Chapter 44: Rights and Responsibilities in the Workplace

1. Chapter 44: Rights and Responsibilities in the Workplace May 30, 2006

2. Looking for a Job • Interviewing • Be prepared! Dress and act appropriately • Do research on the company • Things they cannot ask or make issues of: • Marital Status • Disability • Race • National Origin • Personal practices outside the workplace • Bona Fide Occupational Qualification

3. Testing • Psychological • Some occupations may require a psychological test (police, fire, military) • Drug • Most companies are allowed to screen for drug/alcohol before hiring. • After hiring, there must be a reasonable suspicion before you can make an employee take another test • Polygraph • The 1988 Polygraph Protection Act forbids employers from conducting polygraph tests except for: • Security Guards • Federal, State and Local Government Employees

4. Conditions on the Job • Minimum Wage • Most employers have to pay a minimum wage to their workers. Some exceptions include: • Newspaper delivery • Part time retail • Service or agricultural jobs held by full-time students • Jobs that pay tips • Overtime • Employers must pay 1.5 time the wage for any hours worked over 40.

5. Taxes and Benefits • Employers must withhold federal and state taxes from your check. • You must fill out a W2 for every job you are in. • Fringe benefits: • Items employers may decide to provide to employees free of charge or at a reduced rate: • Health, life, disability insurance • Pensions • Sick leave • Vacation

6. Social Security • This is also automatically taken out of your paycheck. • Social Security pays retirement, disability or death benefits to eligible workers, their families or both.

7. Unions • A union is an association of workers that seeks to secure favorable wages, improve working conditions and hours and resolve grievances with employers. • 50% of workers must vote to have a union. • Unions work with employers through a collective bargaining agreement • Unions can strike and picket if they vote to do so in order to force the employer to give certain concessions

8. Health and Safety in the Workplace • Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 • Requires that employers provide safe and healthy working conditions for all workers. • Self-employed or members of a farmer’s family are not covered. • The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) oversees federal safely standards.

9. Privacy at Work • Employers are legally allowed to oversee the conduct and actions of employees at work in a variety of ways: • Cameras • Searches • Internet/E-mail monitoring • Security Guards • Wiretapping without a warrant is prohibited by federal law!!

10. Losing a Job • Employment contracts: • Most employers use an employment at will contract which means you are free to quit at any time for any reasons, but that your employer can terminate you at any time for any reason. • Most government jobs are not this type of employment and any employees under a collective bargaining agreement have certain rights and procedures that must be followed.

11. When is a firing illegal? • A termination may be illegal when it is based on: • Race • Sex • National Origin • Religion • Age • Disability • Revenge for “whistle blowing”

12. Procedures before termination • The employer must follow due process that the company has before termination. • Two type of termination: • Firing due to job performance • Lay off due to financial instability • In a lay off, employers generally must inform employees 60 days in advance or provide salary for the days that then employee would have been originally paid for. • They employee may also have the right to continued health benefits for a certain period of time.

13. If you lose your job • File for unemployment!! • You cannot usually claim unemployment if you quit a job, are fired for misconduct. • You can claim benefits for 26 weeks with an additional 26 weeks granted at the discretion of the Unemployment Board. • You must have worked for 20-40 weeks in the 12 months prior to the date of your unemployment