Clemson LAW 3220 - Chapter 15 – Employment and Labor Regulations

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Chapter 15 Employment and Labor Regulations 4 8 15 All rules apply to Employee Employer relationships Not Agent or Independent Contractor relationships Public Policy Exceptions to Employment at will o Contract Employment Agreement o About to vest in your bonus or retirement benefits o Retaliatory Discharges o Refuse to commit and illegal act get fired wrongful discharge Probably still won t have job but will get awarded some pay o Perform a public duty jury duty and then get fired Entitled to compensation company probably will get fined o Exercise a public right file for bankruptcy and then you get fired o Whistleblower Encouraged rewards with a small payment from government If fired wrongful discharge so compensated Contract Agreement between Employer and Employee that Court looks at and aren t typically enforced by the courts but employees are intimidated to thinking that they are o Employer has all bargaining power because it s usually presented as a take it or leave it all usually as a condition to a job offer being made o Exculpatory agreement Agreement in which 1 party promises not to sue the other in the event they get injured by a tort o Non Compete agreement Court will see if it is reasonable Doesn t want to unreasonably restrict someone from being able to go out and get a job Limited to around a year and to a small geographic area o Anti Raiding agreement Employee says to employer if I leave for any reason I wont reach back and try to hire away fellow employees from your company Court looks for it to be reasonable time period and number of people Substance Abuse Very expensive to businesses and US economy o History shows that US businesses that have employees on illegal drugs productivity lower more accidents on the job absent more higher medical costs and therefore higher medical insurance cost o Foreign Companies can be more competitive because they don t have to deal with those costs o Within US legal system to reduce eliminate problems Unions Collective Bargaining Agreement between Union representing employees and the employer Drug testing only allowed if the Union permits it The union uses this as a bargaining chip Give us and we ll permit reasonable drug testing No Union Federal Act Drug Free Workplace Act o Applies to all companies with more than 25 000 worth of business with the federal government Ch 15 pg 1 4 8 15 Don t want to put added burden on small businesses o Certify that you the employer provide a drug free workplace Otherwise government will cancel all business with you and you ll be fined o Evidence Written company policy that prohibits illegal substances on the job o Federal Law says that certain types of employees may be tested by employers public transportation commercial motor vehicles airplanes drug agents public safety concern outweighs employees right to privacy o State laws vary from state to state o Employer substance abuse policy s Drug testing permitted if in formal policy that employees have read and or signed Pre Employment screening As part of annual physical Should state what the consequences are of testing positive for a drug test Where safety is an issue random drug testing is normally permitted Policy should state it and need to show that safety is an issue Drug testing after an accident happens Company policy says that as soon as possible after you re involved in an accident To reduce cost and prevent incident in the future Test employees if there is a reasonable suspicion that they are under the influence of illegal substances grey because what is reasonable o When employers test employees they should be done by independent 3rd party labs Workers Health and Safety Occupational Health and Safety Act OSHA o Federal Law dealing with working conditions employers provide employees workplace free of hazardous or dangerous conditions machinery that can easily cause harm o OSHA has inspectors that look for dangerous unsafe work conditions typically unannounced and without a search warrant write up a report and give an employer an amount of time to fix any problems Can even shut down a plant until something is fixed if it is unsafe enough o Standards imposed upon employers can be costly o OSHA also looking for hazardous chemicals being used in the work environment asbestos oven emissions etc and minimize the use of and exposure to them Ch 15 pg 2 4 8 15 Have to have a program to tell employees of all dangerous chemicals being used in operation and label them Train employees on how to properly use chemicals and if they re exposed what the proper first aid treatment is o Focus on employers where there have been reports of incidents or accidents in workers comp If someone dies will get an inspection asap Workers Compensation State Laws State Insurance Policy o Employers pay insurance premiums into state funds on behalf of their employees o Before Workers comp if an employee gets hurt on job medical costs lost wages etc you filed a lawsuit against employer expensive and time consuming for both parties Charities If employees get hurt and sue them the only source of fund was charitable donations o Workers Compensation designed to help employees quicker and with less cost o Fellow employee s negligence All you can do is file Workers Compensation not a tort lawsuit against your employer Unless someone intentionally hurts you at work o Show 3 things for a legitimate claim Suffered injury to do an accident in the course of your employment o Board is quick to review look at nature and extent of your injuries Look at chart and see what amount you re entitled to o Designed for quick rehabilitation so that lost wages is minimized o Sometimes employers have to find a different position for the employee if they are unable to complete their original job while they re rehabbing o Designed to promote open discussion about why an employee got hurt o Designed to encourage employer to make workplace safer encouraged because the less claims the lower the monthly premium they pay also based on classification of employees how likely it is they ll be injured o Schedule 5 levels of claims least to most serious Only medical costs in almost every claim these are reimbursed right away Just present medical bills and costs and workers comp pays Temporary Partial Disability Employer can put in another job that pays the same then workers comp doesn t pay anything If get another job that pays less workers comp pays the difference Permanent Partial Disability Maybe wage


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Clemson LAW 3220 - Chapter 15 – Employment and Labor Regulations

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