9.1 Employment, Worker Protection, and Immigration Law

The Fair Labor Standards Act and Family and Medical Leave Act are crucial pillars of worker protection in the US. These laws set standards for wages, overtime, child labor, and job-protected leave, ensuring basic rights for employees across various industries.

Worker safety, compensation, and termination regulations further safeguard employees' interests. From OSHA standards to unemployment benefits and COBRA coverage, these laws provide a safety net for workers facing job loss, injury, or other challenging circumstances.

Employment and Worker Protection Laws

Key provisions of Fair Labor Standards Act

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• Establishes minimum wage currently set at $7.25 per hour federally, though states may set higher rates
• Requires overtime pay at 1.5 times regular rate for non-exempt employees working over 40 hours in a workweek (retail workers, manual laborers)
• Sets child labor restrictions with minimum age of 14 for most non-agricultural work (paper routes, babysitting)
  • Limits hours and types of work for minors under 16 (no more than 3 hours on school days)
  • Prohibits hazardous occupations for minors under 18 (mining, manufacturing)
• Applies to employers engaged in interstate commerce or with annual sales of $500,000 or more
• Exempts certain employees from minimum wage and overtime requirements (executive, administrative, professional employees)
• Provides framework for collective bargaining between employers and labor unions

Rights under Family and Medical Leave Act

• Entitles eligible employees to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave annually for:
  • Birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child
  • Serious health condition of employee or immediate family member (cancer, surgery recovery)
  • Military exigency leave (short-notice deployment, military events)
• Requires employees to have worked for employer at least 12 months and 1,250 hours in previous 12 months
• Applies to employers with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius
• Protects against workplace discrimination based on use of FMLA leave

Regulations for employment termination

• COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) requires employers with 20 or more employees to offer continuation of group health coverage to qualified beneficiaries
  • Includes employees, spouses, and dependent children
  • Triggered by qualifying events like termination, reduction in hours, divorce, or death of covered employee (layoffs, resignations)
  • Coverage offered for 18-36 months depending on qualifying event at up to 102% of plan cost
• ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) sets minimum standards for private industry retirement and health plans
  • Mandates providing participants with plan information on features and funding (vesting schedules, benefit formulas)
  • Establishes fiduciary responsibilities for plan managers and controllers
  • Grants participants right to sue for benefits and fiduciary duty breaches
• Unemployment compensation provides temporary financial assistance to eligible unemployed workers through joint federal-state program
  • Eligibility and benefit amounts vary by state based on work and wage requirements (base period earnings)
  • Requires active job seeking to qualify and is funded by employer taxes
• At-will employment doctrine allows either employer or employee to terminate the relationship at any time without cause, unless limited by contract or law

Worker Safety and Compensation

• Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) sets and enforces standards for workplace safety and health
• Workers' compensation programs provide benefits to employees who suffer work-related injuries or illnesses
• Immigration laws regulate employment of foreign workers through various visa categories