United States Department of Labor (DOL) was established in 1913. Its primary mandate as a regulatory agency is to enforce and administer federal laws. According to Ruddy (2007), some of the federal law that the agency regulates comprises the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), Equal Pay Act of 1963, Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 as well as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Besides fostering the implementation of these laws, the agency also protects and promotes the rights of employees. Its mission is to promote, and improve the wellbeing of employees of the US, help improve their working conditions, obtain more opportunities for profitable employment as well as guarantee work-related rights and benefits (United States Department of Labor) . This case study seeks to explore different aspects of this regulatory agency.
Description of the main Features of the Website and its Significance
From a glance DOL’s website is attractive and quite easy to navigate . The language used is also quite simple to understand and thus any average person can adequately get the message. The website outlines the different features of the services provided at the department as pertaining to labor company, employment as well as labor laws in the US. Some of the main features at the website include navigation links. These navigation links lead to different titles of interest, different statistical data, news and reports, sampled questions from website visitors, resources to ‘research from’ and also news and reports. The website also features additional resources like the events calendar, contact information and a toolbox. A visitor to the website is able to get all information on labor as well as any other kind of related information. A visitor for example can get more information on employee’s benefits at the ‘frequently asked questions’ section.
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A visitor is able to browse through different areas of interest from the main navigation area. Information can be searched by audience, topic as well as by location. For job seekers, employees and retired persons some of the useful information that they can gain from the website include matters on employment insurance, about wages and even about health benefits and plans. The option to search by audience categorizes groups based on their commonality. For instance, some of the audiences include researchers, educators, employers, job seekers, community organizations, women and veterans or even people with disability. Notably, the website offers comprehensive content about disability resources, financial reports, conflict resolution and legal choices, educational resources, job & training resources, contract and grants information and research tools for distinct publications among many others. The website’s information can also be searched by the use of location by simply entering your area zip code. Information about the locality including information on the department’s labor programs and services can also be obtained.
Similarly, as highlighted by Wage et al., (2017) the primary function of DOI is to implement and regulate federal regulations and laws for tens of millions of employees and employers, a person visiting the site can also navigate to find information on the adherence of their significance with the federal laws. Furthermore, from the website employees can navigate through subtopics like the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. This subtopic offers useful information to employees and families that may have lost their health benefits as it grants them the freedom to opt to go ahead group health benefits especially in cases where there has been a job loss, if they are transitioning from one job to another, divorce or death or even if there was a reduction in hours. Moreover, as Lynch, (2016) highlights information can also be obtained from the ‘frequently asked questions’ segment such as questions on how to file a claim for unemployment insurance, workplace safety and even retirement benefits. It is no doubt that the DOI website provides enormous information that is not only resourceful to employers but also to employees. Employees are able to stay updated on matters regarding their employee benefits. Furthermore, it has a feature that can enable someone to sign up to receive its newsletters of updates through their emails.
How employers can verify their employee benefits
While some employers do exploit employees by failing to comply with the federal benefit laws, employees should also make it their responsibility to guarantee the employee’s benefits are met. The DOL website can help employers verify if the benefits of their employees are congruent with federal laws. The employer can find this information through the ‘compliance assistance’, link or through the attached content link. Clicking the ‘compliance assistance’, link redirects the visitor to different organization’s responsibilities in maintenance, provision as well as protection of the employee benefit plans as stated in the federal law. All these laws are highlighted in the website in the compliance assistance materials section.
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) as stipulated on the website is a body that incorporates majority of the benefit plans. According to Schneider (2019) i t gives access to information regarding plans as well as making sure that people managing the plans are competent. The provisions in ERISA are enforced by DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).According to Geiger & Lee, (2016) compliance assistance materials offered comprises of different appropriate Acts, ERISA stipulations, different disclosure and reporting procedures, appeals procedure as well as benefit claims procedures. All this information can be obtained from the website.
Employers can also obtain compliance information from the Employment Law Guide. This guide offers an abstract of the regulations that are relevant to both the employer and the worker. The aid from the Advisor tool associated with, ‘elaws’, can also be utilized and it offers engagement conversation which offers knowledge on the federal employment regulations. According to Jeszeck et al., (2016)the advisors are always precise but receive comprehensive scenarios or questions. The advisor is then required to offer detailed answers of the questions that regard employment regulations and laws that apply.
How employees can use this information to ensure their benefits are protected
Employees can use the knowledge from the site to ensure that their employers are in adherence with the federal regulations. Employees can find information about their rights and even have knowledge about the procedure for seeking redress in case their rights are infringed. For instance, the rights of employees in group health plan are more likely to be violated over discrimination, pre-existing condition and inflexible plans.Employees can therefore get information on the procedure to pursue to ensure a cover is accessible by everyone.
The compliance assistance materials have useful information including ERISA provisions, COBRA, discrimination, guide for benefit plans and also an explanation on the influence of ERISA guidelines on state and federal laws as regards certain arrangements like Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements. Employees gain knowledge to guarantee that their freedoms are protected; they know how to seek redress in case of violation and also the procedure for claiming benefits.
Outline
This DOL website offers useful information on regulations, rules, laws as well as guidance presented in different formats including in the form of videos and pdfs making it easier to read and comprehend.
Significant knowledge can only be gained by having the skills to navigate through the website. In as much as the website’s design is friendly and appears easy to navigate through, it is not the case, orientation on how to navigate is therefore fundamental. Of all the links on the website’s main page, the compliance information link is most important as it has all the basic information an employer may require. Being able to use the different search options specifically via topic, site map, A-Z search, audience/group and location and through FAQ’s . These search features eases visitors' navigation of the content on the website.
It is also important to inform others that as users or visitors of the website they can easily subscribe or register to get newsletters or updates through their mail as this will make them easier to gain access to any information put on the website..
References
(n.d.). Retrieved from United States Department of Labor: www.dol.go v
Geiger, M., & Lee, J. Y. (2016). HR Outsourcing and Small Business Performance: Linking Network Organization Theory to RBV. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2016, No. 1, p. 18077). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.
Jeszeck, C., Granger, K., Gregory, J., Bowman, M., & Sen, A. (2016). Retirement Security: Better Information on Income Replacement Rates Needed to Help Workers Plan for Retirement. Available at SSRN 2752581 .
Lynch, M. S. (2016, February). The Budget Reconciliation Process: Timing of Legislative Action. Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service.
Schneider, P. J. (2019). The Impact of a General Release on an Executive's Right to Litigate an Employee Retirement Income Security Act Claim. Journal of Financial Service Professionals , 73 (5).
Wage, S., Jobs, N., Jobs, F., Pay, C. O., & is Prohibited, R. (2017). United States Department of Labor. Retrieved July , 19 .
