BUSA 310 Lecture 6 Outline of Last Lecture I Contracts II Negotiable Instruments III Sales Outline of Current Lecture I Employment Law II Agency Current Lecture Employment Law In most states unless you have a contract you are an employee at will from previous lectures Unions completely transformed how labor was looked at all the way up to 15 20 years ago I When unions developed they brought up wages healthcare shorter hours better working conditions etc All things that were not around until unions brought it to employment in the early 1940s They did a lot of good for the country but now are outdated But now without unions all these things are required by law by employers to their employees So unions have almost ran their course Right to work Law don t have to hire union labor and don t have to organize Not all states have this law yet though Family Leave Act allows individuals who are married or have significant others to take time off to take care of sick family members and your job and salary will be preserved when returned This company has to have at least 50 employees and you have to have worked there for at least a year I II III Unfortunately this act can be abused and is hard to prove that it is being abused A very hard law to police Everyone could take the leave at the same time These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Health Insurance Issue I II Health insurance cost has gone up so much in such short period of time Health care act the act is designed to make it so every person has at least the minimum amount of health insurance coverage and affordable for everyone with a theory of the premiums going down over time But in the mean time they are going out and the people without insurance and being subsidized because they cant afford it so they raised premiums on the people that can afford it to try to balance things out a No life time cap with this new health care act b If you have a pre existing condition insurance companies can not tell you no to insurance Unfortunately the act is a work in progress a lot of potential to help people get health care Hard concept for employers who want to provide their employees with health insurance because the premiums are so high its hard to afford it for everyone in the company Even though most people are at will employees it s still not acceptable for people to just fire employees for no reason Examples race age gender disabilities religious These are all apart of the Wrongful Discharge of at will employees regarding unfair termination Employee Handbook a handbook given with the contracts for an employee stating what you are expected to do and what they plan on enforcing as a company Good for bigger businesses but maybe not so much for smaller businesses Whistle Blowing Statute A whistle blower is someone that if they see something going wrong in a business they report this issue to a higher power than the company This can make the employer look bad if they are doing something wrong or bad manufacturing of equipment that they could want to fire you for tattle tailing But these people should protected because they are looking out after the whole of society and they are protected by the government Work Place Safety mostly established by unions These things mandate health and safety regulations in companies I OSHA saying that government has the right to go into businesses and do inspections on health regulations Has helped promote health for a whole new generation of people II III MSDS Sheets a disclosure from the manufacturer of the product saying what is in the product how to use it safely what to do incase of over exposure Depending on the industry there are a lot of requirements that you must do or have as an employee to stay safe EX hard hats steal toe shoes hazard signs Things employers are starting to do before hiring Employees now look up people on Facebook Internet Google before hiring them BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU POST because it can be the difference between a great job and no job Be responsible and respectful Employers are also resorting to drug tests alcohol screening and sometimes even lie detector tests to be sure their employee is lawful and not going to cause trouble Electronic Monitoring putting up cameras to make sure your employees are working Financial side of working I II Workers Compensation assuming you were in a scope of your employment and got hurt or can not go to work you can file workers compensation to still get paid or get reimbursed for damages Good tool because it helps employees and employers settle issues without the law If you file for workers comp you cannot sue your employer In West Virginia we have a deliberate intent statute employer intended to hurt you or it was a foreseeable injury then you can sue them for that while getting workers comp Social Security Act an act to help people with retiring Was a good idea at first but not since the average age of people is higher more people are applying for social security because the retiring age is 65 By the time our generation goes to retire the social security system may not even have money in it anymore Agency Agency can be set up formally informally by actions words there are a lot of different forms of agency and depends on the industry 3 types I II III Express Authority tell you expressively to do something Implied Authority ex on going business relationship and you are my go to for my raw materials so you just know to get those materials Apparent Authority to assume that you another person third party have the right to do something The employer is responsible for your actions as their employee EX People who work out of their homes and don t go to an actual office Say you are a sales person always trying to sell your product when are you not considered working So you sell your product at any hours and you leave a costumers place and accidently kill an old lady with your car Are you liable or would the company be liable Pending question depends on what your standard work day is Fuzzy line Remember Scope of Employment Joint Several Liability Both company and person are jointly held liable for an issue sometimes the company will be ruled liable for just money so the plaintiff can be taken care of Independent Contractors Company is not liable for what an independent contractor does ex plumbers as long as that independent contractor is doing