Recent Changes in the Employment and Labor Law - Report Example

Submitted by: XXXXXXX Number: XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XX – XX – of XXXXXXXX Legal Implications In Human Resources Case Assignment To, Senior Management Subject: HR Development Plan: Recent Changes in the Employment and Labor Law The main aim of this report is to develop a plan for the human resources department of the company. The report will discuss in detail the recent changes in the employment law as well as the trends and changes which need to be considered for any or all of the locations. The company is currently operating in Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Florida and Tennessee and two locations in India. There have been a number of changes in terms of the industrial environment and employment laws due to the changes in terms of the global economic environment. It is the responsibility of the company to ensure that all human resources are managed and work in sync with the labor laws and employment laws. Here this plan includes detailed explanation of the changes in the laws and this will prove to be beneficial for the human resources team to deal with the various employment laws across the various locations. The next sections will deal with the changes in the employment and labor law. Changes in Employment and Labor Law: There have been a number changes and amendments in the employment labor laws. The subsections below detail these changes. a) Equal Employment Opportunity and Health and Safety Act: The government has implemented laws like EEOQ and OSHA in order to control issues like age and gender discrimination. All the states where the company operates including the two locations in India follow the federal labor department regulation (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). Here it has been set down by law that the countries cannot discriminate among employees based on the age, gender, nationality, race, color, or disability. Also, it is mandatory for the firms to provide the employees with sufficient health and safety benefits. Here it has been altered to ages of 18 to 55 (United States Department of Labour). b) Human Trafficking: One of the most recent changes in the employment law was the human trafficking. The issue of human trafficking has been intense and here people are forced to move out of their home or country and are forced to work for low or no pay at all (Students & Artists Fighting to End Human Slavery). This law has been revised and the law now states that people below the age of 18 if exploited for profits through different means like prostitution will be severely punished under the first degree punishments. Locations like India, Indiana, Kansas and Florida do not allow people to be pressurized or manhandled to work without pay. India has taken a number of steps to help reduce the issue of human trafficking and the country has strengthened its human trafficking law to a great extent (Students & Artists Fighting to End Human Slavery). The state of Kansas has also included a strict penalty for human trafficking. It is crucial for the firms to be clear about the law and to pay the employees correctly based on the regulations set down by the employment law. c) Minimum Wages: The minimum wage has also been increased as of 1st January 2011 and now companies are expected to pay a minimum of $7.35 per hour (United States Department of Labour). However in terms of other locations like India and Tennessee there are no set minimum wages. d) Prevailing Wages: There have not been major changes in terms of the prevailing wages. The companies are expected to pay the fringe benefits and also the bonus activities as per the local going rate (Employee Issues). The main change occurred in this employment law is related to the equal pay and fringe benefits for the private sector employees as the government sector employees are gaining. It is crucial for the company to provide the employees with the minimum wages and the prevalent benefits as per the different locations like Hawaii, Indiana, India and others. However it is important to note that there are no laws that prevail in the state of Kansas (Employee Issues). e) Work Privacy: Another law which has gained intense popularity is that of work privacy. This is a growing concern in every country and hence there have been major laws and amendments that have been made to this area. The state of Florida and Hawaii focus on the need for assigning agency employees to plan the security and safety procedures for the employee to maintain their privacy and protect their personal information (Employee Issues). However across locations like India and Indiana, it is clear that there is a need for personal information as well as protection system which require the companies to include high levels of work privacy and also high security. These systems also assist the management to control the unnecessary revelation of records and personal as well as financial information (Kelly, Johnston and Allison). Tennessee on the other hand has regulations where details like the home address, phone numbers, date of births, driving license number, bank account numbers, blood group, social security numbers, and other policies cannot be revealed. f) Time Off: In terms of time off, there have been different enforcement laws that have been adopted across the country. An excellent example here is that of Tennessee and Florida where there is no rule in terms of answering personal calls during regular work hours (Employee Issues). However in the state of Hawaii, employers are not needed to pay for the employees’ time off unless specifically stated in the contract or in a collective bargaining agreement (Law Office of Roman Amaguin). However in the case of India, the employees get paid for the time off and companies cannot pressurize the employees to work more than 45 hours a week, without extra pay. The employees are also not obligated to work overtime without extra pay. Laws and Issues of Interrelationship: Based on the above changes and trends in the employment law it is clear that companies that operate in locations like India, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Indiana and Tennessee need to keep a clear and concise view on the interconnectedness of the location and without complete knowledge of the interconnectedness, there is little or no possibility to deal with the different working environments effectively (Jakobsson & Kotsadam, 2010). The above discussed issues such as human trafficking, minimum wages, prevailing ages, etc, are interconnected. It is important to take into account each aspect individually and to focus on the interrelation among the factors. Minimum wages describes the minimum among an employee should get whereas prevailing wages explains the minimum wage for an hour (Keller, Darby & Bevernage, 2004). All these issue and changes in the regulations are associated with the employees and their wellbeing. The regulation of paid time off and work privacy is also related with the protection of employees in term of both mentally and monetary. As the senior management of the company, it is the main responsibility to keep in track with the laws and the changes in the regulations and to implement these changes into the company immediately. This will not only allow the employees to be satisfied with their jobs but will also ensure that the companies are in track with law and all of the policies are in sync with the employment laws. Works Cited Employee Issues. Department of Labor Web Sites. 2011. 15 January 2011 . —. Paid Time Off (PTO). 2011. 14 January 2011 . —. Prevailing Wage. 2011. 12 January 2011 . HG.org. Employment Law - Guide to Employment and Labor Law. 2010. 15 January 2011 . Jakobsson, N. &s Kotsadam, A. 2010. The Law and Economics of International Sex Slavery: Prostitution Laws and Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation. Working Papers in Economics, 458, Göteborg University, Department of Economics. Pp. 1-29. Keller, W.L., Darby, T.J. & Bevernage, C. 2004. International Labor and Employment Laws. (2nd Edition). BNA Books. Kelly, Patrick E, et al. Recent Developments And Trends In U.S. Employment LA. 2006. 13 January 2011 . Law Office of Roman Amaguin. Hawaii Employment Law Basics: Statutory Leaves of Absences. 30 June 2009. 15 January 2011 . Online Clear Newsletter. Labor Law Developments . 2011. 14 January 2011 . Students & Artists Fighting to End Human Slavery. India to strengthen human trafficking laws: Patil, August 3, India. 13 August 2007. 15 January 2011 . The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Facts About Race/Color Discrimination. 08 September 2008. 15 January 2011 . United States Department of Labour. Minimum Wage Laws in the States - January 1, 2011. 2011. 13 January 2011 Read More