Chapter 21 Law for Business and Personal Use

Describe the duties of an employer.

(1) The duty to treat employees in a reasonable manner. (2) An employer must provide his or her employees with a safe working environment, including safe tools, equipment, machinery, and the building itself. (3) All employers under the jurisdiction of the Fair Labor Standards Act must not demand more than 40 hours of regular rate pay per week. If more than 40 hours are worked in one week, overtime must be paid at a rate of one and a half times the employee's regular hourly rate.(4) Payroll deductions paid to the government by the employer to cover federal and state income tax obligations, social security, and insurance. (5) The Military Selective Service Act of 1950 requires employers to re-employ workers after an honorable discharge from military service. All persons who have been drafted, enlisted, or called to active duty from the reserves will receive this protection. (6) More than one-half of the states require that workers be given time off with pay at a time convenient to the employer to vote in regular, primary, and general elections.

employment

A contractual relationship in which one party engages another to work for pay under the supervision of the party paying.

employer

A party who engages another to work for pay.

employee

A party who works under the supervision of another for pay.

workers' compensation

A payment to an insurance fund that compensates employees for injuries on the job.

discharged for cause

An employee is terminated because he or she violated an employment obligation.

duty of loyalty and honesty

An employee's duty to look out for the employer's best interest.

duty of obedience

An employee's duty to obey the reasonable orders and rules of the employer.

duty of reasonable performance

An employee's duty to perform assigned duties at the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner.

duty of reasonable skill

An employee's duty to possess the skill, experience, or knowledge necessary to do the work accepted.

In general, when is the employer liable for injury caused by employees?

An employer is liable if an employee, acting within the scope of employment, commits a tort, whether the employer specifically authorized the act or not.

When does an employment contract exist?

An employment contract exists when the employer and the employee have an agreement in which the employer pays an employee to do work under the employer's supervision and control.

employment at will

An employment relationship whereby the employee may be discharged at any time because no agreement was made about length of employment; alternately, the employee may quit the job at any time without liability for breach of contract.

Explain the special duties owed to minors. What principles are these duties based on?

Both state and federal governments have special regulations protecting minors who work from working overextended hours and in dangerous working conditions. Although federal and state laws vary they are all based on the following principles: (1) A person's early years are best used to obtain an education. (2) Certain work is harmful or dangerous for young people. (3) Child labor at low wages takes jobs from adults. In addition some states have child labor laws that (1) set the maximum number of working hours in one day that a minor can work, (2) prohibit night work, (3) decide what grade a child must have completed in school prior to being able to work, (4) set the required age for certain hazardous occupations, and (4) restrict the hours of work to between 5 in the morning and 10 in the evening.

How are employment contracts made?

Employment contract terms are created in three ways: (1) express agreements in which terms are given orally or in writing or some combination; (2) the terms may be an implied agreement based on custom or trade practice; (3) state and federal laws may impose employment terms.

Explain how employment contracts are terminated.

Employment contracts may be terminated in three ways: (1) by performance or the completion of the job or the running of the period of employment defined in the contract. (2) by termination at will which occurs when neither the employer nor the employee have not specified a length of time for the employment relationship. (3) by material breech which occurs when the obligations of the employment contract are not fulfilled

payroll deductions

Money deducted from an employee's paycheck.

unemployment compensation

Money paid by government or private insurance funds to workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own

independent contractor

One who contracts to do something for another but is free of the latter's direction and control.

discharge without cause

The cause of an employee's termination was not the employee's conduct.

Explain the duties of an employee.

The duties of an employee towards his or her employer are: (1) a duty to fulfill the express terms of the employment contract and other implied agreements made with the employer; (2) a duty to obey the reasonable orders and rules of the employer whether or not the employee has expressly agreed to do so; (3) the duty to possess the skill, experience, or knowledge to do the work; (4) the duty to look out for the employer's best interest; (5) the duty to perform the job tasks assigned to him or her with competence

What are the four unlawful reasons for termination in which an employer commits a tort?

When an employer fires an employee for (1) refusal to commit perjury at the request of the company, (2) insisting on filing a worker's compensation claim, (3) reporting violations of the law by the company, or (4) urging the company to comply with the law, the employer is committing the tort of wrongful discharge

wrongful discharge

When an employer terminates an employee without cause.

What is unemployment compensation?

Workers who have been discharged without cause are entitled to unemployment compensation which is money paid by the government or a private insurance fund to workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. Unemployment compensation payments are made by the states in cooperation with the federal government under the Social Security Act of 1935. There is usually a period of one or two weeks after termination before payments begin. Then a percentage of the regular wage is paid to the unemployed person every week for a limited period of time. Unemployment compensation is not available to those who quit voluntarily, strike, or refuse to accept similar substitute work.