employment laws chart

Employment Laws Chart

Complete the chart below using information from the weekly readings and additional research if necessary.

Employment Law

Description and Requirement of Law
Court Case Influential to Establishment of Law

Importance of Law

Workplace Application

Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was put in place to avoid discrimination in hiring, compensation, conditions, and privileges of employment based on race, religion, color, sex, or nationality (DeCenzo & Robbins, 2007)
Katzenbach v. McClung and Heart of Atlanta v. United States
(Legal Information Institute, 2011)
Civil Rights Act of 1964 ensures that all applicants are afforded an equal opportunity of being hired and there is no discrimination with respect to one’s gender, religion, race, color, or origin. It also ensures that job candidates are selected and considered because of their skills and talent.
Under the law employers are required to post signs with the Title VII description in employee break-rooms. This helps ensure that companies are meeting the requirements and that they are hiring and promoting minorities which can protect them against discrimination law suits.

Equal Employment Opportunity Act

Guaranties employee’s fair treatment. Employers are not allowed to discriminate against employees on the basis of age, race, sex, creed, religion, color, or national origin. (DeCenzo & Robbins, 2007)
McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green (Legal Information Institute, 2011)
The importance of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act is to ensure that the Civil Rights Act requirements are being followed and gives power to the Employment Commission.
Companies ensure that they are meeting requirements and being mindful that they are hiring women, and people of different origins and races.

Equal Pay Act

Requires that men and women in the same workplace be given equal pay for equal work.
Schultz v. Wheaton Glass Co. 1970, (The Wage Gap, 2011)
The Equal Pay act is important because it ensures that everyone regardless of sex be paid the same wage for identical jobs.
In the workplace today women are getting paid for their knowledge and experience. Companies are using different aptitude tests to determine pay.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967

Enacted to protect employees ages 40 to 65 from discrimination. In 1986 amended to eliminate the upper age limit altogether (DeCenzo & Robbins, 2007)
Congress decided to pass the ADEA because of an oversight about the older working force, there was a case in 2008 Gomez v. Potter that allowed federal workers who experienced retaliation for filing a claim based on the law to sue the company for damages.
The importance of the ADEA is that it protects the older working force from discrimination. In today’s economy the retirement age is getting higher and there for there are more older people looking for work than before.
Wal-Mart is a great example of workplace application because they are known for hiring senior citizens to be door greeters.

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Prohibits discrimination against an essentially qualified individual, and requires enterprises to reasonably accommodate individuals.

Tennessee v. Lane in 2004
(u-s-history.com,n.d.)
The importance of this act is that it requires companies to make reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities so that he or she can perform their job.
Companies accommodate employees with disabilities by using elevators, brail, and TTD and speaking technology.

Civil Rights Act of 1991

The updated version of this act nullified select supreme Court decisions and reinstates burden of proof by employer and allows for punitive and compensatory damages through jury trials.
Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio (date)
Because some companies do not disclose everything that is in an employee’s file this makes it hard to prove a case of discrimination.
Unemployment works the same way.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993

Permits employees in organizations of 50 or more workers(each state is different) to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for circumstances outlined in the act.
There is no case that established the law. It was put in place to help working families balance work and family life.

Ragsdale v. Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (2002)
The importance of this act is that it makes it easier to balance family, work and other obligations without fearing losing their jobs.
If you have a child, adopt a child, or if you yourself become sick or have a sick parent, child, or spouse you may be eligible to take unpaid time off to be with them without the fear of losing your job.

Privacy Act of 1974

This act changes the imbalance of information. It only applies to federal government and requires that personnel files be open for inspection.
Was passed as a precautionary measure by the Senate and House of Representative (Epic, 2011)

Stanmore Cooper v. FAA (2010)
Makes sure that individuals have the right to look at their employee file to make sure that information is accurate.
An example of this would be that companies are required to send out privacy notices to their customers.

Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988

This act requires certain government related groups to make sure that their workplace is drug free.
Enacted by Congress as part of an anti-drug legislation in 1988

Emerald Steel Fabricators v. Bureau of Labor and Industries (2010)
The importance of this act is that it ensures the safety of all employees by ensuring that no one will be working while under the influence of drugs.
Drug testing as part of an application process and if an employee is hurt on the job most companies require a drug test when they go to the hospital.

Polygraph Protection Act of 1988

Prohibits employers to use polygraph tests in a job application process.
On June 27, 1988, Congress enacted the Employee Polygraph Protection Act 1 to regulate the use of lie detector devices in the workplace
Harmon v. CB Squared Services (2009)

The importance of this act is that it protects employees from being asked non-job related questions and keeps employers from violating privacy issues.
The type of polygraph testing does not apply to workplace applications because it is unreasonable for employers to ask applicants to take a polygraph as part of the application process.

Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) of 1988

Makes sure that employers give notification to employees about plant closings or lay-offs.
This became law without President Ronal Reagan’s signature through the use of veto-proof Democratic majority in Congress.

United Food Workers v. Brown Group, Inc (1996)
The importance of this law is to protect employees of a company in the wake of a shut-down or lay-off. It allows employees to find jobs to support their families. The law requires employers to give a 60 day notice.
Companies often give severance packages to employees based on the years of service with the company when they close to help ease the burden of losing their job.

References
DeCenzo, D. A., & Robbins, S. P. (2007). Fundamentals of human resource management (9th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. epic. (2011). Privacy Act of 1974. Retrieved from http://epic.org/privacy/1974act/
Legal Information Institue. (2011). Equal Opportunity Act. Retrieved from http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/equal_employment_opportunity_commission
The Wage Gap. (2011). Retrieved from http://http://www.infoplease.com/spot/equalpayact1.html

References: DeCenzo, D. A., & Robbins, S. P. (2007). Fundamentals of human resource management (9th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. epic. (2011). Privacy Act of 1974. Retrieved from http://epic.org/privacy/1974act/ Legal Information Institue. (2011). Equal Opportunity Act. Retrieved from http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/equal_employment_opportunity_commission The Wage Gap. (2011). Retrieved from http://http://www.infoplease.com/spot/equalpayact1.html