978-1285063003 Chapter 16 Part 2

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SUPERVISORY MANAGEMENT Instructor’s Manual

tions for applicants and employees with physical or mental impairments that substantially

limit major life activities.

• Accommodations are not considered reasonable if they place an undue hardship on the em-

ployer or would require an employer to violate a collectively bargained seniority system.

VIII. Workplace Violence

• In 2005, a Bureau of Labor Statistics survey revealed that almost 5% of the 7.1 million private

businesses in the United States had had at least one incident of workplace violence in the prior 12

months, and half of businesses with 1,000 or more employees had at least one violent incident.

• Violence at work may occur for a variety of reasons, including prejudice and discrimination, work-

related stress, personality differences, and non-work-related personal problems such as domestic

violence.

IX. Other Legal Issues

• Some other important supervisory responsibilities need to be explained, including employee bene-

fits, the comparable worth issue, and other factors affecting wage rates.

A. Legally Required Benefits

• Employers are required by law to provide all employees with Social Security and Medicare,

workers’ compensation, and unemployment insurance.

• Also, some employers must provide certain employees with family and medical leave.

• Others will be required to provide health insurance or face penalties under the Patient Protection

and Affordable Care Act of 2010.

1. Social Security and Medicare

• One part of the Social Security system provides retirement benefits for workers; the other

provides disability, survivors’, and Medicare benefits.

• To be eligible, a worker must have contributed taxes into the system for 10 years.

• Benefits are financed by a payroll tax paid by both employer and employee.

• Retirees’ benefits are subject to frequent Congressional changes.

• The Social Security tax rate (in 2009) is 6.2% paid by both employees and employers; an ad-

ditional 1.45% Medicare tax on all earnings paid by both the employer and the employee.

2. Workers’ Compensation

• All states have laws to protect employees against loss of income due to accidental injury or

SUPERVISORY MANAGEMENT Instructor’s Manual

terstate commerce, all federal employees, and some state employees.

• The FLSA requires employers to pay at least the minimum wage for all hours worked and to

pay most employees at least 1 ½ times their regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in the

same workweek, better known as overtime.

• One of the biggest issues in many of the wage and hour cases is whether the complaining

employee is even entitled to the protection of the law.

• Some employees, referred to as exempt employees, including executives, administrators and

professional employees, outside sales personnel, and other selected groups, are not covered

by all provisions of this law.

• The job duties of exempt employees are duties that do not neatly fit within a 40 hour work-

week and for which it would be difficult to substitute one employee for another at the end of

40 hours of work.

• The FLSA also prevents child labor by making 14 the minimum working age for most non-

farm jobs and limiting work hours for other young workers.

• The Davis-Bacon Act and the Walsh-Healey Act impact the wage rates that must be paid by

private business that have certain types of contracts with the federal government.

• These acts differ from the Fair Labor Standards Act in two aspects.

• First, the actual rate of pay is set by the Secretary of Labor. This rate of pay is called the

prevailing wage rate in the area and approximates the union wage scale for the area in the

given type of work.

o A second difference is that overtime is paid at “time and a half for all hours worked

over 8 hours in a given day as well as over 40 hours in a given week.

• Public policy now prohibits discrimination in pay unless it is based on job-related factors

such as performance or experience.

• For example:

o The Equal Pay Act prohibits different rates of pay for men and women doing the same

type of work.

o Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion,

sex, or national origin.

o The Age Discrimination in Employment Act prohibits discrimination against persons

40 and older.

o Vocational Rehabilitation Act and Americans with Disabilities Act prohibit discrimina-

tion against persons with handicaps.

2. Collective Bargaining

• When unions are involved, basic wages job differentials, individual rates of pay, and em-

ployee benefits tend to be determined through the collective bargaining process.

• Benefits commonly provided in union agreements include health insurance, life insurance,

pension or other retirement benefits, disability benefits, sick leave, bereavement leave, and

vacation or other paid time off.

• Even nonunionized employees are affected by the wage rates and benefits paid by unionized

firms because to remain competitive in the labor market union-free employers often offer

CHAPTER NOTES Chapter 16

wages and benefits similar to those required by collective bargaining agreements in the re-

cruiting area.

