Chapter 31 Business Law

Term employment

A term employee is an employee who has an employment contract with an employer for a stated period of time
– If a term employee is fired before the term has expired and without cause, the employer is liable for wrongful discharge

At-will

An employee who does not have a term contract and can be fired or quit at any time without cause

Labor union exception

Federal and state statutes restrict employers’ ability to discharge employees who are union members protected by labor laws and collective bargaining agreements

Public policy exception

Employees cannot be fired for violations of public policy (i.e. refusing to do something unlawful, etc.)

Statutory exception

Can’t fire an employee in violation of federal and state statutes.

States require employers to

Purchase workers’ compensation insurance
– Self-insure by making payments, if they have the ability to pay compensation claims

Occupational Safety and Health Act

Federal act enacted in 1970 that promotes safety in the workplace
• Established the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
• Imposes record-keeping and reporting requirements on employers
• Requires employers to post notices in the workplace, informing employees of their rights

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Federal administrative agency that is empowered to enforce the occupational safety and health act
• Empowered to adopt rules and regulations to interpret and enforce the act
• Adopted thousands of regulations to enforce the safety standards established by the act

Specific duty standards

Set safety rules for specific equipment, procedures, types of work, unique work, conditions, and so on

General duty standards

Requires an employer to provide a work environment free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees

Federal act enacted in 1938 to protect workers

Prohibits child labor and spells out minimum wage and overtime pay requirements

Child labor

The FLSA forbids
 Use of oppressive child labor
 Shipping of goods produced by businesses that use oppressive child labor

Exemptions from Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay Requirements

Executives
• Administrative employees
• Learned professionals
• Highly compensated employees
• Computer employees
• Outside sales representatives

Vesting

Occurs when an employee has a nonforfeitable right to receive pension benefits
 ERISA requires immediate vesting of each employee’s own contribution to the plan

Unemployment compensation

Paid to workers who are temporarily unemployed
– Employers pay unemployment taxes
– To collect benefits, applicants must be available for work
– Workers fired due to bad conduct or workers who quit voluntarily are not eligible

Social security

Provides limited retirement and death benefits to certain employees and their dependents
– Retirement benefits
– Survivors’ benefits
– Disability benefits
– Medicare benefits

Types of Visas for Non U.S. Citizens

B-1 visa

B-2 visa

F-1 visa

H-1B visa

B-1 visa

issued to persons seeking temporary entry into the U.S. for business purposes

B-2 visa

Issued to persons seeking temporary entry to the U.S. for tourism and nonbusiness purposes

F-1 visa

Issued to persons wanting to study at colleges and universities and English language programs in the U.S

H-1B visa

Allows U.S. employers to employ in the United States, foreign nationals who are skilled in specialty occupations

Types of Visas for Non U.S. Citizens (cont.)

EB-1 visa

EB-5 visa

EB-1 visa

Allows U.S. employers to employ in the United States, foreign nationals who possess extraordinary ability for certain types of employment

EB-5 visa

Permits persons who invest a required amount of money in a commercial enterprises located in the U.S., and who meet other established requirements, to immigrate to the U.S