CH 10 - Workplace Legalities

3 main reasons out-of-work employees are denied unemployment compensation:

(1) They quit their jobs without cause (2) They were fired for misconduct (3) They are unemployed because of a labor dispute -Independent contractors and self-employed individuals usually do not qualify for unemployment compensation.

Under OSHA standards, employers must:

Provide a hazard-free workplace and comply with all applicable OSHA standards Inform all employees about OSHA safety and health requirements, keep certain records, and compile and post an annual summary of work-related injuries and illnesses. It is the employer's responsibility to ensure that employees wear safety equipment when necessary, to provide safety training, and to discipline employees for violation of safety rules. The law prohibits employers from retaliating in any way against employees who file complaints under the act.

Exit Routes Standard

Requires that safe and accessible building exits must be provided in case of fire or emergency. Basic responsibilities include providing enough exit routes for the number of employees in a space and posting a diagram of evacuation routes in visible locations.

Priority of workplace inspections. 2

Second priority goes to the investigation of fatalities and accidents resulting in a death or hospitalization of three or more employees. The employer must report such catastrophes to OSHA *within 8 hours*. OSHA investigates to determine the cause of these accidents and whether existing OSHA standards were violated.

FICA

Social security taxes

Right-to-know laws

State laws that allow employees access to information about toxic or hazardous substances, employer duties, employee rights, and other workplace health and safety issues.

Federal Register / the website osha.gov

A US publication that contains all administrative laws, and is the primary source of information for OSHA standards

Wrongful Discharge

A concept established by precedent that says an employer risks litigation if he/she does not have just cause for firing an employee.

Workers' Compensation

A form of insurance established by federal and state statutes that provides reimbursement for workers who are injured on the job.

Surety bond

A type of insurance that allows employers, if covered, to collect up to the specified amount of the bond if an employee embezzles or otherwise absconds with business funds.

Illegal reasons for discrimination:

Belonging to a particular race or religion, male/female, particular age or disability; Joining a union or engaging in political activity; Preventing the collection of retirement benefits; Reporting company safety violations; Exercising the right to free speech; Refusing to take drug or lie detector tests (w/ some exceptions)

Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA)

Employers contribute to a fund that is paid out to eligible unemployed workers. Each state also provides unemployment insurance and credit is given employers against the FUTA tax for amounts paid to the state unemployment fund.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Established by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, the organization that is charged with writing and enforcing compulsory standards for health and safety in the workplace. Cover four areas of employment: *general industry, maritime, construction, and agriculture*, and include regulations for the physical workplace, machinery and equipment, materials, power sources, processing, protective clothing, first aid, and workplace administration.

Employment-at-will is affected by

Federal and state statues, executive orders, case law, contracts between worker & employer, collective bargaining agreements between companies and unions, and civil service rules for government workers.

Priority of workplace inspections. 4

Fourth in priority are programmed inspections aimed at specific high-hazard industries, workplaces, occupations, or health substances, or other industries identified in OSHA's current inspection procedures. OSHA selects industries for inspection on the basis of factors such as the injury incidence rates, previous citation history, employee exposure to toxic substances, or random selection.

1935 Social Security Act

Funded by the Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA), the act now encompasses "old age" and survivors insurance (OASI), public disability insurance, unemployment insurance (through the Federal Unemployment Tax Act), and the hospital insurance program (Medicare).

OSHA standards cover these four areas of employment

General industry, maritime, construction, agriculture

Priority of workplace inspections. 1

Imminent danger situations receive top priority. An imminent danger is any condition where there is reasonable certainty that a danger exists that can be expected to cause death or serious physical harm immediately or before the danger can be eliminated through normal enforcement procedures. If an OSHA inspector finds an imminent danger situation, they will ask the employer to voluntarily remedy the situation so that employees are no longer exposed to the dangerous situation. If the employer fails to do this, an OSHA compliance officer may apply to the federal district court for an injunction to stop work until unsafe conditions are corrected.

Priority of workplace inspections. 5

Last on the list of priorities for OSHA inspections are follow-up inspections. A follow-up inspection determines if the employer has corrected previously cited violations. if an employer has failed to abate a violation, the OSHA compliance officer informs the employer that they are subject to "Failure to Abate" alleged violations. This involves proposed additional daily penalties until the employer corrects the violation (usually fines).

United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS)

Led to a 2012 revision of the Hazard Communication Standard, in order to transform "right to know" to "right to understand," in line with GHS. Example: To alleviate confusion over "toxicity" as opposed to "toxic," the following phrases are used: -Fatal if swallowed -Toxic if swallowed -Harmful if swallowed -May be harmful if swallowed

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Makes sexual discrimination illegal, and sexual harassment is considered a form of sexual discrimination, which applies to businesses with 15 or more employees working at least 20 weeks of the year. -Prohibits hire/fire on basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. -Some states also prohibit discrimination on marital status, parenthood, mental health, mental retardation, sexual orientation, personal appearance, or political affiliation.

