HR Basics: Employment Law

Main ideas and lessons (Employment Law - HR Basics)

Employment Law is a set of laws and regulations that guide how organizations manage people fairly and legally.

Where employment regulations come from

These regulations come from:

• Laws passed by Congress, state legislatures, and local governments
• Executive orders from the President that affect federal government operations and federal contractors

Why employment law matters

The purpose of employment regulations is largely to ensure fair treatment in the workplace and to influence organizational performance by shaping how managers handle employment.

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The 4 main categories of employment law

1. Equal Employment (Fair treatment / anti-discrimination)
2. Total Rewards (Compensation and benefits)
3. Employee Safety and Health
4. Labor Relations (unions and collective bargaining)

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Detailed concepts within each category

1) Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws

Goal

• Eliminate employment discrimination and ensure individuals have equal opportunity at work.

Key oversight agencies

• EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)
  • Develops guidelines and oversees compliance with most anti-discrimination laws.
• OFCCP (Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs)
  • Oversees compliance related to executive orders and matters involving federal contractors/federal government work.

Title VII (Civil Rights Act)

• Prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, and religion.
• Applies throughout employment: hiring, firing, and everything in between.
• These traits are protected characteristics (also called protected classes).

Types of discriminatory practices (four categories)

• Disparate treatment
  • Treating someone differently because of their protected class.
• Disparate impact
  • A more subtle (often unintentional) form of discrimination, also called adverse impact.
• Harassment
  • Unwanted/unwelcomed treatment based on a protected class.
• Retaliation
  • Prohibits employers from punishing employees for complaining about harassment or discrimination.

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2) Total Rewards (compensation and benefits)

Background

• Over time, employee pay and benefits have been regulated by federal, state, and local governments.

Major compensation-related legislation (timeline mentioned)

• 1931: Davis-Bacon Act
• 1936: Walsh-Hartley Act
• 1938: Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
• 1963: Equal Pay Act
• 2009: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

• Administered by: Wage and Hour Division (U.S. Department of Labor)
• Establishes standards for:
  • Minimum wage
  • Overtime pay
  • Recordkeeping
  • Child labor
• Covers over 130 million workers (full-time and part-time; private and public sectors).

Equal Pay laws

• Employers may not discriminate on the basis of sex by paying wages lower than those paid to the opposite sex for comparable work.
• Still, a gender pay gap exists:
  • Women earn on average 77 cents per dollar earned by men.

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3) Employee Safety and Health

Purpose

• Federal and state rules are designed to keep employees safe from harm.

Key elements

• Applies to nearly all employers
• Aims to reduce risk of:
  • accidents
  • illnesses
• Government agents can:
  • investigate violations
  • issue citations
• Consequences for violations:
  • monetary fines
  • and in some cases imprisonment and other criminal penalties

OSHA

• OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is the federal agency responsible for:
  • ensuring employers follow occupational safety and health regulations
  • maintaining workplace safety

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4) Labor Relations (unions and collective bargaining)

Purpose

• Regulates relationships with employees organized through labor unions.
• Includes:
  • creation of union arrangements
  • negotiation and administration of collective bargaining agreements

Core U.S. labor law acts (three acts)

1. Wagner Act
2. Taft-Hartley Act
3. Landrum-Griffin Act

Alternative names

• National Labor Relations Act
• Labor Management Relations Act
• Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act

Collective framing

• These three acts are jointly referred to as the National Labor Code.
• Each act focuses on a different aspect of the relationship between unions and management.

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Closing lesson / why it matters

• Understanding employment law is critical for both employers and employees.
• The four categories (Equal Employment, Total Rewards, Employee Safety and Health, Labor Relations) provide a framework:
  • Employees should know rights to avoid unfair treatment.
  • Employers should understand employment law to avoid legal action due to ignorance or lack of knowledge.

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Speakers / sources featured

• No specific person is speaking by name in the subtitles, but the narration references:
  • Gregg Learning (as the source for additional related videos)

Cited organizations/agencies and laws

• Congress / state legislatures / local governing bodies
• President of the United States (executive orders)
• EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)
• OFCCP (Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs)
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
• FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act)
• Wage and Hour Division (U.S. Department of Labor)
• Davis-Bacon Act
• Walsh-Hartley Act
• Equal Pay Act
• Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
• OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
• Workers’ Compensation laws (state-administered system)
• Wagner Act
• Taft-Hartley Act
• Landrum-Griffin Act
• National Labor Relations Act
• Labor Management Relations Act
• Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act