MGMT Chapter 11 Employment Law

Women make about ___ of men in comparable jobs

76%

Employment at will

A legal doctrine stating that unless there is an employment contract, both employer and employee are free to end the employment relationship whenever and for whatever reason they choose. Most states allow individuals to sue from wrongful termination. For it to be an illegal act of wrongful termination, an employer must violate a specific state/federal law.

Burden of proof

A plaintiff charging discrimination must be a protected class member and must prove that disparate impact or disparate treatment exists. Once a prima facie case has been made, burden of proof shifts to the employer.

Wagner Act

Also called National Labor Relations Act; recognized employees rights to organize; protect rights to bargain collectively; employees had the right to strike; employers could not discriminate against non union members; defined unfair labor practices; created the NLRB

Family Medical Leave Act

Enforced by DOL; Employees may take up to 12 weeks of leave for family/employee health needs; do not need to be paid; leave can be intermittent; can use vacation/sick leave first; health benefits continue during leave; applies to employers with 50+ employees; same or similar position must be available upon return

Affirmative action

Firms doing business with the federal government must devise plans to intentionally seek, hire and develop employees from protected groups that are underrepresented in the organization (construction contractors have different provisions); punitive; technically quotas are not legal

Protected class

Individuals within a group identified for protection under equal employment laws and regulation

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Overturned Supreme Court decision in Ledbetter v. Good Year; extended filing deadlines for pay bias complaints and clarifying the definition of discriminatory employment practice; 180 day statute of limitations reset every pay period

Age discrimination in employment act

Prohibits age discrimination against those individuals over the age of 40 and restricts mandatory requirements

Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964

Prohibits discrimination in employment on the base of race, religion, national origin, color, sex. Includes hiring, firing, training, promotion, discipline, pay, conditions of employment, layoffs and benefits

Americans with Disabilities Act

Prohibits discrimination of qualified individuals by employers on the basis of disability if the individuals can perform the essential job duties, demands reasonable accommodations as long as it doesn't create an undue hardship

Equal Pay Act

Prohibits sex differences in pay for substantially equal work (exceptions include seniority, performance, quality/quantity of work, skill, effort, working conditions)

Uniformed service employment and reemployment rights act of 1994

Protects service members reemployment rights when returning from a period of service; prohibits employer discrimination; enforced by DOL

Fair Labor Standards Act

Provided a minimum wage, 44 (now 40) hour work week, abolished child labor under 16 or 18 for hazardous jobs, non-exempt employees must be paid overtime of at least one and a half times normal pay for hours over 40 per week

Discrimination

Recognizing differences among items or people

Occupational Safety and Health Act

Requires employers to: provide a place of employment that is free from hazards that may cause death or serious physical harm; obey the safety and health standards established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Pregnancy discrimination act

Requires that women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions be treated as all other employees including benefits; employers cannot discriminate in their health insurance plan

EEO Laws - reducing potential liability for sexual harassment

Respond immediately, write a clear policy, establish reporting procedures, be aware of laws

Right to work

Secures the right of employees to decide for themselves whether or not to join a union or to financially support a union - may still be required to pay union dues spend representing them - that would make them still considered part of the bargaining unit

4/5 Rule

Selection rate of a protected class must be at least 80% if the rate fir the majority group

Quid pro quo

Sexual favors are explicitly or implicitly required as a condition of employment

Factors contributing to union membership decline

Strong employer challenges to unions; plant closures; international competition; shrinking manufacturing sector

Disparate treatment

Treating members in protected groups unequally in employment practices

Hostile environment

When a person's actions create a hostile, offensive, intimidating environment

Proposed employment non discrimination act

Would make discrimination based on sexual preference illegal at the federal level.

Union membership has been

declining

Labor contract

written agreement between union and management that specifies pay schedule, fringe benefits, COLA and the like

An individual with a disability is a person who

- has a physical, mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities -has a record of such impairment

Employee free choice act

Amends Wagner to Act to establish an easier system to enable employees to form a union; would require the NLRB to certify a bargaining representative without a secret ballot election if a majority signed an authorization card

BFOQ

An employer can legally discriminate if the employer can show that the discriminatory practice is a "business necessity" or "job related" ; most often applied to gender

Disparate impact

An employment practice seems fair (an identical standard applied to all individuals) but negatively affects one group more than another

Employees in a sexual harassment lawsuit

Can be named personally as co-defendants and can be required to pay a portion of the judgment

Victims can ask for

Compensatory, punitive damages and unlimited medical damages

Genetic Information Non discrimination act

Designed to prohibit the use of genetic information in health insurance and employment -prohibits health insurers from denying coverage to a healthy individual based on genetic predisposition - bars employers from using genetic information in hiring, firing, promotion decisions

Discrimination is illegal in employment related situations when

Different standards are used to judge different individuals or the same standard is used but is not related to the individuals jobs

Who must comply with Title VII?

Employees engaged if they have 15 or more employees; unions; employment agencies (does not apply to Native American Tribes, private membership clubs or religious organizations)

Taft-Hartley Act

Employers felt the Wagner Act was lopsided and gave too much power to labor - gave employees the right not to organize -required unions to bargain in good faith -protected employers from unions unfair labor practices -prohibits strikes during a valid collective bargaining agreement unless notice is given - allows US president to prevent or end a strike that endangers national security - gave preference to state right to work laws