1. The Legal Environment of Human Resources Management
Chapter 2
The Legal Environment of Human Resources Management

2. Learning Objectives
Define and describe “employment law:” the legislation directly addressing employer–employee relations.
State the importance of the government’s role in establishing legal requirements affecting HR management.

3. Learning Objectives
List and briefly describe significant labor-related legislation enacted in the U.S. by the federal government.
Identify the unique issues facing hospitality companies that operate units in countries with legal and cultural systems different from that of the United States.
Appraise and appreciate the unique HR-related responsibilities of the hospitality industry unit manager.

4. Employment Law
Employment Law: The body of laws, administrative rulings, and precedents which addresses the legal rights of workers and their employers.
Jurisdiction: The geographic area over which a legal authority extends.

5. The Government’s Role in the Management of HR
Hospitality managers interact with governmental entities in a variety of different ways, and they must observe the procedures and regulations established by the government.
Just as the federal government has played and will continue to play an important regulatory role in the hospitality industry, so too do the various state and local governments.

6. The Government’s Role in the Management of HR
Unemployment compensation is primarily operated by the states.
Unemployment compensation: A benefit paid to an employee who involuntarily loses his/her employment without just cause

7. The Government’s Role in the Management of HR
Worker’s Compensation: A benefit paid to an employee who suffers a work-related injury or illness.
Garnish(ment): A court-ordered method of debt collection in which a portion of a worker’s income is paid directly to one or more of that worker’s creditors.

8. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
One good way to examine significant federal legislation related to human resource management is to view them as being enacted before, or after, the landmark Civil Rights Act

9. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Clayton Act of 1914 legitimized and protected workers’ rights to join labor unions.
Labor union: An organization that acts on behalf of its members to negotiate with management about wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of their membership’s employment.

10. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
Railway Labor Act of 1926 required employers to bargain with unions and prohibited discrimination against union members.
Interstate Commerce: Commercial trading or the transportation of persons or property between or among states.

11. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
Wagner Act of 1935 prohibited employers from:
Interfering with the formation of a union
Restraining employees from exercising their right to join a union
Imposing any special conditions on employment that would discourage union membership

12. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
Wagner Act of 1935 prohibited employers from: (cont.)
Discharging or discriminating against employees who reported unfair labor practices
Refusing to bargain in good faith with legitimate union leadership

13. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 eliminated labor conditions deemed “detrimental to the maintenance of the minimum standards of living necessary for health, efficiency and well-being of workers.”

14. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
Requires employers to pay overtime for hours worked in excess of 40 per week (defined as 7 consecutive 24 hour periods)
Set standards for child labor

15. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Equal Pay Act of 1963
Prohibits employers from paying women and men different wages when the work performed requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and is performed under similar working conditions

16. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
In June 1964, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
It was the most important piece of civil rights legislation in the nation’s history.
On July 2, 1964, President Johnson signed it into law.

17. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlaws discrimination based on:
Race
Color
Religion
Sex
National origin

18. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
Title VII: The specific section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that outlaws discrimination in employment in any business on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

19. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): The entity within the Federal government assigned to enforcing the provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

20. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits sexual harassment.
Sexual Harassment: Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.

21. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 mandates affirmative action in some cases.
Affirmative Action: A Federally mandated requirement that employers who meet certain criteria must actively seek to fairly employ recognized classes of workers.

22. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
Is expanded to prohibit discrimination based on:
Pregnancy
Age
Disability

23. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 allows discrimination under some BFOQs.
(BFOQ): Bona Fide occupational qualification: A specific job requirement for a particular position reasonably necessary to the normal operation of a business, and thus allowing discrimination against a protected class.

24. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
Disparate treatment: The claim that, in the same situation, one employee was treated differently than other employees in the same situation.
Disparate impact: The claim that an employer’s action, though not intentionally discriminatory, still results in unlawful discrimination. Also known as adverse impact.

25. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
Initially passed to prevent the widespread practice (at that time) of requiring employees to retire at age 65.

26. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 made discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII.

27. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 mandates reasonable accommodation.
Reasonable Accommodation: Any modification or adjustment to a job or the work environment that will enable a qualified applicant or employee with a disability to participate in the application process or to perform the job’s essential functions.

28. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 definition of disability includes:
AIDS
Cancer
Cerebral palsy
Tuberculosis
Heart disease
Hearing or visual impairments
Alcoholism

29. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 allows an employee to take unpaid leave due to pregnancy, illness, or to care for a sick family member.

30. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 changes the statute of limitations on charges of equal-pay violations from 180 days of its first occurrence (per the Civil Rights Act) to 180 days from the issuance of each worker paycheck resulting from the discriminatory act.

31. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (Obama care);
Guaranteed the ability of all individuals to obtain healthcare coverage regardless of their pre-existing health conditions.
Mandated that all employees not covered by a health insurance plan at work must purchase individual health care coverage.

32. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (Obama care); (cont.)
Provides health insurance cost subsidies for low income individuals and families.
Bans annual and lifetime caps on insurance coverage for all individuals.
Provides tax incentives for small businesses that provide health coverage for their workers and pay at least 50% of cost of the coverage.

33. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (Obama care); (cont.)
Fines employers who do not provide adequate health coverage to their full-time employees (currently defined as those who work over 30 hours per week or 130 hours per month).

34. A Manager’s Review of Significant Employment Legislation
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (Obama care); (cont.)
Mandates individual coverage. Exceptions to the mandate include undocumented immigrants, members of Native American tribes, members of religious orders and those who cannot afford insurance.

35. The International Legal Environment for Multinational Hospitality Companies
Expatriate Manager: a citizen of one country who is a working manager in another country.
Special International HR Concerns:
Accrued vacation time
Quality of training
Availability of qualified numbers of employees
Employee and management attitudes toward gender equality, appropriate dress, work ethic, religious tolerance, and the rights of minorities

36. The Special Role of the Hospitality Unit Manager
The unit manager is the primary HR expert in many operations.
Unit Manager: The individual with the final on-site decision-making authority at an individual hospitality operation.

37. The Special Role of the Hospitality Unit Manager
Ways to keep up-to-date on constantly changing national, state, and local legislation include:
Reading hospitality industry journals and publications
Reviewing franchisors updates
Staying involved in hospitality trade associations
Consulting chambers of commerce, business trade associations, and police, fire and building officials