Management: Virginia Employment Laws - Essay Example

? Management: Employment Laws al Affliation) Management: Virginia Employment Laws When hiring foreign workers or employees, it is always advisable that it is within the state and federal laws. In this article we look at the state of Virginia laws which govern the need to hire seasonal employees who may be from foreign countries. This action could be for various reasons but what is vital and that should not be ignored at any point in time is the fact that when hiring these employees it should be within the laws of the land (West & Bogumil, 2000). Under the United States immigration policies, there are various options which employers can use to hire workers as well as professionals for the long term and for the short term, as well. Hiring professionals or other workers from foreign countries is always an option for management of human resources but t is always within the bounds of government policies and quotas provided by the governments of nations. For instance, the United States government and congress has always been revising its immigrant workers quota numbers from the year 1988 in order to favor employers and industries that need such workers. In the year 1998, the quota number was at 65000, which was further revised upwards to 115000 in the year 1999, and later to 195000 when the government went to the press seeking to revise the quota in order to benefit in this option of hiring of employees from other countries (Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, 2012). Many firms always opt for hiring foreign sourced workers in order to gain competitive advantage. There are many aspects to foreign employee hiring; for instance, some of these employees come cheaper than the domestic based employees in the same industry. Every immigrant program has its advantages and disadvantages. Hiring of foreign professionals, nonetheless, comes with its fair share of issues and challenges. It is not as costless as many people would think it is. This option always raises strategic issues on all levels of management in an organization. Among the issues that managers have to deal with when hiring foreign sourced employees or workers is the fact that the managers have to ensure that these employees have the right visas for the positions they have been sourced to take in the organizations (HG Experts, 2012). The United States of America has seen the number of immigrants into its borders increase as many people from various countries in the world go to America to seek better lives for themselves and for their families (West & Bogumil, 2012). These workers bring a lot to the American economy just like other employees in America. Immigrant workers are hard workers and also boost the purchasing power; which consequently leads to a boost to the economy of the country. Over the years immigrants have faced oppressive, exploitative, as well as deprived conditions in the places of work in the United States. Most of them are paid very low wages, and often have very little potential to advance in their jobs; let alone the potential for fulfillment. Additionally, these workers are faced with very hazardous working conditions. As a result of these conditions, therefore, the state of Virginia has come up with state laws to govern the way employees are treated within the state. To begin with, Virginia has the Virginia Payment of Wages laws which employers are required to go by in paying their employees; whether they are citizens or foreigners. Under this wage law, the employers are required to establish regular rates of pay, as well as payment dates (Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, 2012). All employees have to be paid their full wages and salaries as well. However, the employers are not bound by law to pay such benefits as holiday, sick, and vacation payments to their employees. Additionally, the employers are not allowed to make deductions on the employees’ pay in order to make payments like taxes and so on. Secondly, there is the Virginia Minimum Wage Act which applies to all employers who do not meet coverage requirements that the federal labor standards act do not cover. Also, these employers must have more than four employees in their companies. As of July 24th 2009, the hourly payment rate for the lowest paid employee in the United States was at $7.25 for an hour. This rate is the same as the Virginia State rate. The national rate has to be at the same level as the state rate. Any increase in the national federal rate leads to the increase in the rate for the Virginia state (West & Bogumil, 2012). For years immigrants have been subjected to inhuman conditions in the places where they work and live. They have been paid very low income and still expected to stay silent on such matters. Any dissatisfaction with the little amounts of salaries they are paid often leads to black mail and they have been threatened with deportation. Worse still, most of the immigrants working in the United States go the extra mile to work several jobs in order to make ends meet. Life is always hard on them; the reason for the several jobs is because the other jobs pay so little that it cannot sustain their lives in the United States. In order to ensure that hiring of the foreign players complies with the state a well as the federal laws of employment; it is always necessary that proper planning and background checks on the employees be done before the employees are considered for employment (HG Experts, 2012). The main reason for this is because there are so many illegal immigrants in the United States. Employing illegal immigrants can bring its fair share of legal problems to a company. Such an action would also result into a scandal that would really tarnish a company’s corporate image. Having proper channels for hiring, therefore, is the best option for companies and organizations to ensure that all legalities with regard to employment and immigration laws on foreign employment sourcing are met. Additionally, it is prudent to make sure that the seasonal employees a company hires have no prior criminal records of any kind (Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, 2012). Depending on the positions of employment available, the company needs to devise plans to ensure that quality is obtained for the positions. Ensuring that the temporary employees meet the state and federal demands means the company has the best employees and have no legal problems with the state and the federal government. Additionally, the company gets the employees and pays the lowest possible wages and salaries. When the company gets these employees and they have a little extra skills, the company will be able to minimize the production costs and at the same time the company gets to have quality products and people who can perform (HG Experts, 2012). The result of this is that the company will have an advantage over the other companies in the same line of business. This is because the other companies may be paying so much for labor of the same kind. Another reason why having employees from foreign countries could be an advantage is because the employees often work hard to meet the requirements defined in their visas. Foreign employees also work hard to earn the favor of their employers; more so if they are temporary employees. If the legal requirements are not met, the employees hired will not be dedicated to their jobs. The first reason they may lack commitment to their jobs is the fact they may not be paid as stipulated by the laws and statutes of the land. Additionally, the company may miss on the opportunity to hire future employees if the current employees are not handled as required by the law. Also, the company risks getting sued if the needs and requirement of the law with regard to the employees are not met. Such legal actions against a company paint very bad images of the company and hurt the company in so many ways. The company loses some of its customers; investors pull out and so forth (West & Bogumil, 2012). Management of human resources has so many dimensions to it. It could be to the advantage of the company if the company hires from foreign countries and at the same time, it could be to its disadvantage. Employees need to be motivated in order to perform at the levels required by the company (Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, 2012). Management also needs to listen to the demands of the employees in order to get the best out of them. If the employees come cheap; in terms of labor payments, the company should work towards keeping the employees instead of working with temporary employees every now and again. The approach the managers take on hiring for their companies often goes a long way in ensuring that they achieve their long term goals (HG Experts, 2012). This often ensures that the human resources aspect of business production is ensured. Strategic human resource management also ensures that a company remains at the top and ahead of its competitors in terms of the funds it spends on its human resources, the production costs, and product prizes in the long run. With training too, a company gets to reap from the benefits of their investments. References HG Experts.(2012). Employment Law - Guide to Labor Law. Retrieved May 13, 2012, from HG.ORG: http://www.hg.org/employ.html#states Virginia Department of Labor and Industry.(2012). Labor and Employment Law. Retrieved May 13, 2012, from The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry: http://www.doli.virginia.gov/laborlaw/laborlaw.html West, L. A., & Bogumil, W. A. (2000). Foreign Knowledge Workers as a Strategic Staffing Option. Academy of Management Executive , 71-84. Read More