Chapter 31 - Employment, Worker Protection, and Immigration Law

employer-employee relationship

• subjected to the common law of contracts and agency law

• highly regulated by federal and state governments

workers’ compensation

• Compensation paid to workers and their families when workers are injured in connection with their jobs

• Help workers receive compensation for injuries that occur on the job

process of workers’ compensation

• Workers file a claim with the agency

• Agency determines legitimacy of claim

• Compensation benefits are paid accordingly

workers’ compensation insurance

• Insurance that employers obtain and purchase from private insurance companies or from government-sponsored programs

states require employers to

• Purchase workers’ compensation insurance

• Self-insure by making payments, if they have the ability to pay compensation claims

employment-related injury

• Injury to an employee that arises out of and in the course of employment

• Workers’ compensation insurance covers:

  • Physical injuries

  • Stress

  • Mental illness that is employment related

exclusive remedy

• Workers’ compensation says workers cannot sue their employers in court for damages, except when employer intentionally injures an employee

• Workers can sue third parties to recover damages

• Workers’ compensation acts do not bar injured workers from suing responsible third parties to recover damages

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

types of OSHA standards

• specific duty standards

• general duty standards

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

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

• Federal act enacted in 1938 to protect workers

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

child labor

The Fair Labor Standards Act forbids:

• Use of oppressive _____ _____

• Shipping of goods produced by businesses that use oppressive child labor

department of labor regulations

• less than 14 —→ newspaper deliverers

• 14-15 —→ non-hazardous jobs, limited hours

• 16-17 —→ non-hazardous jobs, unlimited hours

• 18 and above —→ any job

minimum wage

• Employees should be paid the federal _____ ______ for all hours worked

• Students and apprentices can be paid less than the ______ ______

overtime pay

Employees should be paid ____ ____of one-and-a-half times their regular pay for each hour worked in excess of 40 hours that week

exemptions from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements

• Executives

• Administrative employees

• Learned professionals

• Highly compensated employees

• Computer employees

• Outside sales representatives

government programs

• unemployment compensation

• social security

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

Provide limited retirement and death benefits to certain employees and their dependents

• Retirement benefits

• Survivors’ benefits

• Disability benefits

• Medicare benefits

failure to submit taxes

results in interest payments, penalties, and criminal liability

immigration law

Administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services(USCIS)

• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

• H-1B visa

• EB-1 visa

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Federal agency empowered to enforce U.S. immigration laws

H-1B visa

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

EB-1 visa

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

Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)

requires the employer to:

• Obtain a completed Form I-9 for every employee

• Examine evidence of employee’s identity

IRCA imposes

…criminal and financial penalties on employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers