The Fair Labor Standards Act The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was passed by Congress on June 25th, 1938. The main objective of the act was to eliminate “labor conditions detrimental to the maintenance of the minimum standards of living necessary for health, efficiency and well-being of workers,”[1] who engaged directly or indirectly in interstate commerce, including those involved in production of goods bound for such commerce. A major provision of the act established a maximum work week and minimum wage. Initially, the minimum wage was $0.25 per hour, along with a maximum workweek of 44 hours for the first year, 42 for the second year and 40 thereafter. Minimum wages of $0.25 per hour were …show more content…
Wage Standards and Exemptions Covered nonexempt workers are entitled to a minimum wage of not less than $5.15 an hour. Overtime pay at a rate of not less than one and one-half times their regular rate of pay is required after 40 hours of work in a workweek. Wages required by FLSA are due on the regular payday for the pay period covered. Who is Covered? All employees of certain enterprises having workers engaged in interstate commerce, producing goods for interstate commerce, or handling, selling, or otherwise working on goods or materials that have been moved in or produced for such commerce are covered by FLSA. Employees of firms which are not covered enterprises under FLSA still may be subject to its minimum wage, overtime pay, and child labor provisions if they are individually engaged in interstate commerce or in the production of goods for interstate commerce, or in any closely-related process or occupation directly essential to such production. Recent Changes to FLSA The U.S Department of Labor (DOL) has strengthened overtime rights for 6.7 million American workers, including 1.3 million salaried white-collar employees who were denied overtime pay under previous rules.
In her book, Labor and Legality: An Ethnography of a Mexican Immigrant Network, Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz describes the lives of ten busboys, she referrs to as the Lions, living and working in the Chicago area. Gomberg-Muñoz provides an insight into the lives of these undocumented Mexican workers. They share their stories of crossing the border, the affects of their absence on family back in Mexico, and the daily struggles of living in a country without the benefits of citizenship. The Lions, as well as other undocumented Mexicans, have to face Americans stereotypes every day. Probably the biggest stereotype the Lions contend with is the belief that all Mexicans are hard workers.
The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor is a regional labor organization in the state of Los Angeles that has evolved representation of the interests of workers to include political involvement. Its formation was a function of political influence in labor and the relevance of merging labor movements to have better representations and high compulsion among leaders (Dean et al., 2009). The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, as the name suggests, is a composite labor body formed after the merging of all labor bodies in Los Angeles.
An egalitarian is someone who believes that not only should women be equal to men, but everyone should be equal to everyone and the only thing that separates us is our merits and the things that we have worked to achieve in life. That is why I am and always will be an egalitarian.
The following paper will introduce the house bill number 4266 titled Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2015. This bill attempts to lessen nurse injuries by investing in safe patient handling and mobilization technologies and education programs. This paper will provide a background on the bill. Next, the bill will be summarized and analyzed using Malone’s (2005) framework. The paper will next discuss ethical considerations, mainly focusing on utilitarianism and nonmaleficence to highlight both the pros and cons of the policy present by the house. A section is included on nurse support for the bill by the American Nurses Association, and finally a personal reflection.
For decades, the railroad industry was in a period of great economic political, and industrial changes in the United States. The industrial boom was taking its toll on the United States, and the widespread violent work stoppages were detrimental to the railroad industry due to tensions escalating between unions and workers. President Calvin Coolidge was strongly vocal about the issue and urged railroads and unions to recommend legislation to improve relations and ultimately reduce the threat of any railroad shutdowns. As a response, railroads and unions immediately drafted legislation, which in hopes would improve labor and union relations. On May 20, 1029, President Coolidge signed and designated the new law as the Railway Labor Act of 1926. Coined one of the most significant and longest lasting pieces of legislation, the Railway Labor Act provides a mechanism through which labor disputes between railroads and currently airlines, could be handled in a peaceful, non-disruptive manner. The Railway Labor Act of 1926 is unique unlike other legislations because it ensures no interruption to commerce, provides an unhindered right of employees to join a labor union, guarantees independence of an organization to enact the RLA, assists in work rules and working conditions, and assists in a prompt and orderly settlement of disputes.
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) in Australia along modern awards and employment contracts, has the power to control employee wages and conditions. Wages are the price paid to the labour force for its contributions in the production process. The FWC regulates if the National Employment Standards and enterprise agreements are met under the Fair Work Act (2009). Modern awards and employment contracts are arranged for the remaining individuals in order to determine their wages and conditions. Wages are also determined through the government implementation of price floors and also the supply and demand. Consequences are implemented by the FWC if Australia companies are found to have contravened the Fair Work Act (2009), one recent Australian company that was found to have infringed this legislation was Coles.