• At this time it is not completely clear how the various employer-related provisions of the Pa-

tient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) will impact the supervisory function.

o However, we do know that under the PPACA, employers are now required to provide

breaks to nursing mothers to express breast milk for the first year after the child’s birth

and provide “a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from

intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to ex-

press breast milk.”

XII. Chapter Review

The PowerPoint slides correlated with the Lecture Outline above are available on the Instructors CD-

ROM and on the product support website.

PowerPoint Slide 16-1 Chapter 15 Title

PowerPoint Slide 16-2 Learning Objectives

PowerPoint Slide 16-3 Learning Objectives (cont’d)

PowerPoint Slide 16-4 Labor Relations

PowerPoint Slide 16-5 Development of Unions in the United States

PowerPoint Slide 16-6 Decline of Unions in the United States

PowerPoint Slide 16-7 Basic Laws Governing Labor Relations

PowerPoint Slide 16-8 Unfair Practices

PowerPoint Slide 16-9 Right-to–work Laws and Employees’ Bill of Rights

PowerPoint Slide 16-10 Rights of Employees (Text Exhibit 16-4)

PowerPoint Slide 16-11 Unfair Labor Practices of Unions (Text Exhibit 16-5)

PowerPoint Slide 16-12 Unfair Labor Practices of Employers (Text Exhibit 16-6)

PowerPoint Slide 16-13 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

PowerPoint Slide 16-14 Union Principles and Objectives

PowerPoint Slide 16-15 Methods of Attaining Objectives

PowerPoint Slide 16-16 Steps in the Union Organizing Process

PowerPoint Slide 16-17 Steps in the Union Organizing Process (cont’d)

PowerPoint Slide 16-18 Organizing Employees

PowerPoint Slide 16-19 Organizing Employees (cont’d)

PowerPoint Slide 16-20 Things Supervisors May Do when a Union Tries to Organize their Company

PowerPoint Slide 16-21 Things Supervisors May Do when a Union Tries to Organize their Company

(cont’d)

PowerPoint Slide 16-22 Becoming Recognized as the Employees’ Exclusive Bargaining Agent

PowerPoint Slide 16-23 Engaging in Collective Bargaining

PowerPoint Slide 16-24 Conducting a Strike or Lockout

PowerPoint Slide 16-25 Collective Bargaining Agreement or Contract

Visual Resources

SUPERVISORY MANAGEMENT Instructor’s Manual

PowerPoint Slide 16-26 Supervisors’ Rights under the Agreement

PowerPoint Slide 16-27 Union Steward, Role of Seniority, and Grievance Procedures

PowerPoint Slide 16-28 Typical Grievance Procedure in a Unionized Organization (Text Exhibit 16-11)

PowerPoint Slide 16-29 Legal Influences on Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action

PowerPoint Slide 16-30 Legal Influences on Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action

(cont’d)

PowerPoint Slide 16-31 Legal Influences on Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action

(cont’d)

PowerPoint Slide 16-32 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

PowerPoint Slide 16-33 Types of Discrimination

PowerPoint Slide 16-34 Sexual Harassment

PowerPoint Slide 16-35 Legally Required Benefits

PowerPoint Slide 16-36 Should Jobs of Comparable Worth Receive Comparable Pay? (Text Exhibit 16-

13)

PowerPoint Slide 16-37 Governmental factors Affecting Wage Rates

1. Define labor relations.

2. When did unions grow the fastest? Why?

3. Why has union growth slowed? What can unions do to appeal to younger workers entering the work-

force?

There are many reasons for declining union membership. The older smokestack industries, such as

Solutions to the Questions for Review & Discussion

CHAPTER NOTES Chapter 16

discourage union membership.

The decline in union membership is partially due to the passage and enforcement of laws to protect

employees.

4. Do you believe that union power will increase or decrease in the future? Why?

5. Name the laws that form the legal basis for labor relations, and explain their general provisions.

The major laws that form the legal basis for union-management relations are the National Labor

Relations Act (Wagner Act) of 1935, as amended by the Labor-Management Relations Act (Taft-

The Wagner Act was passed to protect employees and unions by limiting management’s rights. It

The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 changed the Wagner Act by making it more evenhanded—unions

could be charged with unfair labor practices. The Act prohibited the closed shop agreement and gave

6. What are the differences among the union shop, the closed shop, and the agency shop? Are these

differences really significant? Explain. How do right-to-work laws impact the ability of unions to

demand union shop clauses in collective bargaining agreements?

