Human resources laws control human resource management and occupation concerns in the United States. They cut across, placement, recruitment, compensation and development. These laws include the Civil Rights Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination Act, Occupation Safety and Health Act and the Equal Pay Act. Therefore workers are shielded from racial, gender, nationality and age discrimination. Additionally, it ensures people get equal employment opportunities, affirmative action is enacted, and workers are protected from sexual harassment. Subsequently, the workforce is entitled to medical and safety security in the working environment. Moreover, human resources managers are guided on how to relate with their workers. The availability of these laws may also lead to litigation if the employee is aggrieved. Otherwise, the lawsuits may be avoided by compassionately resolving problems.
Safety, Legal and Regulatory necessities on Human Resources process
The laws protect the workforces and also the organizations. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 that is executed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission prohibits employers from discriminating employees based on race, color, sex, nationality and religion. Also, through the Department of Labor health benefit, wages, working hours and working conditions for workers are addressed (Odina, 2017). It governs the employer who has at least fifteen workers. Moreover, the Department of Labour Wage and Hour Division dispenses the Fair Labor Standards Act that realizes the minimum wage for workers. Additionally, it directs standards on overtime remuneration and child labour. Subsequently, the law ensures employees are paid on rest periods, on-call, training and waiting occurrences. The Family and Medical Leave Act is under the Department of Labor. It warrants employees who have laboured for a minimum of 1250 hours to have unpaid leave for family and health purposes while their job is protected. However, this rule is pertinent to workers in a company that has a minimum of 50 staff within a 75-mile distance. When the employee is on leave, they are nevertheless eligible for group health insurance.
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The laws as well protects disabled people. When dealing with people living with disabilities, four agencies govern the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) (Upcounsel, n.d.). The EEOC administers regulations on private employment. The ADA prohibits discrimination of disabled persons on the job training, compensation and hiring. It also forbids labour unions, private employers, state and local government from discriminating disabled people from job advancement, job application and privileges. Employers are required to make appropriate adjustments to suit people with disabilities. The Act is carried on an organization with not less than 15 employees. The laws and regulations also tackle Age discrimination in employment across the United States. The EEOC through the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) controls employment regulations for people over 40 years old. The ADEA forbids discrimination based on wages, termination, hiring, promotions and terms of employment.
Employees safety is catered for by the Department of Labor under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). The OSHA is a federal law governing heath and occupational safety in the workplace (Upcounsel, n.d.). It warrants that managers offer a healthy and safe setting for the employees to undertake their responsibilities. Therefore the working environment needs to ensure the staff is protected from mechanical dangers, excessive noise, exposure to poisonous substances, unhygienic surroundings, heat and cold stresses. Nonetheless, employees are entitled to health insurance. The patient protection and Affordable care Act institutes changes for health insurance. It ensures medical insurance is expanded to cover private and also public insurance. Additionally, it determines the principles of health care in the United States. Therefore employers are mandated to buy health care coverage for their staff for organizations with at least fifty workers. Consequently, employers who do not abide by this are required to pay the penalty. The employees in Ohio are covered on injuries acquired during the job through Ohio’s Workers’ Compensation Act. These workers contribute to a collective fund for their state insurance.
The rules and guideline in the United States also protect workers from pay discrimination. Through the Equal Pay Act anchored under the EEOC outlaws wage favouritism based on a person’s sex (Upcounsel, n.d.). It requires men and women to be paid equally for the same task performed. Therefore people who execute a particular task should be remunerated uniformly regardless of their sex. Pregnant workers are also protected from discrimination by the EEOC through the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Through this Act, pregnant staff or those who may suffer from related conditions are guaranteed equally to other employees. It works for companies or organizations that have at least 15 workers. The law is only exceptional to non-compulsory abortions. Although the Family and Medical Leave Act does not cover businesses, under the Ohio law pregnant people have a right to leave. The employer is also mandated by the commission to reinstate the employee who was on leave. They are obligated to offer them the same position or similar status after the return. The returning employee should also not lose their pay and benefits.
Compassion versus Litigation
Human beings are supposed to be compassionate and apply common sense at the workplace. It is not usually the case, so laws and regulations have to be put in place to protect the welfare of the workers. Disagreements in the workplace are likely to happen to lead to lawsuits and in other situations, when employees are denied their rights (Mibba, 2014). Furthermore, prospective and current employees face mistreatment, sexual harassment, unwarranted firing and insecurity in the workplace. Some of these tribulations are intentional and occasionally unintentional. It may lead to legal confrontations. Therefore the human resources manager acts as an advocate, thus maintaining a pleasant working environment while highlighting managers’ obligations to the staff. The workforce is likely to get high job satisfaction when managers respect rights.
The laws by different agencies are enacted to provide guidelines on the welfare of employees and the employer. It is required for human resource managers to understand these laws to establish ethical behaviour, employees’ rights and fairness at work (Mibba, 2014) The managers may follow these regulations but may be prone to misperception. The misunderstanding ignites conflicts within the workplace. Therefore, it is prudent to review the laws and identify areas that may confuse. The difference in the workplace may be lead to legal battles instead of resolving the issues compassionately. When lawyers are involved, it may result in compensation, when the matter is resolved through litigation. Litigation may be avoided when issues are addressed in a compassionate way. For instance, when dismissing a worker, it is essential to make them understand the situation at hand while making them feel the company values them. The organization can do this by assisting them in finding a job or continuation of medical cover for a specific period. When a company helps fired employees, it may lead to minimal lawsuits.
In conclusion, human resources managers should understand the various legal frameworks for protecting workers. They should know the employees are entitled to guarantee safety in the areas operations. Moreover, the employees’ health, which includes medical covers, are met. Litigation happens when the employee feels decisions were made unfairly against them. However, it can be concluded that legal conflicts do not transpire when the laws are broken, but it is due to the emotions resulting from other people’s actions. The laws ensure that employees are not discriminated on the basis of sex, gender, race, age and color.
Reference
Mibba. (2014). Common Sense or Litigation - Mibba. Retrieved from http://www.mibba.com/Articles/World/6872/Common-Sense-or-Litigation/
Odina, R. (2017). Legal Regulatory Requirements on the Human Resource Process. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/legal-regulatory-requirements-human-resource-process-20590.html
Upcounsel. Human Resources Laws: Everything You Need to Know. Retrieved from https://www.upcounsel.com/human-resources-laws
