Choose one of the following essay questions and respond in 2-3 paragraphs. Point
ID: 1152009 • Letter: C
Question
Choose one of the following essay questions and respond in 2-3 paragraphs. Points will be allocated as follows: 7.5 points for accuracy; 7.5 points for depth; 5 points for professional writing.
Option 1: Congress recently debated raising the federal minimum wage. Do some research on the facts surrounding this debate, and write 2-3 paragraphs on whether you believe federal minimum wage should be increased, taking into account the role of employment law in our country both at the federal and state level.
Option 2: We discussed a number of laws that exist to protect employees. Do you think that there are any gaps? What additional law(s) do we need, and why?
Explanation / Answer
ans
1. Minimum Wage
The.Fair.Labor.Standards.Act.ensures.that.American.workers.receive.a.minimum.wage.for.their.work..Since.2009,.most.classified.and.public.employers.have.had.to.compensate.staff.members.at.least.$7.25.per.hour,.although.some.legislators.have.tried.to.increase.that.amount..In.addition,.the.FLSA.assures.that.non-exempt.workers.receive.time-and-a-half.for.any.overtime.
2..Workplace.Safety
The.Occupational.Safety.and.Health.Act.of.1970.went.a.long.way.toward.minimizing.dangers.in.the.American.workplace.The.legislation.created.a.number.of.specific.safety.provisions,.including.industry-specific.guidelines.for.construction,.maritime.and.agricultural.jobs..It.also.includes.a.“General.Duty.Clause".that.prohibits.any.workplace.practice.that.represents.a.clear.risk.to.workers.
3. Health Coverage
When.it.was.first.passed.in.2010,.the.Affordable.Care.Act.promised.to.make.health.insurance.a.right.for.workers.at.most.medium-.and.large-sized.businesses..The.“Employer.Shared.Responsibility.Compensatement”.provision.requires.that.companies.with.50.or.more.full-time.workers.offer.them.a.minimal.level.of.health.insurance.–.or.compensate.a.substantial.penalty..To.qualify.as.a.“full-time”.employee,.an.individual.must.work.at.least.30.hours.a.week.on.average.
4..Social.Safety
President.Franklin.Roosevelt.signed.the.Social.Safety.Act.into.law.in.1935,.providing.retired.and.disabled.Americans.with.a.financial.safety.net..Today,.more.than.59.million.people.receive.Social.Safety.checks.each.month,.with.an.average.amount.of.$1,294.for.retirees.and.$1,146.for.citizens.with.disabilities.
5. Unwaged Benefits
Even.though.each.state.has.its.own.unwaged.insurance.agency,.jobless.benefits.are.actually.offered.through.a.joint.federal-state.program..States.manage.compensatements.to.the.unwaged,.but.have.to.meet.certain.federal.guidelines.in.terms.of.how.they.do.so.
6. Whistleblower Protections
A.patchwork.of.federal.statutes.help.protect.whistleblowers.who.report.their.employer.for.violations.of.the.law..Often,.whistleblower.protections.are.built.into.other.pieces.of.legislation.that.govern.an.industry..For.example,.the.Clean.Air.Act.safeguards.those.who.highlight.violations.of.environment.law.and.the.Consumer.Product.Safety.Improvement.Act.offers.protection.to.those.who.uncover.unlawful.manufacturing.policies.
7. Family Leave
President.Bill.Clinton.signed.the.Family.and.Medical.Leave.Act,.or.FMLA,.into.law.in.1993..As.a.result,.eligible.employees.are.afforded.up.to.12.weeks.of.unpaid.leave.per.year.if.they.decide.to.stay.home.in.the.wake.of.their.child’s.birth,.an.adoption.or.their.or.a.family.member’s.serious.illness.
