Sexual Harassment | Workplace Safety | Fair Labor Standards Act | Child Labor
Sexual Harassment
Occurs in two different scenarios: the first is where an employer
subjects an employee in his/her work environment to unwelcome
verbal or physical sexual behavior, or other abusive behavior
directed disproportionately against women, that is either severe
or pervasive. This is known as Hostile-work environment sexual
harassment.The other scenario occurs when an employee is required
to submit to unwelcome sexual conduct as a condition of his or
her job, or in order to gain some job benefit. This is known
as Quid pro quo sexual harassment.
Workplace Safety
The main statute protecting the health and safety of workers
in the workplace is the Occupational and Safety Health Act (OSHA).
Congress enacted this legislation under its Constitutional grant
of authority to regulate interstate commerce. OSHA requires the
Secretary of Labor to promulgate regulations and safety and health
standards to protect employees and their families. Every private
employer who engages in interstate commerce is subject to the
regulations promulgated under OSHA.
Under OSHA states are not allowed, without permission of the
Secretary of Labor, to promulgate any laws that regulate an area
directly covered by OSHA regulations. They may, however, regulate
in areas not governed by federal OSHA regulations. If they wish
to regulate areas covered by OSHA regulations they must submit
a plan for federal approval. The amount of state regulation varies
greatly. California is an example of a state that has chosen
to adopt many of its own regulations in place of those promulgated
under OSHA.
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Fair Labor Standards Act
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), also Federal Wage and Hour
Law, measure enacted by the United States Congress in 1938 to
eliminate labor conditions injurious to the health and efficiency
of workers, and unfair methods of competition based on these
conditions. The act prohibited the introduction into interstate
commerce of goods produced in violation of its provisions. It
provided for a minimum wage of 25 cents an hour, required the
payment of overtime at a rate of at least time and one half the
regular rate of pay for hours in any work week in excess of 44,
and prohibited "oppressive child labor." A subsequent increase
of the minimum wage to 40 cents, and a decrease in the maximum
non overtime hours to 40, was incorporated in the original law.
Over the years the act has been amended periodically to raise
the minimum wage, reduce the hours that could be worked without
overtime pay, and extend the coverage to many more low-income
workers. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 also amended the FLSA by prohibiting
wage differentials based on sex.
EXEMPTIONS
The act contains exemptions from its provisions
for executive, administrative, professional, and academic employees;
certain farm workers; full-time students; learners and apprentices;
handicapped workers; and workers in some specialized or seasonal
employment. In Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and American
Samoa, industry-wage orders calling for sub minimum rates may
be fixed.
The act also gives partial exemptions from the overtime-pay
provisions for workers in industries that are found by the secretary
of labor to be seasonal, as well as for persons working under
union contracts specifying certain hours, and attained through
the process of collective bargaining by a union certified by
the National Labor Relations Board.
OPPRESSIVE CHILD LABOR
Oppressive child labor is generally defined as the employment of children under
the age of 16, except for children between 14 and 16 years of age working
under non hazardous conditions that do not interfere with their schooling,
health, or well-being. The minimum age for employment in hazardous occupations
is 18. Children of any age may, however, be employed as theatrical performers
and may work in agriculture outside school hours.
Enforcement is the responsibility of the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S.
Department of Labor. Willful violations of the law are punishable by fines
and imprisonment.
CONTROVERSY As the minimum wage has risen, the law has increasingly
come under attack. Critics contend that the minimum wage limits
employment opportunities, especially for young people and the
elderly. Most workers, however, favor a minimum wage as being
necessary to maintain an adequate standard of living.
