad light and when they damage the reputation of the companies through their unprofessional ways of dealing with the technology. This act prohibits employees from doing commentaries on social media, harassment, privacy and IT security issues (McDonald & Thompson, 2016). One who is found to violate this act is subject to disciplinary action and can end up being terminated.
References
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Dunleavy, E. M., Engelsted, L., & Morris, A. (2017). A Primer on Equal Employment Opportunity Law and Contemporary Enforcement. The Oxford Handbook of Workplace Discrimination .
Edmonds, J. (2016). Examining Outcomes in Americans with Disabilities Act Litigation for Persons with Mental and Physical Disabilities.
Friend, M. A., & Kohn, J. P. (2018). Fundamentals of occupational safety and health . Rowman & Littlefield.
Kim, Y. S., Kim, C. W., & Sohn, S. K. (2014). The recognition, experience and related factors about sexual harrassment in the workplace of caddie. Korean Journal of Golf Studies , 8 (3), 51-60.
McDonald, P., & Thompson, P. (2016). Social media (tion) and the reshaping of public/private boundaries in employment relations. International Journal of Management Reviews , 18 (1), 69-84.
Player, M., & Sperino, S. (2017). Federal law of employment discrimination in a nutshell . West Academic.
Reich, M. (2015). The ups and downs of minimum wage policy: The Fair Labor Standards Act in historical perspective. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society , 54 (4), 538-546.
Sargeant, M. (2016). Age discrimination in employment . Routledge.
von Schrader, S., & Nazarov, Z. E. (2016). Trends and patterns in age discrimination in employment act (ADEA) charges. Research on Aging , 38 (5), 580-601.
