Chapter 31 Employment, Worker Protection, and Immigration Law.

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

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall. 31-2

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


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


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


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?


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


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


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


Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Prohibits child labor Establishes minimum wage requirements Establishes overtime pay requirements


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


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


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


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?


Exemptions from Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay Requirements

Executives Administrative employees Learned professionals Highly compensated employees Computer employees Outside sales representatives


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


Chapter 31 Employment, Worker Protection, and Immigration Law.

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Transcript of Chapter 31 Employment, Worker Protection, and Immigration Law.