As said in our text, ‘The staffing function takes place in a complex and changing environment. Social trends, shifting demographics, and legal regulation influence the employment process’ (Baack, Reilly, & Minnick, 2014). Because of the influence of societal conditions, the staffing function as a whole tends to be much more dynamic and quicksilver than the other management functions; regulations that govern it and other changes applied to it reflect this.
a) Over the years, there have been many important changes, via regulations and otherwise, that have brought employment in the United States to where it is today. One such action was the enactment of the Family and Medical Leave act of 1993; this important piece of legislation changed employment standards in the US, requiring companies to provide job protection/leave for employees needing it for qualified medical and family reasons.
Intended to ‘balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families’ (dol.gov, 2015), this was a landmark change made to employment standards in the US, giving employees the safety to deal with vital issues in their own lives at home without fear of losing the jobs that provided necessary income. This act also challenged a long existing fear: the fear of starting a family. While the law covers everyone starting a family, I think this was especially vital to quashing a semi sexist standard applied to expecting mothers in the workplace.
It is true that the US is not a paragon of employment practices; average work hours, allotted time for sick and vacation leave, even the FMLA 12 weeks given for family/medical leave don’t hold much of a candle to practices in other countries (Norwegian parental benefits, offered to all parents: total in the case of a birth is 49 weeks at 100 percent coverage, 59 weeks at 80 percent coverage; for adoption 46 weeks at 100 percent coverage, and 56 weeks at 80 percent coverage. (nav.no, 2015)) However, as the text said, staffing is a changing environment; I think the US will catch up in good time.
b) Federal income taxes, unfortunately, are an important part of what makes any country great. Average federal income tax per household in 2014 was $6,291[1]. Take a look at where these dollars went (https://www.whitehouse.gov/2014-taxreceipt): healthcare, national defense foreign and domestic, agriculture, science, veterans, education. The US wouldn’t be able to afford to do many of these without federal taxes.
The federal income tax has a very complicated relationship with staffing; on the one hand, many people enjoy the benefits of programs paid for by these taxes (persons retiring, getting injured, or unable to work/find employment are covered by programs paid through these taxes). On the other hand, people hate having to pay them; in fact, prior to the ratification of the sixteenth amendment in 1913, our own government had declared sweeping federal taxes to be unconstitutional in the US.
Employers likewise have had a troubled history with Federal taxes; since their conception, they have continued to rise in cost. The highest federal tax rate in 1913 was 7% of income on any income over $500,000 (equivalent to ~$12,000,000 2015 (carinsurancedata.org, 2015)). Current highest federal tax is 39.6% rate on income over $400,000. (taxfoundation.org, 2015). Not only do organizations have to increase pay to individual employees to compensate for this rising tax, they have to file these taxes, and in many cases, provide additional benefits to employees as well.
Several ways this affects staffing: I have seen first hand that many construction entities, instead of hiring workers as employees, find employees or groups that operate as their own contractors; even going so far as to pay individual employees as separate contractors to avoid having to file employee taxes. Or on a larger scale, the cost of doing business in the US for many companies due to taxes among other variables may have a firm seek outside help on projects instead of hiring additional people, or even outsource entire operations.
References:
Baack, D., Reilly, M., & Minnick, C., & (2014). The five functions of effective management (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Retrieved 2015, Dec 2 "Findings and Purposes," 29 U.S.C. § 2601
Retrieved 2015, Dec 2
Retrieved 2015, Dec 3 https://www.whitehouse.gov/2014-taxreceipt
Retrieved 2015, Dec 3 http://www.deptofnumbers.com/income/us/
Retrieved 2015, Dec 3 https://www.calcxml.com/calculators/federal-income-tax-calculator
Retrieved 2015, Dec 3 http://www.carinsurancedata.org/calculators/inflation/500000/1913
Retrieved 2015, Dec 3 http://www.taxfoundation.org/
[1]Average US household income 2014: $53,657 (deptofnumbers.com, 2015). With no deductions, IRA contributions or dependents etc., average federal income tax would be $6,291 (married filing jointly $5,236; head of household is $6,004; married filed separately/single, $7,633)