Capitalism was the sole purpose for being the cause of an exponential use of slaves in all aspects of production. Notably, it involved an economic system whose basis originates from private ownership of all the means of production as well as the production of goods and services majorly meant for profit. With characteristics such as accumulation of capital, labor, private property ownership, and competitive market. Therefore, there was a great need for means of production hence slavery. However, there is a close relationship between free and slave labor as used in production. The paper uses “Capitalism and Slavery” (William, 1961) as a primary source material to compare the profitability of free labor and slave labor through an in-depth discussion of the role the African slavery played in the development of capitalism in the New World. Free labor and slave labor both have profits in the production process and would be applied differently at various places. For instance, slave labor was profitable in activities in which little skills and versatility in production process were required. It is worth noting that, the use of slave labor to cultivate a fresh soil is more profitable than the use of free men in the cultivation of an exhausted land. However, the use of slave labor was the option at the earlier stages of development of colonies, although slaved labor was unskillful, given reluctantly, and lacks versatility (Eltis, 2000). Moreover, use of slave labor were not moral but
In the history of the United States many laws have been established. These laws serve as guidelines of behaviors that are acceptable and unacceptable in society. The Fair Labor Standards Act is considered to be an important law because it affects employers and employees in the private sector, Federal, State and local government. It sets labor standards that employers must abide and comes with severe penalties if employers are investigated and found guilty of violating this law.
The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), also known as the Wagner Act, was enacted in Congress in 1935 and became one of the most important legacies of the New Deal. Prior to the passage of the NLRA, employers had been free to spy on, interrogate, discipline, discharge, and blacklist union members. Reversing years of federal opposition, the statute guaranteed the right of employees to organize labor unions, to engage in collective bargaining, and to take part in strikes. The act also created a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to arbitrate deadlocked labor-management disputes, guarantee democratic union elections, and penalize unfair labor practices by employers. The law applied to all employees involved in the interstate
The Fair Labor Standards Act sets the minimum wage rate and requires employers to pay employees overtime for any hours worked over 40 per week. The Fair Labor Standards Act also requires employers to pay employees one and one-half times their regular pay per hour for overtime hours worked. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act jobs are either exempt on non-exempt. Non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Exempt employees are not covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act an exempt employee is entitled to receive their base salary. In order for an employee to be considered exempt the employee must earn at least $455 per week and paid on a salary basis along with performing
Throughout the years the United States has faced many challenges with equal employment opportunities for everyone. The United States has developed The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, also known as the EEOC, to enforce laws that help prevent everyone from being treated unfairly when it comes to employment options. The EEOC has established stipulations and overlooks all of the federal equal employment opportunity regulations, practices and policies (“Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination Questions and Answers”). Some laws that have been passed are the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. Although some discrimination is still a problem, all of these
David Brody argues that the rise of contractual or collective bargaining relationships during the post WWII era formalized the relationship between employers and unions. The use of collective bargaining agreements to resolve workplace disputes weakened unions and the power of workers. Other actions, such as using collection bargaining as a form of substitution for direct action and using it instead of the strike for grievance and arbitration procedure served , also has weakened the unions and the power of workers. The rise of contractual or collective bargaining relationships changed the dynamic of the workplace, shifting the power from the union side to towards the employers. The perspective could best be argued suing Weber’s theory and
The legally required employee benefits constitute nearly a quarter of the benefits package that employers provide. These benefits include employer contributions to Social Security, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation insurance. Altogether such benefits represent about twenty-one and half percent of payroll costs.
Is the new Employment Standards Act improving or deceasing from the old Employment Standards Act legislation? I think the new Employment Standards Act (ESA) is improving from the original legislation, especially in relation to Leaves, Overtime and Wages. First, lets talk about old legislation of leaves from the ESA. When people have a personal emergency, death of the family, have a child or if you are sick, they all count as leaves. They are called Personal emergency leave and family caregiver/medical leave. Personal emergency leave is 10 days off and you don’t get paid. In order to qualify, the employer must a least employed 50 employees. Family caregiver leave is more like taking care of your family (job protection). It gives you time off from work to give you care and support to
Employment or labor laws have been developed to facilitate smooth relationship between employers and employees. Employment laws provide rules and regulations that should govern both the employer and the employees in their places of work. Employment laws discuss issues related to child labor, wages and salaries, retirement, working conditions, compensations, incentives and employment benefits among others. The major objective is to ensure the employer does not exploit the employee and on the other hand, the employee honors the terms and conditions of the job as presented by the employer.