Ch. 10: Employment, Immigration, and Labor Law – No. 1
Clarkson et al.’s Business Law: Commercial Law for Accountants (1E)
EMPLOYMENT AT WILL
Ch. 10: Employment, Immigration, and Labor Law – No. 2
Clarkson et al.’s Business Law: Commercial Law for Accountants (1E)
WAGE AND HOUR LAWS
lawn care, newspaper delivery, and entertainment.
Children aged 14 or 15 are allowed to work in any non-
hazardous occupation; however, FLSA establishes strict
limits on the number of hours per day, the number of
days per week, as well as the hours and days on which
may pay an hourly-wage employee (currently $7.25 per
hour).
Maximum Hours/Overtime: Except for so-called
exempt employees (e.g., professionals, executives),
Clarkson et al.’s Business Law: Commercial Law for Accountants (1E)
LAYOFFS
Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN)
(1) 50 employees and 33 percent (33%) of the full-time
employees at a single site or
(2) 500 full-time employees
being laid off for more than six months or having their
work hours reduced by more than 50% during each
the WARN Act), and
(2) state and local governments in the affected
location(s).
Ch. 10: Employment, Immigration, and Labor Law – No. 4
Clarkson et al.’s Business Law: Commercial Law for Accountants (1E)
FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): Federal law
requiring employers with 50 or more employees to provide
their employees with up to 12 weeks of family or medical
leave during any twelve-month period.
During the leave period, the employer must continue to
provide benefits to the employee; however, the employer
(2) worked less than 25 hours per week for the
previous year, or
(3) is a key employee whose pay falls within the top 10
percent of the employer’s workforce.
Clarkson et al.’s Business Law: Commercial Law for Accountants (1E)
VIOLATIONS OF THE FMLA
An employer that violates the FMLA can be required to
provide various remedies, including:
Ch. 10: Employment, Immigration, and Labor Law – No. 6
Clarkson et al.’s Business Law: Commercial Law for Accountants (1E)
EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND SAFETY
Employers must promptly report any workplace
accident as a result of which an employee was killed or
at least five employees were hospitalized.
Failure to comply with OSHA standards or failure to
workplace or work-related injuries
(1) arising out of, or in the course of, their employment,
(2) regardless of fault.
Generally speaking, compensable injuries must be
Ch. 10: Employment, Immigration, and Labor Law – No. 7
Clarkson et al.’s Business Law: Commercial Law for Accountants (1E)
INCOME SECURITY
Social Security: Government-assured supplemental income
for (1) retired persons, (2) their survivors, and (3) disabled
persons. Social Security is funded by (non-voluntary)
employer and employee “contributions.”
savings, subject to the requirements of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
Unemployment Insurance: Government-assured, short-term
income insurance for qualified persons who are unemployed.
Ch. 10: Employment, Immigration, and Labor Law – No. 8
Clarkson et al.’s Business Law: Commercial Law for Accountants (1E)
HEALTH INSURANCE SECURITY
COBRA: Federal law extending an employee’s right to
participate (at the employee’s expense) in employer-provided
medical, dental, or optical insurance beyond the date of the
employee’s voluntary or involuntary termination.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
(HIPAA): Federal law limiting the ability of an employer that
provides its employees health insurance to exclude coverage
for “preexisting conditions” and requiring an employer to
decrease the qualifying (i.e., waiting) period for a new
who fails to do so can be fined up to $2000 for each employee
after the first thirty people.
Ch. 10: Employment, Immigration, and Labor Law – No. 9
Clarkson et al.’s Business Law: Commercial Law for Accountants (1E)
(2) accessing an employee’s stored electronic
communications.
Business-Extension Exception: Employers may
monitor their employees’ electronic communications
Balancing Test: Courts generally balance the employer’s
interest in discovering its employees’ communications and
the employees’ reasonable expectation of privacy. Thus, an
employer who informs its employees that it intends to
monitor their communications will fare better than one who
monitors without prior disclosure.
Ch. 10: Employment, Immigration, and Labor Law – No. 2
Clarkson et al.’s Business Law: Commercial Law for Accountants (1E)
WAGE AND HOUR LAWS
lawn care, newspaper delivery, and entertainment.
Children aged 14 or 15 are allowed to work in any non-
hazardous occupation; however, FLSA establishes strict
limits on the number of hours per day, the number of
days per week, as well as the hours and days on which
may pay an hourly-wage employee (currently $7.25 per
hour).
Maximum Hours/Overtime: Except for so-called
exempt employees (e.g., professionals, executives),
Clarkson et al.’s Business Law: Commercial Law for Accountants (1E)
LAYOFFS
Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN)
(1) 50 employees and 33 percent (33%) of the full-time
employees at a single site or
(2) 500 full-time employees
being laid off for more than six months or having their
work hours reduced by more than 50% during each
the WARN Act), and
(2) state and local governments in the affected
location(s).
Ch. 10: Employment, Immigration, and Labor Law – No. 4
Clarkson et al.’s Business Law: Commercial Law for Accountants (1E)
FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): Federal law
requiring employers with 50 or more employees to provide
their employees with up to 12 weeks of family or medical
leave during any twelve-month period.
During the leave period, the employer must continue to
provide benefits to the employee; however, the employer
(2) worked less than 25 hours per week for the
previous year, or
(3) is a key employee whose pay falls within the top 10
percent of the employer’s workforce.
Clarkson et al.’s Business Law: Commercial Law for Accountants (1E)
VIOLATIONS OF THE FMLA
An employer that violates the FMLA can be required to
provide various remedies, including:
Ch. 10: Employment, Immigration, and Labor Law – No. 6
Clarkson et al.’s Business Law: Commercial Law for Accountants (1E)
EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND SAFETY
Employers must promptly report any workplace
accident as a result of which an employee was killed or
at least five employees were hospitalized.
Failure to comply with OSHA standards or failure to
workplace or work-related injuries
(1) arising out of, or in the course of, their employment,
(2) regardless of fault.
Generally speaking, compensable injuries must be
Ch. 10: Employment, Immigration, and Labor Law – No. 7
Clarkson et al.’s Business Law: Commercial Law for Accountants (1E)
INCOME SECURITY
Social Security: Government-assured supplemental income
for (1) retired persons, (2) their survivors, and (3) disabled
persons. Social Security is funded by (non-voluntary)
employer and employee “contributions.”
savings, subject to the requirements of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
Unemployment Insurance: Government-assured, short-term
income insurance for qualified persons who are unemployed.
Ch. 10: Employment, Immigration, and Labor Law – No. 8
Clarkson et al.’s Business Law: Commercial Law for Accountants (1E)
HEALTH INSURANCE SECURITY
COBRA: Federal law extending an employee’s right to
participate (at the employee’s expense) in employer-provided
medical, dental, or optical insurance beyond the date of the
employee’s voluntary or involuntary termination.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
(HIPAA): Federal law limiting the ability of an employer that
provides its employees health insurance to exclude coverage
for “preexisting conditions” and requiring an employer to
decrease the qualifying (i.e., waiting) period for a new
who fails to do so can be fined up to $2000 for each employee
after the first thirty people.
Ch. 10: Employment, Immigration, and Labor Law – No. 9
Clarkson et al.’s Business Law: Commercial Law for Accountants (1E)
(2) accessing an employee’s stored electronic
communications.
Business-Extension Exception: Employers may
monitor their employees’ electronic communications
Balancing Test: Courts generally balance the employer’s
interest in discovering its employees’ communications and
the employees’ reasonable expectation of privacy. Thus, an
employer who informs its employees that it intends to
monitor their communications will fare better than one who
monitors without prior disclosure.