Chapter 28

Wagner Act of 1935

(NLRA) Adopted to encourage the formation of labor unions and provide for collective bargaining between employers and unions. Also created the NLRB

Employees _____ _____ their employers if it was the employer's intentional or grossly negligent conduct that caused the injury or illness

*may sue*

Employee handbooks contain

-History of company -hiring procedures -hours of employment -payment of salaries -salary increments and promotions -termination procedures -benefits -leaves of absence -safety and security -miscellaneous

Employment contract clauses

-Maintaining confidentiality with respect to trade secrets -Restrictive covenants -Agreements to arbitrate in the event of a dispute between parties

Unreasonable publicity of private life or facts

-Medical information -Affairs and personal relationships -History of drug use -Sexual abuse

Intrusion into private affairs

-Must be unreasonable, unjustifiable, and unwarranted -Employee Must have reasonable expectations of privacy

FMLA leave for

-Personal medical reasons -To care for a child, spouse, or parent

OSHA

-Requires that companies maintain records of employee work related accidents and sicknesses and post data regarding these every February -Inspects workplaces to be certain that these worksites comply with safety and health standards and imposes penalties if it finds any violations -Can impose penalties ranging from fines to facility closings (may reach $500,000 or jail time)

Federal level

-Several statutes that require employers to maintain a safe and healthful work environment -Most important of these federal statutes is the *Occupational Safety and Health Act*

Recording phone conversations

-Texas: 1 party consent (1 person on call has to consent to record) -Illegal to record if not a party

Fair labor standards act of 1938 standards (FLSA)

-The minimum age an employee can be -The minimum wages an employee can earn -The rate at which an employee is paid if he or she works more than a certain number of hours in a given week

Surveillance

-Video surveillance is okay expect in private spaces -No audio -No notice or consent required

Negligent misrepresentation-Occasionally, employers attempt to reduce their risk of liability in providing references by:

-Withholding negative reference information -Simply not responding to a reference request

Privacy issues

-drug, medical, and genetic testing -polygraphs -workplace and personal possession searches -monitoring phone calls, computers, and emails -video surveillance and audio recording

Monitoring phones, computers

-notice of monitoring means no expectation of privacy -employer email -facebook -personal email

Invasion of privacy: An employer can safely disclose information about a current or former employee in the following areas

-the employee's prior employment and educational history -the employee's character *as such relates to the job* (teamwork, leadership, etc) -the employee's performance capabilities -the employer's willingness to rehire the employee

Categories of employees excluded from coverage of FLSA

1. Executives 2. Professional employees 3. Outside sales associates

Do you think you have a case?

1. Intrusion into private affairs 2. Unreasonable publicity of private life or facts

A negative reference can give rise to 3 kinds of lawsuits brought by current or former employees (or prospective employers)

1. Invasion of privacy 2. Defamation 3. Negligent misrepresentation (brought by employer)

In order for employees to be eligible to receive unemployment compensation, they must have:

1. Lost their job through no fault of their own 2. They must meet the minimum state requirements for wages or time worked during an established period of time

Ti be eligible for FMLA an employee must have worked at least _____ hours in the previous year

1250

The overtime pay rate for employees who work more than ___ hours in a workweek is ____ times regular wages

40 1.5

The FMLA applies to all employers who employ _____ or more employees

50

Minimum wage

7.25

Defamation

A current or former employee may sue his or her employer for defamation if the employer provides information to a third party that is untrue, irrespective of whether or not it relates to the employee's job performance *many states enacted laws to shield employers from the risk of liability for defamation if previous employer has good faith belief that the statements from reference are true*

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

A federal agency responsible for administering laws relating to labor unions Interpret and enforce National Labor Relations Act

Boycott

A group's refusal to have commercial dealings with some organization in protest against its policies

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

A law created the agency to administer its many provisions

Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA)

A state system that provides unemployment compensation to those who are qualified and lose their job

Worker's Compensation

A type of insurance that provides that employees may recover damages for work related injuries and illnesses without having to prove negligence on the part of the employer *Fault does NOT matter*

Exclusive remedy

An employee who sustains a work-related injury or illness can recover damages only through workers' compensation and MAY NOT FILE A LAWSUIT against his or her employer

Wrongful discharge

An employer's termination of an employee's employment in violation of the law or an employment contract

Invasion of privacy

Disclosing personal, irrelevant information about a former employee, irrespective of whether the information is true or false

Employee references

Employers are asked to provide references for employees who are currently working for them or who have worked for them in the past *Employees need to be extremely careful as to how they respond to these requests*

Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959

Governs the internal operations of labor unions

Negligent Misrepresentation

If a prospective employer hires an employee based on an incomplete reference, and then suffers damages that may have been avoided had the previous employer provided an accurate reference, the prospective employer may sue the previous employer

Covenant clauses

If you leave the job, you can't work in a 50 mile radius for 2 years

Early exemptions to the doctrine disallowed an employee from being terminated for

Jury duty Being called to active duty in the military Whistleblowing

Doctrine of employee at will

Just as an employee may choose to terminate his or her employment at any time he or she wishes, so too an employer may terminate an employee's employment at any time for a good reason, a bad reason, or no reason at all

Employee handbooks

Manuals that contain the many policies of the firm (some states consider it a contract and other say it's not)

Since workers' compensation is almost mandatory and provides employees with..

Nearly automatic recovery, it is considered to be the exclusive remedy

FUTA Do you pay into this like a retirement account?

No

Strike

Nonviolent refusal to continue to work until a problem is resolved

Picket

Parade in front of the employer's business carrying signs about the dispute

Unemployment insurance

Provides financial stability, in the form of unemployment compensation, to eligible employees who lose their job

Taft-Hartley Act of 1947

Restricted activities from Wagner act Passed to curtail some of the powers the unions had acquired under the wagner act

Labor Unions

Rights under the law that pertain to employees, unions, and employers

Dual program

State and federal statutes create a system whereby employers are required to pay federal and state unemployment insurance taxes

Drug testing

Texas is not a state that limits employers right to give you a drug test Know your employers antidrug policy if they have one They must get consent, but they can fire an employee for not consenting

Privacy

The ECPA of 1986 does offer protection, but the purpose was not for protection from your employer at work on a work computer Telephone calls might be different

Arbitration clauses

The US supreme court has rules that arbitration clauses in employment contracts are enforceable provided the employee: -has signed agreement -has a reasonable time to file a claim -has access to the same remedies that a court could provide -has access to an arbitrator with expertise in employment law -has the right to be represented by an attorney -does not have to pay for the cost of arbitration

Worker Safety and Health

There are numerous federal and state laws that serve to protect employees from accidents and sicknesses that are job-related State and Federal Level

Occupational Safety and Health Act

This law was passed to promote safety and health in the workplace

Labor unions have played a vital role in both _______ and its ________

Us economy Politics

State level

Workers' compensation statutes, which pertain to how a worker may recover damages for work-related injuries and illnesses

Electronics

You DO NOT have a reasonable expectation of privacy when using your employer's email system, even during nonworking hours They do not have to warn you or tell you they are monitoring you

FUTA Who pays for this benefit?

Your employer through taxes

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

a federal statute that provides eligible employees with the right to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave

Such defamation is consider Slander Libel

if spoken if written

Employment contract

specifies that the employer agrees to pay, and the employee agrees to work, for a specified period of time at a specified salary