Chapter 19
The Chapter states that employers’ and employees’ relationship has evolved from the paternal nature to contractual life. This is due to the complex nature of business and the industrial revolution. The Chapter thus explores the wages and work hours for employees, restrictions on children’s work, and the consequences that arise when the employee is injured in the workplace. The Chapter also discuss ways through which unions are formed and the benefits of the social security system. The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes the minimum wage for workers as well as the child labor regulations. The Act requires that all employees must be paid the minimum, which is developed by Congress. An example is that Seattle had established the minimum wage of $ 15 per working hour.FLSA regulations keep children in school for quite some time and restrict the types of jobs that the group can undertake depending on the age bracket.
The social security system came about after the concerns of those workers who retire due to age, disability, and unemployment. The Social Security Act of 1935 brought about reforms regarding pensions and retirement. The idea was that those who were at work shoulder the burden of those not working. Therefore all employees contribute to the social security programs to cater for their pensions when they retire. The benefits of the social security system are to provide Disability, retirement benefits, as well as death benefits to spouses and children. Workers’ compensation systems were created to address the issue of employees’ injuries in a workplace that result suddenly or even develop after some time. The Norris-LaGuardia Act, the Wagner Act, and the Labor –Management Relations Act is among the provisions that protect the employees through the Labor Unions.
Chapter 20
The Chapter discusses laws governing employment discrimination, the types of discrimination as well as the penalties imposed for the violations. The Chapter also outlines on the defenses to discriminations whenever they arise. The protection against employee’s discrimination is statutory oriented. The Civil Rights Acts, Age Discrimination in the Employment Act, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act are among the employment statutes. Others includes; The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, American s with Disability Act as well as the Rehabilitation Act. The Civil Rights Act usually prohibits the intentional discrimination that bases on the color, race, national origin and ethnicity and it permits lawsuits. The Act on the pregnancy bans discrimination based on pregnancy and childbirth. In contrast, that of age prohibits discrimination resulting from age against the employee above forty years and forced retirement restrictions. Therefore sex, religion, age, pregnancy, and racial discrimination are the various type of discrimination outlined in this Chapter.
There are various defenses that employees use against the charges on the discrimination, which includes the Bona Fide Occupational Qualification.BFOQ is a type of job qualification that is usually based on the sensational origin and religion for the operation of the business. Other defenses include; misconduct, aptitude, and other tests, as well as the seniority and merit systems. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has been given the mandate to enforce the Civil Rights Acts, including investigation and charging the parties in question. Therefore injunctions, attorneys’ fees, punitive damages, and back pay are among the remedies to the violation of the Civil Rights Acts.