Business and Society BULW 1370 Chapter 15

major rights of employees

1.) To organize and bargain collectively 2.) To a safe and healthy workplace 3.) To due process on the job 4.) To fair and decent wages 5.) To privacy 6.) To blow the whistle and free speech

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

A company-sponsored program that helps employees cope with personal problems that are interfering with their job performance.

labor unions

An organization formed by workers to strive for better wages and working conditions

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Federal law requiring organizations with 50 or more employees to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave after childbirth or adoption; to care for a seriously ill family member or for an employee's own serious illness; or to take care of urgent needs that arise when a spouse, child, or parent in the National Guard or Reserve is called to active duty

Employment Polygraph Protection Act of 1988

Federal law that prohibits the use or suggestion of lie detector tests in most employment situations

Equal Pay Act of 1963

Requires that men and women be paid the same amount for doing the same job

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

The U.S. federal government agency empowered to set and enforce worker safety and healthy

Liberty of Contract

The freedom of employers and workers to negotiate the employment contract, including wages, hours, duties, and conditions, without government interference.

minimum wage

The legal minimum hourly wage for large employers.

drug testing

The testing of employees, by the employer, for the presence of illegal drugs, sometimes by means of a urine sample, saliva, or hair follicle analyzed by a clinical laboratory.

The Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988

a federal law which required federal contractors to establish and maintain a workplace free of drugs. Note that federal law does not require or prohibit drug tests.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

a government agency with the power to investigate complaints of employment discrimination and the power to sue firms that practice it

employment-at-will

a legal doctrine that allows an employee to quit at any time for any reason, or no reason, and that allows an employer to terminate employment for any reason or no reason

living wage

a wage that enables workers to support a decent life for themselves and their families

ergonomics

adapting the job to the worker, rather than forcing the worker to adapt to the job

social contract

an implied understanding between an organization and its stakeholders

Wagner Act or National Labor Relations Act (1935)

guarantees workers union organizing and collective bargaining rights.

Lean and Mean Management

refers to a slimmed down workforce and colder relationship where loyalty is neither expected or given by either the employer or the employee.

employee privacy

the right to privacy on and off the job

electronic monitoring

the use by employers of electronic technologies to gather, store, and monitor information about employees' activities

whistle-blowing

when an employee believes his/her employer has done something that is wrong or harmful to the public, and he/she reports the alleged misconduct to the media, government, or high-level company officials

Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

which established a minimum wage, overtime pay eligibility, recordkeeping, and child labor standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in both the private and public sectors.