ARTICLES-STORIES & JUST
WHATEVER
ARTICLES-STORIES & JUST
 Most personnel managers must work hard to keep up with all the federally guaranteed rights owed to employees and job applicants. And when small companies aren’t required to do the same, they should still try to offer all the legal rights referenced below since every office runs more smoothly when employees are treated with respect and granted as many rights as possible. Employers must also be sure they’re upholding all state employment laws that are often more favorable to employees.
Although many federal laws govern various employee rights, there are five specific ones that set the core standards involving discrimination — and provide fairness when addressing worker hours, wages and time off to handle urgent medical needs. All business supervisors and managers can benefit from reviewing the following brief summaries of Title VII, The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Basic employment standards established by Title VII Businesses with 15 or more employees must abide by the full provisions of this law. While some might assume that employers with fewer than 15 employees can openly discriminate, lawyers frequently point out that other federal statutes (42 USC Sections 1981 and 1983) still protect ethnic and racial minorities against discrimination. These statutes govern the formation of contracts — and hiring employees always involves some type of oral or written contract. Title VII strictly forbids all employers from discriminating against anyone regarding all possible terms and conditions of employment. Therefore, employers cannot discriminate when handling any of the following activities.
Employee rights guaranteed by the ADEA While it may seem like a non-existent problem to younger workers, discrimination against older employees often incurs in many workplaces, especially when workers are nearing retirement when added benefits will likely vest. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act is designed to protect all employees age 40 and older when they work for an employer with at least 20 total employees. All the basic employer activities listed above (regarding Title VII) must be applied fairly to older workers. Stated differently, the federal government forbids treating younger workers in a preferred manner over older workers who often have both strong skills and highly valuable years of experience. Rights guaranteed under the ADA to the disabled When a job applicant or hired employee can demonstrate his or her ability to handle all required job functions – without or without reasonable accommodations – discrimination is strictly forbidden. The ADA defines a disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits any of a person’s major life functions or activities. Reasonable accommodations should be offered to help the disabled person fully perform all required tasks, unless such adjustments would result in a fundamental alteration or change in meeting the employer’s program needs. While the ADA has helped many workers, there’s still a need for greater societal change since many employers who can see a job applicant’s disabilities will privately opt to only hire those who don’t appear to have any cognitive or mobility issues. Rights provided by the FLSA to all employees The federal government has used the Fair Labor Standards Act to establish basic standards governing worker hours, minimum rates of pay and the handling of overtime hours. However, state law can offer more favorable rights, including a higher minimum wage. Individual employers often choose to designate workers as either at-will employees who can be dismissed without cause or contract employees who must be provided with just reasons for their dismissal. The U. S. Department of Labor (DOL) states that if a company is a covered “enterprise,” and its workers are not exempt (or contract employees), the company must comply with all the FLSA provisions. Since determining what constitutes an “enterprise” isn’t always straightforward, you may need the help of your employment law attorney to interpret this for you. However, the DOL states that even if a company doesn’t qualify as a covered enterprise, all of its employees may still be protected by the FLSA provisions if their assigned tasks meet “interstate commerce” requirements. Worker privileges available under the Family Medical Leave Act This legislation applies to private employers with 50 or more employees working within 75 miles of the employer’s main worksite. To qualify for the extended leave provided under the FMLA, workers must have been employed by the company for at least twelve (12) months prior to making a request — and meet other specific criteria set forth under the law. Employees are supposed to be reinstated to their past jobs (or very similar ones) upon returning. The FMLA is often used by a worker to care for a very ill, immediate family member or when the covered employee is personally battling a serious medical condition. Great care must be exercised when any worker states that s/he is not yet physically able to return once the full amount of leave allowed has been used (to avoid running afoul of provisions of state disability laws and the ADA.) If you have any questions regarding how your office should apply any state or federal laws to employee issues, please don’t hesitate to call one of our Murray Lobb attorneys. We can also provide you with legal advice as to how some of these laws may have been recently modified by new Texas statutes. CATEGORIESBUSINESS, BUSINESS LAW, CORPORATE LAW, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, DISABLED REQUIREMENTS, DISCRIMINATION, EMPLOYER/EMPLOYEE RELATIONSTAGS#ADA, #ADEA, #EMPLOYEERIGHTS, #EMPLOYMENT, #FEDERALLAWS, #FLSA, #FMLA, #HOUSTONLAWYERS, #KNOWLEDGEISPOWER, #MURRAYLOBBATTORNEYS, #MURRAYLOBBBLOG, #REQUIREMENTS, #STRICT, #TEXASLAW CONTACT US
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