Chapter 31
Employment, Worker Protection, and
Immigration Law
Workers’ Compensation Acts
Workers’ compensation: Compensation paid to workers and their families when workers are injured in connection with their jobs
These acts help workers receive compensation for injuries that occur on the job Workers file a claim with the agency Agency determines legitimacy of claim Compensation benefits are paid accordingly
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Workers’ Compensation Insurance
States require employers to: Purchase workers’ compensation insurance, or Self-insure by making payments, if they have the
ability to pay compensation claims
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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 are employment related
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Exclusive Remedy
Workers’ compensation is an exclusive remedy Workers cannot sue their employers in court for
damages, except when employer intentionally injures an employee
Workers can sue third parties to recover damages
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Case 31.1:Workers’ Compensation
Case Kelley v. Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. Web 2010 Ohio App. Lexis 1269 (2010) Court of Appeals of Ohio
Issue Is Kelley entitled to workers’ compensation
benefits?
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Occupational Safety and Health Act
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
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Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
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
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Types of OSHA Standards
Specific duty standards: Developed and apply to specific equipment, procedures, type of work, individual industry, unique work conditions, and the like
General duty standards: Imposes on an employer a duty to provide a work environment that is free from recognized hazards
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Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Prohibits child labor Establishes minimum wage requirements Establishes overtime pay requirements
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Child Labor
The Fair Labor Standards Act forbids the use of oppressive child labor shipping of goods produced by businesses that use
oppressive child labor
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Department of Labor Regulations
Age(in years) Occupation
Less than 14 Newspaper deliverers
14–15 Non-hazardous jobs; limited hours
16–17 Non-hazardous jobs; unlimited hours
18 and above Any job
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Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay
Employees should be paid the federal minimum wage for all hours worked
Students and apprentices can be paid less than the minimum wage
Employees should be paid overtime pay of one-and-a-half times their regular pay for each hour worked in excess of 40 hours that week
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Case 31.2: U.S. Supreme Court Fair Labor Standards Act
Case IBP, Inc. v. Alvarez 546 U.S. 21, 126 S.Ct. 514, 163 L.Ed.2d 288, Web 2005 U.S.
Lexis 8373 (2005) Supreme Court of the United States
Issue Is the time spent by employees walking between
the locker room and production area compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act?
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Exemptions from Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay Requirements
Executives Administrative employees Learned professionals Highly compensated employees Computer employees Outside sales representatives
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Family and Medical Leave Act
Guarantees workers unpaid time off from work for family and medical emergencies
Applies to companies with 50 or more workers, federal, state, and local government workers
Employee must have worked for employer for at least one year
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Family and Medical Leave Act
Provides up twelve weeks of unpaid leave for: Birth of child Placement of child for adoption or foster care Serious health condition Care for spouse, child, or parent with serious
health condition Employee must be restored to same or equivalent
position upon return
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Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
Terminated employee must be offered the opportunity to continue group health insurance
Employer must notify covered employees of their rights under COBRA
Group rate premium should be paid to continue coverage
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Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
Applies to employer-offered pension plans Designed to prevent fraud and abuses in private
pension plans Employers are subjected to record-keeping and
disclosure requirements Provides for vesting Vesting: occurs when an employee has a
nonforfeitable right to receive pension benefits
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Government Programs
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
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Government Programs
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
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Immigration Law
Administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services(USCIS) 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
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Immigration Law
The 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
The IRCA imposes criminal and financial penalties on employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers
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