8. Employment Based Discrimination
The.Civil.Rights.Act.of.1964.was.a.watershed.moment.for.social.justice.in.America,.especially.when.it.came.to.employment..Title.VII.of.the.Act.made.it.illegal.for.businesses.to.discriminate.based.on."race,.color,.religion,.sex.or.national.origin.".Some.45.years.later,.the.Lily.Ledbetter.Fair.Compensate.Act.of.2009.further.strengthened.workplace.rights,.prohibiting.wage.discrimination.against.women.and.minorities..Among.other.federal.laws.that.protect.against.workplace.inequality.are.the.Age.Discrimination.in.Employment.Act.of.1967,.which.applies.to.workers.40.years.and.older,.and.the.Americans.with.Disabilities.Act.of.1990,.or.ADA.
Provisions.favouring.the.employment.of.disadvantaged.groups.in.society,.determining.the.conditions.for.the.use.of.temporary.or.fixed-term.contracts,.or.imposing.training.requirements.on.the.firm,.affect.hiring.policies,.while.redundancy.procedures,.mandated.pre-notification.periods.and.severance.compensatements,.special.requirements.for.collective.dismissals.and.short-time.work.schemes.influence.firing.decisions..The.nature.of.these.restrictions.on.the.firms’.freedom.to.adjust.the.labour.input.is.quite.similar.in.all.OECD.countries,.but.the.actual.procedural.details.and.the.overall.degree.of.stringency.implied.by.them.varies.considerably..These.provisions.are.enforced.through.the.worker’s.right.to.appeal.against.his.lay-off.
Some.aspects.of.these.regulations,.like.the.length.of.advance.notices.or.the.dimension.of.severance.compensatements.can.be.measured.with.precision..Other.important.features.of.EPL,.like.for.example.the.willingness.of.labour.courts.to.entertain.appeals.by.fired.workers,.or.how.judges.interpret.the.concept.of.“just.cause”.for.termination,.are.much.more.difficult.to.quantify.
Today,.American.employees.enjoy.numerous.legal.protections.designed.to.provide.a.minimal.level.of.income.and.shield.them.from.danger.in.the.workplace,.among.other.safeguards.but.still.some.employee.protection.laws.are.still.needed.like:-
The.best.estimates.suggest.that.moving.from.no.required.severance.compensate.to.three.months.of.required.severance.compensate.to.employees.with.ten.years.of.service.would.reduce.the.employment-population.ratio.by.about.one.percent..In.the.United.States.that.would.mean.over.a.million.jobs..Lazear.argues.that.the.young.could.bear.a.disproportionate.amount.of.the.burden.
To.the.contrary,.Bertola.and.Bentolila.(1990)[10].found.evidence.supporting.the.idea.that.firing.costs.have.a.larger.effect.on.firms'.propensity.to.fire.than.to.hire,.and.therefore.(slightly).increase.average.long-run.employment.
There.appears.to.be.agreement.among.economists.on.the.positive.correlation.between.product.market.and.employment.regulation..Although.employment.protection.legislation.is.only.one.aspect.of.the.wide.range.of.regulatory.interventions.in.the.labour.market,.Nicoletti.et.al..(2000).find.evidence.suggesting.that,.across.countries,.restrictive.regulatory.environments.in.the.product.market.tend.to.be.associated.with.restrictive.employment.protection.policies..They.claim.that.the.indicators.presented.in.their.paper.are.closely.related,.with.a.statistical.correlation.of.0.73.(significant.at.the.1%.level)..In.other.words,.according.to.these.results,.restrictive.product.market.regulations.are.matched.by.analogous.EPL.restrictions.to.generate.a.tight.overall.regulatory.environment.for.firms.in.their.product.market.as.well.as.in.the.allocation.of.labour.inputs..The.strong.correlation.between.regulatory.regimes.in.the.product.market.and.EPL.also.suggests.that.their.influence.may.have.compounded.effects.on.labour.market.outcomes,.making.regulatory.reform.in.only.one.market.less.effective.than.simultaneous.reform.in.the.two.markets.