McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 11 Employment Regulation and Labor Law

11-2 Fair Labor Standards Act Minimum Wage Maximum Hours Overtime Child Labor

11-3 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.

11-4 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.

11-5 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.

11-6 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

11-7 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.

11-8 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.

11-9 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.

11-10 Telephone and Voic 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.

11-11 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.

11-12 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.

11-13 learning outcomes checklist Assess the origins and impact of the labor movement on modern labor law 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.

11-14 learning outcomes checklist 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 Identify federal statutes that impact labor–management relations and give examples of specific protections for workers that are set out in each law Explain the process for forming a certified labor union.

11-15 learning outcomes checklist Describe the rights and limits of workers to engage in collective bargaining and to strike, and describe the potential impact of a work stoppage Differentiate between an economic strike and an unfair labor practices strike Provide examples of illegal work stoppages.