Employment and Labor Law

Agency

A contract relationship between a principal and an agent whereby the principal authorizes the agent to work on his or her behalf and with power to bind the principal

Front Pay

Monetary compensation in lieu of reinstatement.

Reasonable Accommodation

A reasonable change to the work environment that allows an individual with a disability to perform job functions

Going and Coming Rule

A legal principle that removes an employer's liability from employees' actions going to and from their place of employment.

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

Requires employers take specific steps prior to requesting or using a consumer report (disclosure, written permission, notice of adverse action, right to dispute).

Integrated Enterprise

A business environment in which operations of two or more employers are so intertwined that they can be considered as a single employer for purposes of federal statutory coverage and liability.

Stare Decisis

Let the decision stand; decisions are based on precedents from previous cases

Independent Living Movement

A movement of people with disabilities working toward self-motivation, self-respect, mainstreaming in society, and equal opportunity.

Remedies

A desired action resulting from a successful lawsuit.

Plant Closing

A single site of employment that is permanently or temporarily shut down for 6 months, or with a 50% reduction in hours over a 6-month period, and impacts 50 or more full-time employees for a 30-day period.

Law

A binding set of rules for human behavior established by legitimate authority

Mass Layoff

A workforce reduction at a single employment site during a 30-day period which is not caused by a plant closing.

Judicial Affirmative Action

A court-ordered affirmative action plan.

Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)

Enacted in 1994, it prevents any employer from discriminating against someone who is or has been in military service

Voluntary Affirmative Action Plan

a plan put in place by employer whose self-analysis reveals effects of past discriminatory action

Unions

organizations of workers who bargain with employers as a group

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Enacted in 1993, this federal law governs leave for employees due to parental and medical necessity.

Rehabilitation Act of 1973

This federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. The Act also authorizes state grants for rehabilitation services to disabled persons.

Secondary Boycotts

A group's refusal to deal with a business that is not directly involved in the dispute.

NLRA

National Labor Relations Act

Collective Bargaining

Negotiation process between unions and employers.

ADEA Waivers

A statement from a retiring employee that he or she will not make a personal ADEA claim against the employer in exchange for retirement incentives.

Serious Health Condition

An incapacitating illness, injury, or impairment that requires overnight care or continuing treatment from a health care provider.

Job Group Analysis

A tool that groups jobs within an organization by responsibilities and potential and then analyzes characteristics of each employee in the job group.

Sexual Harassment

Harassment directed at an employee because of gender

General Duty Clause

Requires employers to provide their employees with a safe and hazard-free place of employment.

Frolic and Detour

An employee's physical departure from the job in order to further his or her own interests and not the employer's.

National Labor Relations Board

A federal administration agency that administers the provisions of the NLRA

Disparate Treatment

A theory of discrimination based on different treatments given to individuals because of their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability status.

Employment at-will Doctrine

The predominant rule governing employer-employee relations that states that an employer may terminate an employee at any time, for any legal reason, without incurring liability.

Common Law Agency

A test that classifies a worker as an employee if the employer maintains the right to control the method of work performed.

Defined Benefit Pension Plan

A type of pension plan that provides a fixed amount payment upon retirement.

Placement Goal

A reasonably attainable objective to achieve equal employment opportunity.

Concerted Activity

Any effort by employees to join together to seek improvement in working conditions.

Reasonable Person Test

Hypothetical person in society who exercises average care, skill, and judgment in conduct and who serves as a comparative standard for determining liability.

Economic Realities Test

A test that classifies a worker as an employee if the employee is substantially economically dependent on an employer.

Covered Employer

An employer that is engaged in a commerce industry and employs fifteen or more employees.

ADA Amendments Act

Passed in 2008, it amends the ADA by adding new protections for employees with disabilities.

Lock Out

An employer's temporary work stoppage initiated during a labor dispute.

Racial Animus

A type of race discrimination in which an employer obviously excludes an applicant from a job opportunity on the basis of race.

Major Life Activity

A daily activity that an average person can perform with little or no difficulty.

Constructive Discharge

Resignation of an employee because an employer allows working conditions that are no longer tolerable for any reasonable employee.

Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA)

Enacted in 1990, it allows employers to offer retirement incentives to older workers.

Vietnam Era Veteran's Readjustment Act of 1974

requires federal contractors and subcontractors to take affirmative action toward employing veterans of the Vietnam War

Federal Whistleblower Statute

Enacted in 1982, it protects contractor employees from employment discrimination or retaliation for reporting company violations of the law.

Intentional Interference with a Contract

An employee's claim that a third party pressures the employer to terminate an employee without cause.

Tangible Job Action

An employment outcome arising out of sexual harassment.

Federal Anti-Trust Law

A law that prevents anti-competitive behavior within local commerce.

Negligent Referral

A claim in which an employer has provided an untrue reference which omits information about an employee's dangerous and criminal behavior.

Labor-Management Relations Act (LMRA)

Enacted in 1947, it curbs union overreaching by protecting employee rights and prohibiting wildcat strikes.

IRCA

Immigration Reform and Control Act

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA)

Enacted in 1952, it centralizes and organizes U.S. immigration law.

Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA)

Enacted in 1959, it creates a union member "bill of rights" in order to empower union members and reduce union corruption

Opportunity Wage

An exception to the minimum wage law that applies to employees under twenty years old.

Federal Injunction

A legal remedy that allows a court to order individuals to refrain from harmful acts.

Due Diligence

reasonable steps taken by a person in order to satisfy a legal requirement, especially in buying or selling something.

Implied Contract

a legally-binding obligation that derives from actions, conduct, or circumstances of one or more parties in an agreement.