Employment Laws in the United States - Essay Example

Of all the laws, the law regarding wages and hours worked is interesting in certain ways. The law provides direction for the remuneration of workers depending on the amount of time they dedicate to serving the organization. The law provides the direction to be used in paying workers that dedicate their extra hours in the business, better known as overtime (Beck, 2011).
The wages and hours Act guides the business on employment of children below the required legal age. In this case, according to this act, children below 18 years should not be employed especially in risky jobs. In the agricultural sector, children below 16 years should not be employed to work during school days; instead, they should be given time to take their studies.
Staffing and employment laws
One of the laws that have the biggest impact on business practices is the sexual harassment law. Initially, people thought that sexual harassment was only meant for women; however, a court decision happened to increase the scope of this law by including same-sex sexual harassment (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014). This came after some male employees in an oil company complained of sexual harassment from other male employees, including unwanted touching and crude sex play.
This decision is important in business practices because it aims at punishing those people fond of sexually harassing fellow employees. Sometimes, people may want to perform certain activities without knowing the boundaries they should go. This decision spells the extent to which people should make their interactions in the workplace.
It is important to note that some laws can be actually outdated and have to be amended. Changing lifestyles often mean new ways of life in human societies and the same should be for the laws governing their existence (Brooks & Weatherston, 2011). For instance, the sexual harassment law was initially meant to protect the welfare of women employees at the workplace. However, male employees have also reported sexual harassment from other male employees and even female employees, something that has necessitated its reform and amendment.
Business Implications of the Law
The age discrimination Act of 1967 is important in employment because it protects any form of discrimination against employees that are forty years and above. Age discrimination is something that is evident in some organisations, especially those that prefer to hire young people fresh from their graduation. According to this law, every employee that meets the employment requirements in a business has a chance to work without being discriminated against with respect to his age.
The employment Act of 1986 provides directions to businesses on how to make their staffing functions. The Act provides for the employment of non-US citizens after they provide the right work permits from the department of labour. All businesses have to ensure they offer employment to all eligible citizens of the United States and others from different countries after they meet the laid down requirements.
Currently, many businesses hire people from other countries to perform various work functions. It is important to note that globalization in business activities has brought the need for a multicultural work environment. Through these processes, a business can create competitive advantages in their growth and expansion beyond their country’s borders.
The human resource functions have been facing various legal challenges in the United States. The changing workplace and business environment have meant that the human resource departments realign their functions to heed the legal changes that have been developed to protect the welfare of all people in working for various business in the country (Subramaniam & Christopher 2013). The ever-changing business environment keeps on providing various legal dimensions those businesses and companies have to adhere to.