blaw regulation of employment

What is the purpose of Sarbanes Oxley?

- Primarily mandates corporate governance standards of publicly traded companies. - Creates accountability and transparency for shareholders . - Enacted to help reduce corporate fraud and unethical management decisions.

What is required for protection from retaliation for whistleblowing under the Federal Whistleblower Protection Act?

- Protects federal employees who report alleged illegal activity to an appropriate law enforcement official from retaliatory action. - Must be: federal employee reporting to law enforcement official.

What is whistleblowing?

- Reporting illegal or unethical behavior of an employer to government authorities, upper-level management, or the media. - Most common exception to the employment at-will doctrine.

What do state Workers' Compensation statutes provide?

- State Workers' Compensation laws establish an administrative procedure for compensating workers injured on the job. - Instead of suing, an injured worker files a claim with the state agency or board that administers local workers' compensation claims. - All states require employers to provide workers' compensation insurance

List the Compensation and Benefits statutes.

1. Fair Labour Standards Act of 1938 2. Social Security Act of 1935 3. Federal Insurance Contribution Act 4. Medicare 5. Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 6. Federal Unemployment Tax Act of 1935 7. Affordable Care Act of 2010 8. Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1995

List the Health and Safety statutes.

1. Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 2. Workers' Compensation Statutes 3. Employee Leave

What are the requirements for receiving Workers' Compensation?

1. The existence of an employee relationship. 2. An accidental injury that occured on the job or in the course of employment, regardless of fault.

List the Equal Employment Opportunities statutes.

1. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 2. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 3. Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADA)

List the Whistle Blowing statutes.

1. Whistleblower protection act 2. Texas Whistleblower Protection Act 3. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) 4. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd Frank Act)

Compensation and Benefits: Medicare

A health insurance program administered by the Social Security Administration for persons who are 65 or older or are disabled. - Both the employer and employee must contribute to Medicare.

What remedies are available to a whistleblower who is the victim of retaliation under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act?

Entitled to compensatory damages, both economic and non-economic damages (such as emotional distress or reputational harm).

What remedies are available to a whistleblower who is victim of retaliation under the Dodd Frank Act?

Entitled to reinstatement, double back pay, litigation costs, and/or attorneys' fees.

National Labor Relations Act of 1935

Establishes the rights of employees to engage in collective bargaining and to strike against employer practices defined as unfair labor. - Mostly govern union related issues. - Prevents employers from engaging in unfair and illegal union-related labor practices.

How do Workers' Compensation statutes mitigate an employer's risk of liability for negligence of an employee?

In exchange for workers' compensation benefits, an employee may not sue an employer for negligence, mitigating the employer's risk of liability.

What is required for protection from retaliation for whistleblowing under the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act?

Must be: -Employee in the financial services industry Protection for engaging in whistleblowing activities such as: - Filing a claim or testify in any proceeding under the Dodd Frank Act - Objecting to or refusing to participate in activity they reasonably believe to be a violation of Dodd Frank, SOX, or any other statute or regulation subject to SEC jurisdiction.

What is required for protection from retaliation for whistleblowing under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act?

Prohibits/protects from retaliation if the whistleblower is: 1. An employee of a publicly traded company/mutual fund OR employee of an entity that contracts with a publicly traded company/mutual fund. 2. Whistleblower provides information, causes information to be provided, or participates in the investigation of alleged misconduct. 3. Alleged misconduct has to be in violation of Sarbanes-Oxley Act, SEC regulations, or any federal statute that violates the rights of shareholders. 4. Can report internally to a supervisor/ anyone who has the power to investigate and/or to appropriate law enforcement.

What is required for protection for whistleblowing under the Texas Whistleblower Protection Act?

Protects Texas state employees who report alleged illegal activity to an appropriate law enforcement official from retaliatory action. - Must be: an employee of the state of texas who reports to the correct law enforcement official.

Compensation and Benefits: Social Security Act of 1935

Provides of old age, survivor, and disability insurance. Retired or disabled workers and survivors of workers are entitled to monthly payments from the Social Security Administration.

Compensation and Benefits: Federal Unemployment Tax Act of 1935

Provides unemployment compensation to eligible individuals. - Both the employer and employee are obligated to pay unemployment taxes, and employers are required to withhold from the employee's paycheck the employee's FUTA contribution.

Compensation and Benefits: Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974

Regulates employee retirement plans that employers establish to supplement social security benefits.

Compensation and Benefits: Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

Regulates wage and hour issues. - Requires that employees who work more than 40 hours per week must be paid no less than one and a half times their regular pay for all hours over 40. - Provides that a minimum wage be paid to employees in certain industries. - Prohibits oppressive child labor.

Compensation and Benefits: Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA)

Requires employees and employers to contribute to the "social security fund." - An employer must withhold from the employee's paycheck the employee's FICA contribution.

Health and Safety: Family and Medical Leave Act

Requires employers to provide qualified employees with up to 12 weeks of family or medical leave during any 12-month period.

Compensation and Benefits: Affordable Care Act of 2010

Requires most employers with 50 or more full time employees to provide health insurance benefits.

Health and Safety: Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970

Requires that employers maintain a safe workplace. - Provides for specific health and safety standards that employers must meet depending on the employer's particular industry, the employee's particular position, etc.

Compensation and Benefits: Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1995

Requires the employer to continue to provide medical, optical, and dental insurance coverage for workers upon termination of their employment for up to 18 months.

Whistleblowing: what is the risk of the whistleblower?

Risk: retaliation, termination, or disciplinary action.

Define the bounty program provided by Dodd Frank.

Whistleblowers who provide original information to the SEC or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) may recover between 10% and 30% if monetary sanctions in excess of $1,000,000 collected by the agency.