Electrical Standards

OSHA standard that applies to electrical equipment and wiring in hazardous locations. Special wiring and equipment installation may be required if the facility uses flammable gases.

Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970

OSHA. This act ensures the safety of workers and prohibits firing an employee for reporting workplace safety hazards or violations.

Discrimination

Prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action, or treatment. Either in hiring, firing, work assignments, or other aspects of employment because of personal traits or practices.

Affirmative action

Programs that use goals and quotas to provide preferential treatment for minority persons determined to have been underutilized in the past. -Title VII prevents federal judges from using these just to correct an imbalance between the percentage of minority persons working for a specific employer and the percentage of qualified minority members in the workplace. Federal judges can order affirmative action plans only when they decide an employer has intentionally discriminated against a minority group.

1938 Fair Labor Standards Act

Prohibits child labor and the firing of employees for exercising their rights under the act's wage and hour standards. Provides for overtime pay and a minimum wage. New FairPay regulations under the act went into effect on August 23, 2004. The new rules guarantee overtime protection to workers earning less than $23,660 annually, and continue exemptions of the overtime rule for certain "learned professional employees." Some nurses may receive overtime pay, depending on how they are paid - hourly or by salary - and licensed practical nurses "and other similar health care employees" and guaranteed overtime pay under the FairPay regulations.

Quid pro quo

"Something or something" Sexual harassment.

General Duty Clause

A section of the Hazard Communication Standard stating that any equipment that may pose a health risk must be specified as a hazard.

Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act

An act passed by Congress in 2000 requiring employers to maintain a sharps injury log and to involve non-managerial employees in selecting safer medical devices.

Equal Pay Act of 1963

As an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act, this act requires equal pay for men and women doing equal work.

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Enforces Title VII provisions, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Equal Pay Act,and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act. Field offices handle charges or complaints of employment discrimination.

During a job interview, applicants may refuse to answer an illegal question:

However, this could cost them the job. The question, "May I ask how this relates to the position?" is generally more acceptable than a blunt, "That question is illegal, and I don't have to answer it." Furthermore, the mere asking of an improper pre-employment interview question does not in itself give an applicant grounds for a legal challenge if he/she is not hired.

Public Policy

The common law concept of wrongful discharge when an employee has acted for the "common good"

Medical Waste Tracking Act

The federal law that authorizes OSHA to inspect hazardous medical wastes and to cite offices for unsafe or unhealthy practices regarding these wastes.

Priority of workplace inspections. 3

Third priority goes to formal employee complaints of unsafe or unhealthful working conditions and to referrals from any source about a workplace hazard. The act gives each employee the right to request an OSHA inspection when the employee believes they are in imminent danger from a hazard or when they think that there is a violation of an OSHA standard that threatens physical harm. OSHA will maintain confidentiality if requested, and will inform the employee of any action taken.

Titles I and V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

This act applies to all employers with 15 or more employees working at least 20 weeks during the year. Titles I and III of the act ban discrimination against person with *disabilities in the workplace*, mandate *equal access for workers who are disabled to certain public facilities*, and require all commercial firms to make existing facilities and grounds *more accessible to persons with disabilities*.

Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967

This act applies to businesses with 20 or more employees working at least 20 weeks of the year. It prohibits discrimination in hire/fire based on age, for persons aged *40 or older*.

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1991

This act applies to employers with 50 or more employees. It mandates allowing employees to take unpaid leave time for maternity, for adoption, or for caring for ill family members.

Rehabilitation Act of 1973

This act applies to employers with federal contracts of $2,500 or more. It prohibits discrimination in employment practices based on *physical disabilities or mental health*. It also requires federal contractors to implement *affirmative action plans* in hiring and promoting *employees with disabilities*.

Wagner Act of 1935

This act makes it illegal to discriminate in hiring or firing because of union membership or organizational activities.

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA)

This act prohibits discrimination in *health insurance* and employment based on *genetic information*.

Civil Rights Act of 1991

This act provided two new important benefits for employees who prove discrimination: (1) Employees may collect punitive damages; (2) Employees may collect damages for emotional distress associated with incidents of discrimination.

Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974

This act regulates private pension funds and employer benefit programs. As part of its provisions, employers cannot prevent employees from collecting *retirement benefits from plans covered by the act*.

1976 Pregnancy Discrimination Act

This is an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act that makes it illegal to fire an employee based on *pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions*.

Federal Workers Compensation laws cover the following employees:

Workers in Washington D.C. Coal miners Maritime workers Federal employees

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009

This law revised sections of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The revisions were concerned primarily with *statutes of limitation trigger dates*, extending the class of plaintiffs to any individual who is "affected by" unlawful discrimination, and recovery of back pay.

Guidelines that can help employees who are responsible for conducting preemployment interviews:

- Make a list of questions that relate specifically to the job description of the position to be filled, and stick to them. - Do not rush the interview, nor let it drag on beyond reasonable time limits. - General questions that may prove helpful include these: What are your qualifications for this position? Why are you leaving your present position? Why do you want this job? What salary do you expect? When can you begin work? What are your professional strengths? What are your professional goals? - Remain objective and listen well. - End the interview on a positive note. Indicate when a decision will be made, and follow through on your promise to inform the applicant of your decision, one way or the other.

