Clemson LAW 3220 - Chapter 15 Employment and Labor Regulations

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04 09 2015 th Chapter 15 Employment and Labor Regulations April 8 Last exam final Thursday April 30th from 3 5 in classroom Chapters 11 16 150 multiple choice Bring 2 scantrons 1 Public policy limits to at will employment Employment at will you can be hired fired at any time lawfully and once fired no continuing obligation exists from either party Exceptions none of these will guarantee getting your job back o if you re fired right before receiving retirement plan or bonus you are entitled to this compensation o Employment shouldn t fire you for something legal just because they don t like it you ll probably be entitled to compensation Examples o You re asked to do an illegal act and you refuse If your employer fires you it s wrongful discharge and you ll be entitled to compensation o You shouldn t be fired for performing a public duty you have to serve jury duty and your employer fires you wrongful discharge and you ll be entitled to compensation o Exercising a public right such as filing for bankruptcy employers might not like it because it implies financial irresponsibility but they cannot fire you or it s wrongful discharge o Whistle blower exception tries to encourage employees to report wrongdoings on behalf of their employers You might get a financial reward for reporting this If you get fired for whistle blowing it s wrongful discharge and you re entitled to compensation Wrongful discharge is a tort cause of action Types of Employment Agreements the Courts will Examine and Decide whether or not to enforce Exculpatory agreement an agreement in which one part typically the employee promises not to sue the other party typically the employer in the event of a tort The employee was probably forced to sign this because if they didn t they won t get the job so they don t have equal bargaining power Court says this isn t fair probably won t enforce it because they want to get people compensation if they re hurt on the job Non compete agreement if I leave the company for whatever reason I won t go to work for a competitor in x region for y amount of time Court says we don t want to enforce agreements that look like a restraint of trade restrains a person s ability to earn a living Won t always enforce these Anti rating covenants if I leave company A for company B I agree to try not to hire out my former employees from company A to work for company B If it s a large group of employees which will probably hurt your former employer the court will enforce this because it s not fair to economically hurt your former employer just because you didn t like them If the agreement is very strict and says only one person the court probably won t enforce it 2 Substance Abuse can be really detrimental to companies because people who are abusing drugs go to the doctor a lot more show up for work less and are less productive Rehab is expensive etc Legal question how do employers try to avoid this Union limitation on testing o Employer can only drug test employees that are in a labor union with the consent of the union Drug free workplace act federal law Requires all companies with more than 25 000 contract with the government has to certify to government that they provide a drug free workplace for employees If they do not do this they can lose all their government contracts and be liable for fines This can be proven through a company s written drug free workplace policy that employees are required to be aware of and sign Federal law says that people who provide public services plane pilots operator of heavy equipment anything where public policy is a concern can be drug tested periodically Employee substance abuse policies companies should have a written policy that tells employees what is prohibited what testing they can do to check pre employment testing is almost always allowed annual drug testing as part of an annual physical and what happens if you are found in violation of the policy Random drug testing normally permitted when it s part of the company s policy so that everyone is aware that it s a possibility and if public safety is an issue Drug testing after accidents generally upheld because public safety outweighs the employee s right to privacy Usually seen in the policies of public transportation companies They ll do it to avoid legal liability and to see if you were intoxicated while on the job and that s what caused the accident Drug testing might be permitted if you have a reasonable suspicion that someone might be using drugs If your company policy says that this is a possibility then it ll normally be upheld in the courts Any time an employer does drug testing it ought to be done by independent certify labs Much stronger evidence to the courts less possibility of employee claiming that the employer tampered with their test Takeaway if your employee is in a union make sure the union allows drug testing If not make sure you have a drug policy you ve had them sign 3 Worker Health and Safety Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 OSHA requires employers to provide a safe working environment for employees o People will come around and inspect working environments to see if they meet the requirements If they don t the company has x amount of time to fix it If they don t the company might be shut down until it s fixed or fined o OSHA doesn t have an unlimited amount of inspectors so they concentrate the amount of inspectors in companies who have a history of accidents Any time an employee dies on the job OSHA is going to investigate and write a report o Health point of view refers to things like asbestos carbon monoxide and other hazardous or noxious chemicals at work Addressing these issues can be expensive for employers Foreign companies might not have as many regulations and can have less safe working environments and thus cheaper costs If you have hazardous chemicals you must Have a list of the chemicals employees might be exposed to and communicate it to employees Label all chemicals and make them known Safety data sheets if I m exposed to the chemical what s the protocol what do I do first A formal program that educates employees about hazardous chemicals how to deal with them and what first aid steps to take OSHA will inspect these work environments and write reports 4 Worker s Compensation It s basically state insurance plans Came about because if employees were injured at work the only remedy employees had was to sue employers in a tort type action You had to get an


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Clemson LAW 3220 - Chapter 15 Employment and Labor Regulations

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