These rights are based on federal laws on discrimination in the workplace. Other federal, state, or local laws may also apply to your business. Federal, state, and local government websites may contain additional information about these laws. (a) %quot%private sector employer%quot% means remuneration paid for work performed by a worker before deduction in the form of basic wages, piecework, shift bonuses, bonuses and overtime, but excluding benefits, guarantees, redundancy payments, paid holidays, benefits in kind, additional payments, allowances, retroactive payments, reimbursement of personnel costs or remuneration for out-of-hours work other than overtime; Bottom Line: Violating a federal labor law can result in costly penalties and costly lawsuits that damage your company`s reputation. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) This Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, colour, religion, national origin or sex. The Act also prohibits retaliation against a person for complaining of discrimination, instituting a lawsuit for discrimination, or participating in an investigation or prosecution of discrimination in the workplace. The law also requires employers to give due consideration to the sincere religious practices of applicants and employees, unless doing so would cause undue hardship to the operation of the employer`s business. The Law on the Protection of Migrant and Seasonal Workers regulates the recruitment and employment activities of agricultural employers, agricultural entrepreneurs and associations that employ migrant and seasonal workers in agriculture. The law imposes wage protection, housing and transportation safety standards, registration requirements for agricultural workers, and disclosure requirements. The Department of Wages and Hours of Work administers this law. Yes, NLRA protects workers` right to legally strike and participate in picket lines. The purpose, timing and conduct during the strike and picket are taken into account when assessing the legality of employee conduct. Strikes and pickets must address an economic or unfair problem of labour practices to be deemed legal.
Key Finding: The Ministry of Labour`s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has several labour laws on its books to specifically protect veterans and persons with disabilities. Once collective agreements are signed, they are legally enforceable, often through arbitration and possibly in federal court. [274] Federal law must be applied to ensure national uniformity, so state courts must apply federal law when asked to deal with collective agreements, or the dispute may be referred to federal court. [275] Generally, collective agreements contain provisions for the referral of employee complaints or disputes to a binding arbitral tribunal governed by the Federal Arbitration Act of 1925. [276] For example, in United Steelworkers v. Warrior & Gulf Navigation Co., a group of workers at a steel transportation plant in Chickasaw, Alabama, asked the company to seek arbitration for the layoffs and outsourcing of 19 lower-paid employees to perform the same tasks. The USW had a collective agreement that included an arbitration clause. Douglas J. found that any doubt as to whether the agreement would allow the matter to be referred to arbitration « should be resolved in favour of the report. » [277] The arbitration award is entitled to judicial enforcement provided it results from the collective agreement. [278] Courts may refuse to enforce an agreement based on public policy, but this differs from « general considerations of perceived public interest. » [279] But while federal policy had encouraged arbitration in which unions and employers had reached agreements, the U.S. Supreme Court drew a clear distinction between arbitration and individual legal rights.
In Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co., an employee alleged that he was wrongfully dismissed and suffered unlawful racial discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Supreme Court ruled that it had the right to appeal both through arbitration and through public courts, which could reassess the claim independently of the arbitrator`s decision. [280] But then, in 2009, in 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett Thomas J, he and four other judges proclaimed that apparently « nothing in the law suggests a distinction between the status of arbitration agreements signed by an employee and those agreed to by a union representative. » [281] This means that a group of workers have been denied the right to apply to a public tribunal under the Employment Age Discrimination Act 1967 and can only be heard by arbitrators chosen by their employer. Justices Stevens and Suuter, as well as Justices Ginsburg, Breyer disagreed, pointing out that rights cannot be revoked by collective bargaining. [282] Fairness in Arbitration Act, 2011 was proposed to reverse this trend and emphasize that « employees have little or no meaningful choice in submitting their claims to arbitration. » [283] It remains unclear why NLRA 1935 § 1, which recognizes the « inequality of bargaining power » of workers, has not been found to be relevant in ensuring that collective bargaining can only improve rights rather than suppress them. To address other perceived shortcomings in the interpretations of the NLRA of 1935 and the U.S. Supreme Court, major reform proposals included the Labor Reform Act of 1977,[284] the Workplace Democracy Act of 1999, and the Employee Free Choice Act of 2009. [285] All objectives are focused on speeding up the electoral process for union recognition, speeding up unfair labour practices hearings, and improving corrective measures within the existing industrial relations structure.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets the federal minimum wage and overtime pay at one and a half times the regular wage rate. It also regulates child labour and limits the number of hours underage labour. For example, if you have harmful chemicals in your workplace, you must provide employees with safety data sheets on the substances. In addition, you should post posters on employment law or wording that inform workers on how to properly report workplace safety issues. Workers should also have access to information that they have the right to receive inspection and, if necessary, training from OSHA. While there is a federal minimum wage, it has been limited in (1) the amount of coverage, (2) the time that counts towards calculating the hourly minimum wage, and (3) the amount employers can take tips from their employees or deduct for expenses. First, five U.S. Supreme Court justices in Alden v. Maine ruled that the federal minimum wage for employees cannot be enforced by state governments unless the state has agreed because it would violate the Eleventh Amendment. [115] Suuter J.A., supported by three dissenting judges,[116] concluded that such « sovereign immunity » did not exist in the Eleventh Amendment.
[117] However, twenty-eight states had minimum wage laws in 2016 that were higher than the federal level. Since the U.S. Constitution, Section I, Section 8, Term 3 only allows the federal government to « regulate commerce. » Among the various states, employees of a « business » under $500,000 that produces goods or services that are not offered for sale are not included: they must rely on state minimum wage laws. [118] FLSA 1938 § 203(s) expressly exempts establishments whose only employees are close family members. [119] According to section 213, minimum wage cannot be paid to 18 classes of workers and overtime pay to 30 classes of workers. [120] Section 213(a)(1) states that includes employees performing « an executive, administrative or professional function in good faith. » In Auer v Robbins, police sergeants and lieutenants of the St. Louis Police Department, Missouri argued that they should not be classified as executives or professional employees and should be paid for overtime. [121] Justice Scalia found that the St. Louis police commissioners had the right to release her. This encouraged employers to try to define employees as « older » and let them work more hours while avoiding overtime pay. [122] Another exception in section 213(a)(15) applies to persons who are « employed in domestic service to provide companionship services. » .