SUPERVISORY MANAGEMENT Instructor’s Manual

they wish, but the union still receives the financial support of every worker, just as it would under

one of the other types.

The right-to-work laws impacts the ability of the unions to demand union shop clauses in collective

bargaining agreements as the right-to–work laws protects the employees’ right to either join or refuse

to join a union without the fear of being terminated.

7. What are some “unfair labor practices,” and what are some unfair labor practices that management

sometimes commits?

Unfair labor practices of employers include the following:

• To interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees using their rights under the law

8. What are some unfair labor practices that unions sometimes commit?

Unfair labor practices of unions include the following:

9. What are the primary objectives of unions?

The primary objectives of unions are higher pay; shorter hours of work on a daily, weekly, or annual

10. What are the methods used by unions to achieve their objectives?

11. What provisions are usually included in a labor agreement?

CHAPTER NOTES Chapter 16

A typical labor agreement usually contains clauses covering at least the following areas: union

recognition, wages, vacations and holidays, working conditions, layoffs and rehiring, management

prerogatives, hours of work, seniority, arbitration, and renewal clause.

12. Describe the typical grievance procedure.

There are usually five steps in a formal grievance procedure.

13. Why have union-free employers begun implementing grievance procedures, including mandatory

arbitration, traditionally found only in unionized workplaces?

Many nonunion organizations use formal complaint procedures that are comparable in many ways to

14. Why has “termination at will” declined as a management tool?

15. What are the protected classes under federal employment discrimination laws? Are white men pro-

tected? Why or why not.

SUPERVISORY MANAGEMENT Instructor’s Manual

with disabilities, as well as individuals who are perceived as disabled, have a history of a

16. How do EEO laws affect recruiting and selecting of employees?

All aspects of selecting and appraising employees are affected by Equal Employment Opportunity

17. What is the difference between disparate treatment discrimination and disparate impact discrimina-

tion?

18. What is the role of the supervisor in helping the employer defend claims of disparate treatment?

The employer’s best defense to a disparate treatment class is showing that the employer was

motivated by a legitimate, non-discriminatory business reason. In other words he employer did what

19. What steps should employers take to reduce the risk of sexual harassment in the workplace?

CHAPTER NOTES Chapter 16

Supervisors and their managers should take strong, quick, and positive measures to discourage sexu-

20. Name and describe the four legally required employee benefits.

The three legally required employee benefits are Social Security, workers’ compensation, and

unemployment insurance.

Workers’ Compensation. All states have passed workers’ compensation laws protecting employees

and their families against permanent loss of income due to accidental injury or illness resulting from

Skill Builder 16.1

The Legal Landscape

Works with SCANS competencies: Information

• Refer to the chapter preview to assist students when answering the following question:

Were the City of New Haven’s business practices discriminatory?

Solutions to the Skill Builders

SUPERVISORY MANAGEMENT Instructor’s Manual

Skill Builder 16.2

Social Media in Today’s Workplace

Works with SCANS competencies: Information, Systems, Technology

After reading the situation given in the text, ask your students to answer the following questions using the

• What should you do in this situation?

• Should your company have a social media policy governing what employees can post on social me-

dia sites about the company or its employees? Are there limits on what can be prohibited?

Case 16-1

United States Freight Group

1. From a management perspective, why did the company allow the initial childish behavior (coffee on

the seat, spit on the steering wheel, etc.) to escalate into employee confrontation.

2. When does childish behavior become a harassment issue? At what point does one’s practical jokes

or intimidating actions toward one employee impact all employees?

3. Visit the Occupational Safety & Health Administration’s Website and review the agency’s “Fact

Sheet” on workplace violence (http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_General_Facts/factsheet-

workplace-violence.pdf). What kind of policy statement and/or plan should the company include in

Solutions to the Case

CHAPTER NOTES Chapter 16

Above all, the company needs to better address employee concerns. Open communication with

4. What additional legal issues does this case problem raise for USFG?

5. Would USFG face potential liability if it fired A.J. based on the rumored threats of violence?

6. The National Rifle Association is lobbying for states to pass laws that would prohibit employers from