Human Resource Laws
The US labor laws have been strict on the operation of companies. Several companies have been finding themselves on the wrong side of the law for operating against the set Human Resource laws in a bid to have a higher advantage over competitors. T-Mobile is one of the companies that have regretted the decision to break labor laws concerning human resource. The reputation of T-Mobile has been on top owing to the exemplary performance against the stiff competition in the market. However, T-Mobile has been found to have broken the US labor laws against the employees, and the court has made its ruling. The court found T-Mobile to have restricted its employees from sharing basic workplace issues that included wages. Also, the company was found guilty of suppressing its employees’ right to join organizations as specified by the US labor laws. The ruling by the court exposed the deliberate move by T-Mobile Human Resource to break the labor law by suppressing the employees from the freedom to organize and join a collective bargaining organization across the country. As the new Human Resource manager, I have proposed a training program that will help T-Mobile to avoid future violations of the HR laws.
The HR law relates to Human Resources as a profession and the standards the HR departments should consider while passing labor regulations in the various organizations. The HR law is specific on matters to do with employee benefits, wages, privacy, and even the right from discrimination (Dewan & Ronconi, 2018). In a bid to improve the welfare of employees, the HR laws require that companies should allow their employee’s free interaction with other employees or even join workers unions that can advocate for the rights of the workers. The benefits and wages provided by an organization to its employees, for example, should not be kept as a secret since the employees have the right to choose an organization that offers better working conditions and pays. T-Mobile appears to have been breaking most of the requirements of the HR law. The employees of T-Mobile have long been denied the opportunity to share their work experience with employees from other organizations. Also, the move by the company to suppress the employees from joining worker’s unions has been unlawful. My duty as the HR manager is to help avoid a similar situation in the future and save the company from incurring costs that may come with lawsuits. The move by T-Mobile to suppress the employers could have been caused by gaps in the employment laws, which will be addressed in this training.
First, discrimination tends to turn employees against employers. The labor laws specify that employment should consider people from different walks of life without discriminating them based on race, gender, age, genetic information, disability, or even national origin. A company that has been discriminative in the employment procedure will warn its employees from open up on the public about the composition of the workforce. T-Mobile should ensure equality during the employment process to avoid worries that may force the company to break the labor laws in the future.
The wages and hours of operation form the next point to consider if T-Mobile is willing to remain within the restrictions of the US labor laws. The US Department of labor has specified that employees should work for an average of 40 hours per week and that all employees are entitled to a minimum of 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year (Kaplan, 2017). The reason for the leave should be reasonable enough and should include family as well as personal reasons. T-Mobile should ensure that the working hours of the employees are respected and that any additional hours should only be allowed where the employees are willing to give a helping hand.
Additionally, the workforce of any company should be composed of legal citizens. The immigration laws of the US should be clear to every company. A company may be sued for offering employment to non-citizens, and the outcome may be costly. T-Mobile should ensure that all employees have legal documents to prove their citizenship to avoid further liabilities. Also, the employees should be allowed to share their experiences where suspicion arises concerning the nationality of other employees.
The employees are entitled to several rights by the labor laws. First, the employees have a right to receive wages and other benefits as specified in the employment contract forms (Zietlow, 2017). Secondly, employees should be allowed the freedom to engage with employees from other organizations. Besides, the right to organize should be granted, and the employees should be free to join a workers’ union of their choice. T-Mobile should, therefore, cease from suppressing the employees’ rights to join workers’ union.
In sum, the US labor laws are strict in protecting the welfare of US employees. Companies that have broken the labor laws have had to answer court cases, and the outcomes have been costly. T-Mobile has been found to have broken several HR laws, and a court of law has ascertained the outcome. However, the recommendations provided are essential in ensuring that T-Mobile does not fall in yet another legal mishap in the future.
References
Dewan, S., & Ronconi, L. (2018). US free trade agreements and enforcement of labor law in Latin America. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 57(1), 35-56.
Kaplan, A. (2017). The complexities of US Labor Law–an evolving landscape: Thought leaders share their views on the HR profession and its direction for the future. Strategic HR Review, 16(6), 285-287.
Zietlow, R. E. (2017). The constitutional right to organize. In Vulnerability and the Legal Organization of Work (pp. 65-86). Routledge.