Labor Law: Which Laws Apply to your Company

Here's the awful truth.

There are a lot of labor laws and the majority of them apply to companies with 1 employee or more.

Then, as you gain more employees, more and more laws begin to apply to your company.

To see which types of laws that you have to deal with, you can review the post on this blog titled "Labor Laws by Company Size." These laws are grouped by the number of employees required for the law to apply. The individual law titles and acronyms are dizzying so they are not specifically listed. But be assured that the gang at helpdeskhr knows them all.

This post will, at the least, give you an idea of the areas of law with which you should be familiar so your company can comply or get help in complying.


Lance

Labor Law: Where We Are Today

So we've been to 1964 and now we're back in 2011. I know this because there isn't a pair of bell bottoms in sight.

During those 47 years the workplace has morphed from orgiastic Christmas parties (they were actually called that in 1964) to a landscape of sensitivities, appropriateness, offendedness and a dash of hand wringing, all set against a complicated backdrop of labor laws.

While I write with occasional humor and wit (I hope) I want to make it clear that I agree with the intent of 98% of these laws and state flatly that these laws have created a better overall workplace. I think the female Aaron Rentals employee deserved every cent of the $95,000,000.

That is the reality in 2013, so employers had better know the rules of the game because the penalties are serious.

Lance

Labor Law: Changes In the Workplace

It's 1964. Civil disobedience over Vietnam is rampant, muscle is replacing chrome on American cars and LSD dropping hippies are making the scene. Legislation intended to eliminate discrimination in the workplace is being debated in Congress. It landmarks another major government incursion into the private sector.

Note: You can research the National Labor Relations Act/NLRA and the Fair Labor Standards Act/FLSA of the late 1930's for precedent.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is passed into law. The American workplace will never be the same. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Affirmative Action quickly become household words.

American culture alters and evolves into the culture we have today.

Today's small businesses operate in a maze of Federal and State labor laws, often not knowing the maze is there. Then they get hit with a lawsuit or EEOC complaint (also FEPC in California) and they become familiar with the labor law maze very quickly and not very happily. I think there is an old saying about an ounce of prevention that applys here.

Lance

Historical Note: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made sweeping reforms to mitigate discrimination in society. It is actually Title VII that addressed discrimination in the workplace.

Labor Law: What is Labor Law Anyway?

Fair question. I refer to labor law constantly and I presume everyone knows what we're talking about.

Labor law is that body of Federal and State laws which specifically regulates employers' interactions with employees and, to a lesser extent, prospective employees.

Turns out that California has the most intricate matrix of labor laws in the U. S. Not being aware of this dizzying array of legislation is dangerous and, forgive me, not too smart. It can lead to an employer losing money and credibility.

Before we descend into the maelstrom of acronyms (NLRA, FLSA, COBRA...) here is my view of what caused the Big Bang of labor law in 1964.

Stated simply, employers managed employees abusively and the ultimate result was a tsunami of labor laws evolving to today's annual release of new labor laws and case law decisions that has employers trying to keep their heads above water.

Different times in the early 1900's, different culture. But by managing badly employers actually brought this all on themselves. Food for thought.

Lance

Discipline: Correcting Behavior

We have looked at the two extremes of employee behavior that require corrective action. Occasional attendance problems are relatively mild and theft, as an example, is the more extreme type of behavior that must be addressed.

But then there are all the behaviors in between. Rather than an exhausting list of human behaviors, let me  just say that the key is to match the disciplinary action to the severity of the offensive behavior. Basic good management judgment and common sense.

Here is a guideline:
mild behavior.........................verbal or written warning
more serious..........................written warning
critical...................................suspension without pay
major incident........................termination of employment

It is a good idea to get expert HR advice the first few times you deal with this.

The next important caution is to BE CONSISTENT. So you see that the first disciplinary action for a given offense sets the bar for similar, future disciplinary actions. Being inconsistent can lead to charges of discrimination which can be validated, in short, you will lose.

This is a serious subject and I urge you to approach each and every disciplinary action with an emotionless, non-judgmental logic. You will make a better decision guaranteed.

Lance