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Employment Law

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|Employment Law also called labor law is the body of laws,administrative rulins, and precedents |
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|which address the legal rights of, and restrictions on working people and their organizations. In this |
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|paper I will discuss the history of a few important acts that have been passed over the years to protect |
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|employees in the United States. This paper will also discuss the major protections that these acts |
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|provide and who are eligible for that protection. As well as what are the differences between an |
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|independent contractor and an employee. Lastly this will discuss what are the necessary steps a worker |
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|must take to obtain protection under one of the acts. |
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|The first act that I will discuss is the Pregnancy Discrimination Act; this act was put in to place in |
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|1978 as an amendment to Title V11.5. According to Cheesman, this amendment prohibits employees |
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|from discrimination because of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Thus, a work rule |
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|that prohibits the hiring of a pregnant women violates Title VII” (2007). This rule covers businesses |
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|with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments. It also applies to employment |
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|agencies and to labor organizations, as well as to the federal government. Pregnant woman must be |
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|treated in the same manner as employees with similar abilities and limitations. |
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|The second act is the Americans with Disabilities Act; this act was signed into law on July 26, 1990 |
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|and is the largest civil rights legislation since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The ADA imposes |
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|obligations on employers and providers of public transportation, telecommunications, and public |
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|accommodations to accommodate individuals with disabilities” (2007). An employee or applicant |
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|with a disability is an individual who, with or without reasonable accommodations, can perform the |
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|essential functions of the job in question. An employer is to make reasonable accommodations to the |
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|disability of a qualified applicant or employee if it would not impose an “undue hardship” on the |
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|business. Reasonable accommodations are adjustments or modifications provided by an employer |
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|to enable an employee with disabilities to enjoy equal employment opportunities. |
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|The next act is the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; this act was enacted in 1967. |
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|Employers have often refused to hire older workers. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act |
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|(ADEA), prohibits employment discrimination against people years and older. Prior to this |
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|amendment employers would use age as a criteria for hiring new employees. The Age Discrimination |
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|Act applies to all ages, permits the use of certain age discrimination and factors other than age to |
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|meet the requirements. This act is enforced by the Civil Rights Center. |
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|Another act is the Family and Medical Leave Act; this act was passed through Congress in February |
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|of 1993. FMLA allows employees an unpaid leave of absence for medical emergencies with |
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|continuation of group health insurance coverage. FMLA applies to companies with 50 or more |
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|employees as well as federal, state, and local governments, which covers about half of the nation’s |
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|workforce. Private sector employees are normally covered for twelve weeks and military officials are |
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|entitled twenty-six weeks of leave. |
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|The last act that I will be covering is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; this act was created |
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|to eliminate job discrimination based on five protected classes, race, color, national origin, sex and |
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|religion. |
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|Now I will explain exactly what each Act protects. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act prohibits a |
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|company from making a rule stating that they will not hire a pregnant woman or a woman that has |
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|recently given birth. This act protects any woman that is searching employment during or right after a |
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|pregnancy. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to accommodate any worker that |
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|has a disability with transportation, access and telecommunications, of course any employee with a |
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|disability would be protected under this act. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act provides |
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|protection for employees older than 40 years of age from being denied employment due to their age. |
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|The individuals being protected would be older unemployed persons seeking employment. The Family and Medical Leave Act allows employees that have a|
|medical emergency arise take a leave of |
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|unpaid absence for up to 12 weeks without loosing their position, pay rate or benefits. These |
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|employees are exempt from being laid off or terminated while on medical leave.The employees that |
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|would receive protection under this act would be anyone that has a medical emergency, a childbirth or |
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|adoption and a life threatening illness for themselves or an immediate family member. Title VII of the |
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|Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against anyone due to their race, |
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|color, national origin or religion. The employees that are covered by Title VII are anyone that has |
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|experienced discrimination due to these protected classes. |
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|These Acts pertain to employees not independent contractors. Since independent contractors is hired |
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|to is hired to do a duty for the company and is not required to answer to the company. Also |
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|independent contractors usually work for a number of clients, have their own offices, hire employees, |
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|and control the performance of their work. Most independent contractors are considered sole |
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|proprietors and have control over the jobs that they accept and reject. Employees on the other hand |
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|have to answer to the corporation and obey the regulations and requirements of the employer. Also the |
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|employee works out of the office of the employer and is not a sole proprietor. The crucial factor in |
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|determining whether someone is an independent contractor or an employee is the degree of control the |
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|company has over the agent. |
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|References |
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|Cheeseman, H. R. (2007). The Legal Environment of Business and Online Commerce: Business Ethics, E-Commerce, Regulatory, and International Issues |
|(5th ed.). Ch 19, : Prentice Hall, Inc.. |
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|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964 |
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|http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/ |
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|http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/fs-preg.html |
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|http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/discrimination/agedisc.htm |
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|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_law |
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