Chapter 11

Employment
Regulation
and
Labor Law

McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Fair Labor Standards Act

 Minimum Wage

 Maximum Hours

 Overtime

 Child Labor

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Regulation of Pensions and Retirement
Accounts
 Employee Retirement Income Security Act
(ERISA)

 Vesting: employees are entitled to their

benefits from various employer-contributed
benefit plans, within a certain period of time,
usually 5 yrs., even if they no longer work for
their employer.

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Health Care

 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

(HIPPA) sets rules designed to protect employee
medical records from disclosure.

 Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act

(COBRA) mandates that employers offer continuous
coverage eligibility to employee who has been
terminated.

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Job Loss

 Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA)

 Unemployment compensation is intended to cover
workers who lose their jobs because of economic
difficulties and not intended to reward an
employee who was terminated for cause.

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Plant/Facility Closings

 Worker Adjustment and Retraining

Notification Act (WARN Act)
 Employers that intend to either close down an
entire facility or intend to lay off 50 or more
workers are required to provide advance notice to
employees

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Workplace Injuries

 Workers’ compensation statutes establish a

structure for an injured or ill employee to be
compensated through a statutorily mandated
insurance program as the exclusive remedy
for workplace injuries or illnesses.

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Regulation of Workplace Safety

 Occupational Safety and Health Act

(OSHA)
 (1) setting of national safety standards,
 (2) mandating information disclosure/warning of
hazardous working areas/assignments,
 (3) record keeping and reporting requirements,
 (4) imposing a general duty upon employers to
keep a workplace reasonably safe.

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Family Medical Leave Act

 Applies to employers with at least 50

employees.

 Mandates that employers provide up to 12

weeks of unpaid leave to employees for the
purposes of caring for family medical matters
during any 12 month period.

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Telephone and Voicemail

 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA)

 First, the ECPA permits an employer to monitor employee

electronic communications on company-owned devices in
the ordinary course of business.

 Second, the ECPA allows an employer to avoid liability if

the employee consents to the monitoring. Most employers
now routinely require employees to consent to monitoring
as a condition of employment.

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Drug and Alcohol Testing

 Most states permit employee testing so long

as the employer follows certain procedural
safeguards intended to ensure confidentiality,
safety, and accuracy.

 Testing is usually allowed of any at-will

employee or applicant.

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Polygraph Testing

 Employee Polygraph Protection Act

 Prohibits most private sector employers from

requiring a polygraph (lie detector) test.

 Employers prohibited from taking action against

employees who refuse to take the test.

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learning outcomes checklist

 11 - 1 Assess the origins and impact of the

labor movement on modern labor law.

 11- 2 Describe the main statutory protections

for workers and regulations on employers in
the areas of wages and hours, retirement,
health care, sudden job loss, work-related
injuries, and workplace safety.

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learning outcomes checklist

 11- 3 List the benefits provided by federal law for workers who
are need of leave for medical purposes or a leave to care for an
ill family member.

 11- 4 Identify federal statutes that impact labor–management

relations and give examples of specific protections for workers
that are set out in each law.

 11- 5 Explain the process for forming a certified labor union.

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learning outcomes checklist

 1 1- 6 Describe the rights and limits of workers to

engage in collective bargaining and to strike, and
describe the potential impact of a work stoppage.

 11- 7 Differentiate between an economic strike and

an unfair labor practices strike.

 11- 8 Provide examples of illegal work stoppages.

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