The Influence of Labor Laws on Organizational Success

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) creates labor legislation with the goal of safeguarding workers from various forms of discrimination. (United States Department of Labor, 2017). Unfair treatment because of race, sex, or faith is considered discrimination. The denial of a reasonable workplace accommodation due to a disability or harassment by coworkers or supervisors is another example. Labor laws have a significant impact on an organization’s performance. An organization’s capacity to uphold labor laws reduces turnover expenses, boosts worker productivity, and guarantees workplace health and safety.

The Affordable Care Act

In 2010, President Barrack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act law with the aim of making health insurance a right for all staff working in medium and large sized businesses (Rawal, 2016). The law emphasized on the ‘Employer Shared Responsibility Payment’ provision that stated that all companies in the US with fifty or more full-time workers ought to have a minimal level of health insurance for these employees (Rawal, 2016). The companies that would not meet these requirements were required to pay a substantial penalty to the government. The full-time employees were considered as those individuals who worked an average of at least thirty hours weekly. Thus, the affordable care act was passed for the full-time employees working in middle and large sized business in the United States.

The Role of Unions

Unions began forming during the formative years of America as a nation in the colonial era. The earliest strike was recorded in 1768 which comprised of New York journeymen tailors who were protesting against a wage reduction (Yates, 2009). The Federal Society of Journeymen Shoemakers was the first sustained trade union organization amongst workers in America. Due to the formation of this union, other organizations began to form their unions which aimed at fighting for their rights and ensuring that all forms of discrimination were eliminated. The number of trade unions has been rising gradually with the increasing need to fight for the rights of employees with special needs such as the LGBT community (Yates, 2009). In 2010, more than twenty percent of American workers belonged to unions (Brazile, 2012). The role of trade unions is to fight discrimination such as wage reduction, child labor, and unsafe working conditions and ensure that there are reasonable working hours, safe working conditions and health benefits.

Laws that Protect Individuals

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act is an example of the laws that protect individual employees (United States Department of Labor, 2017). The Pregnancy Discrimination Act states that it is unlawful for employers to discriminate women because of pregnancy. Thus, companies should not refuse to hire a woman because she is pregnant. A pregnant woman should also not be fired or subjected to different standards when determining leave and benefits that are different from other employees. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act ensures the individual growth and development of women employees because they get an equal chance with other competitors when applying for various job positions in organizations. Moreover, when the women get into the organizations, they get similar benefits which make it easy for them to advance their career goals.

The Disability Discrimination Act

The Disability Discrimination Act is also another law that protects employees with disabilities from discrimination in the workplace (United States Department of Labor, 2017). The law aims at ensuring that employees with disabilities receive reasonable accommodations for their disabilities. The law also states that as long as an individual living with any disability qualifies for any job position, h/she should not fail to be hired on the basis of their special need. The law identifies disability as a physical or mental condition that limits a major life activity, or if the employer believes that an individual has an impairment that is not minor and is durable.

The law also acknowledges that a person with a history of disability falls under the category specified by this law. The Disability Discrimination Act supports the growth and development of individuals living with a disability in the workplace in the United States. The employees get an equal opportunity to compete with other individuals for various job positions. As such, they can advance their career life by gaining experience and getting promotions. Moreover, the law ensures that people living with disabilities are empowered to provide for their families through their various job positions. Therefore, the job positions help in promoting the living standards for people living with disabilities.

Laws that Protect Companies

The Fair Labor Standards Act

The Fair Labor Standards Act is one of the legislation in the United States that protect companies (United States Department of Labor, 2017). The law prescribes standards for overtime pay and minimum wages which majorly affect private organizations. The law requires employers to provide their employees with at least the federal minimum wage and an overtime pay that is equal to one and a half times the regular rate of pay. The law also restricts the number of hours that children under the age of sixteen years can work and stipulates that they should not be involved in agricultural operations during school hours. Moreover, the law states that children below eighteen years should not be exposed to jobs that are deemed too dangerous.

The Fair Labor Standards Act protects companies in the United States from being overpowered by the demands made by employees using their trade unions. The law ensures that employers provide their employees with substantial wages as stipulated by the federal government. Moreover, it protects organizations from a bad image that may be caused by trade unions demanding that children under the age of eighteen years should not be employed (Levine, 2013). As long as the companies meet the stipulations in this act, then their corporate image is protected. The law also ensures that there is no group or individual employees who are discriminated against because the government stipulates terms such as the minimum wage, dangerous jobs for children and overtime pay.

Conclusion

Labor laws focus on the welfare of both the employees and their employers. The role of labor laws is to ensure fair treatment for all employees, safe working conditions and reasonable working hours and pay. The labor laws also provide for the special needs of individual or group employees such as pregnant women, children, and people living with disabilities. Labor laws also protect organizations by ensuring that unions do not overpower them. They stipulate rules that organizations should follow when dealing with their employees. However, the need for unions is critical as they help employees advocate for the rights imposed by the laws if organizations mistreat them. Therefore, the role of unions is to act as mediators between staff and employers who ensure that the rights of workers are respected.

References

Brazile, D. (2012, September 2012). What Have Unions Done for Us? Retrieved from cnn.com: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/04/opinion/brazile-unions/index.html

Levine, M. (2013). Children for Hire: The Perils of Child Labor in the United States. Westport: Praeger Publishers.

Rawal, P. (2016). The Affordable Care Act: Examining the Facts. California: ABC-CLIO Publishers.

United States Department of Labor. (2017). Summary of the Major Laws of the Department of Labor. Retrieved from dol.gov: https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/majorlaws

Yates, M. (2009). Why Unions Matter. New York: Monthly Review Press.