MGT 340 – Davis

12/8/08

Ch. 18

I. Wages and Hours Protection

A. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

ü Often called “the minimum wage law”

ü All covered employees must be paid minimum wage

ü 1 ½ time pay for overtime

ü Overtime pay for anything over 40 hours/week

ü Businesses Covered:

· All businesses that affect Interstate Commerce Exemptions

· Independent contractors

· Agriculture, fishing, and domestic service

· White-collar management

· Executive, administrative, and professional people

· State employees

B. Enforcement of FLSA

o Can begin by complaint filed with U.S. Labor Department

o Employer can seek interpretation from Department of Labor

o Labor Department can initiate its own investigation

C. Violations of FLSA

§ Corporations is liable

§ Officers can be held individually liable

§ Fines - $10,000 and or six months for second violation

§ Employees cannot be fired for reporting violations

D. FLSA Regulations

v Child Labor Protections

Ø Age 18 and over – any jobs

Ø 16-17 – any non-hazardous job, unlimited hours

Ø 14-15 – any non-hazardous, non-manufacturing, and non-mining job during non-school hours; limits on hours

v Record Keeping

Ø Employers must keep records of hours and wages

Ø Fines for not doing so

E. Equal Pay Act of 1963

ü Illegal to pay different wages to men and women doing the same jobs

ü Equal Pay Act is not a comparable worth statute

· Comparable worth requires equal pay for jobs that require equal skill, effort, and responsibility

· Presently, federal standards do not require comparable worth

· Comparable worth represents a substantial departure

· Comparable worth changes the free marketplace concept that we as a society have adopted

ü Merit and seniority systems are exceptions

F. Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA)

§ Passed to ensure workplace safety precautions

§ OSHA was agency created to enforce it

§ Employers covered – all with one or more employees

§ OSHA coverage and duties:

Ø Familiarize themselves with OSHA’s requirements

Ø Post employee rights

Ø Require protective gear

Ø Keep records of injuries

Ø Report fatalities and hazards causing them

Ø Post OSHA citations

§ OSHA responsibilities

Ø Promulgate workplace safety regulations

Ø Can awards variances for certain employers

Ø Inspections

§ OSHA Penalties

Ø Fine and imprisonment escalate with seriousness of violation

Ø Many employers negotiate a consent decree after a citation

Ø If not consent decree, there is a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ)

Ø ALJ makes recommendations and OSHRC decides

Ø Can then be appealed to a court

§ Employee rights under OSHA

Ø Can accompany an OSHA inspector

Ø Can file complaints

Ø Right to notice if employer applies for variance

§ OSHA and ongoing controversy

Ø Businesses tend to be vocal about OSHA because of numerous and complex regulations

Ø Consumers and others tend to be vocal for OSHA’s lack of quick response to safety concerns in the workplace

Ø Chemical hazards warning or long-term exposure of employees

Ø Controversial proposals for AIDS health care workers