Inquiries cannot be made in an interview concerning an applicant's:

- Race or color - Religion or creed - Gender - Family - Marital status - Method of birth control - Age, birth date, or birth place - Disability - Arrest record (with some exceptions in many states) - Residency duration - National origin - General military experience or discharge - Membership in organizations

A claimant of unemployment benefits needs:

-A Social Security card -W-2 statements for the past 1-2 years -Other wage records for the past 18 months -Employers' names and addresses for the past 18-month employment period -A statement of the reasons for leaving the job -The employer's unemployment insurance account number, if available

Five types of state compensation benefits:

-Medical treatment, including hospital, medical and surgical services, medications, and prosthetic devices; -Temporary disability indemnity, in the form of weekly cash payments made directly to the injured or ill employee; -Permanent disability indemnity, which can be lump sum award or a weekly or monthly cash payment; -Death benefits for survivors, which consist of cash payments to dependents of employees killed on the job; -Rehabilitation benefits, which are paid for medical or vocational rehabilitation

Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA) of 1988

Also called the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, replaced the 1967 laboratory testing legislation that established standards for Medicare and Medicaid. The act established minimum quality standards for all laboratory testing and has been extensively amended since it was first written. -Defines a laboratory as any facility that performs laboratory testing on specimens derived from humans for diagnosing, preventing, or treating disease or for assessing health. -Requires that laboratories obtain certification, pay applicable fees, and follow regulations concerning testing, personnel, inspections, test management, quality control, and quality assurance.

Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogen Standard

An OSHA regulation passed in 1991 designed to protect workers in health care and related occupations from the risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Requires posting of safety guidelines, exposure incident reporting, and formulation of a written exposure control plan that outlines the protective measures an employer will take to eliminate or minimize employee exposure to blood and other body fluids. The plan must be available to OSHA inspectors and to employees.

The Hazard Communication Standard (HCS)

An OSHA standard that is intended to increase health care practitioners' awareness of risk, improve work practices and appropriate use of personal protective equipment, and reduce injuries and illnesses in the workplace.

Employers may be found liable if:

An employee committed the sexual offense. Example: If the offending employee is a supervisor, the employer is usually automatically held liable. If a non-supervisory employee sexually harasses another worker, the employer is only held liable if he/she knew or should have known about the offense and did nothing to stop it.

Just Cause

An employer's legal reason for firing an employee. Evidence: Promises made to the employee orally, written contract, or in a company handbook

Ionizing Radiation Standard

Applies to all medical and dental offices that have X-ray machines. Requirements under this standard include: -Preparing a survey of all types of radiation used, including x-rays; -Setting aside restricted areas where employees can limit exposures; -Providing personal radiation monitors such as film badges or pocket dosimeters for employees to wear; Using caution signs labeling those rooms and equipment where exposure could occur.

Under OSHA standards, employees must:

Comply with all applicable OSHA standards, report hazardous conditions, follow all safety and health rules established by the employer, and use protective equipment when necessary.

Employment-at-will

Concept of employment whereby either the employer or the employee can end the employment at any time, for any reason.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) 1980

Defined sexual harassment as follows: (1) Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment; (2) Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as a basis for employment decisions affecting such individual; (3) Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.

CDC's Guidelines for Universal Precautions for Hospitals

Do not contaminate the outside of containers when collecting specimens. All specimen containers should have secure lids. Wear gloves when processing patients' specimens, including blood, body fluids containing blood, and other fluids. Masks and goggles should be worn if splashing or aerosolization may occur. Change gloves and wash hands after handling each specimen. Use biological safety cabinets for blending and vigorous mixing whenever there is a potential for droplets. Do not pipette fluids by mouth. Use mechanical pipetting devices. Use extreme caution when handling needles. Do not bend, recap, or remove needles from disposable syringes. Place entire needle assembly in a clearly marked puncture-resistant, leak-proof container. Decontaminate work surfaces with a chemical germicide after spills and daily when work is completed. Clearly and permanently label tissue or serum specimens to be stored as potentially hazardous. Never eat, drink, smoke, or apply cosmetics or lip balm in the laboratory. Remove protective clothing and wash hands before leaving the laboratory.

Chemical Hygiene Plan

The Standard for Occupational Exposures to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories, which clarifies the proper handling of hazardous chemicals in medical laboratories.

U.S. secretary of labor

Under this authority, OSHA inspectors may conduct workplace inspections unannounced; issue citations to employers for violations of the act; and in some cases, levy fines.

GHS pictograms

Used as universal labels, and two single words - Danger! and Warning! - plus specific hazard and cautionary statements denote different levels of risk. (Danger! is the most severe) http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/ext/resources/images/dec2013/ghs-quiz-answers.jpg