ISSUES
What is the Workplace Action for a Growing Economy (“WAGE”) Act and why should Congress pass this legislation?
BRIEF ANSWER
Currently, the remedies available under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) are purely remedial, and do not adequately protect the rights of workers, and “[a]s a result, a culture of near impunity has taken shape in much of U.S. labor law . . . labor law enforcement often fails to deter unlawful conduct. When the law is applied, enervating delays and weak remedies invited continued violations.” The WAGE Act would amend the NLRA to address these inadequate remedies by providing for greater remedies for workers, punitive damages, and civil fines among other things. The WAGE Act was introduced to both
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The Act itself recognizes the inefficiency of the current NLRA remedies, “[t]he current remedies are inadequate to deter employers from violating the National Labor Relations Act.” First, the Act provides that for employers who commit 8(a)(3) and 8(a)(4) ULPs that “results in the discharge of an employee or other serious economic loss to an employees,” the Board, in addition to back pay, may allow for liquidated damages up to double the amount of the back pay, “without any reduction (including any reduction based on the employee’s interim earnings or failure to earn interim earnings).” Further, the Act solidifies the posting requirement in addition to requiring the employer to inform all new employees of the information within the notice, and for violations of the Board’s posting order, the Board would have the power to levy a civil penalty against the employer up for $500 for each …show more content…
Firstly, by creating punitive remedies and civil fines, the Act would make it costlier for employers to violate the NLRA and change the economics of bargaining versus not bargaining with employees. Secondly, the injunction power and the private right of action address the issues of employers delaying proceedings and thereby harming workers further and allows workers to become interested in pursing their own grievances. Additionally, by providing workers with double liquidated damages for discharge and other serious economic harm, the Act addresses other economic losses not covered by the Act, and gives more incentive for workers to pursue actions against employers violating the laws. This would also largely put a stop to courts limiting the remedies provided for by the
1. Case Cite: [Nafta Traders, Inc. v. Quinn, 339 S.W.3d 84 (Tex. 2011)] 2. Facts: In Nafta Traders, an employee sued her employer for sex discrimination in violation of state law. The dispute was sent to arbitration, where the employee prevailed. The employer demanded the award in court, disputing that it has damages that were either not allowed or for which there was no evidence.
v. NLRB, Case Nos. 01-3606 and 01-3987 (7th Cir. Aug. 1, 2003), which has similar relating facts to Drake and Keeler’s, it provided some guidance on understanding protected and unprotected strikes. In the case of Trompler, Inc v. NLRB, the employer was held liable for back pay and reinstatement for terminating six employees who walked off the job in response to unanswered complaints regarding the higher level supervisor (“When May Nonunion”, 2003). Even though both Drake and Keeler made a complaint to their supervisor about the work conditions, they did not necessarily have to provide a complaint.
I will discuss the historical significates of the Davis-Bacon Act as well as the present day implications of the Construction Wage Rate requirements Statue. During the great depression the lack of representation and enormous discrimination of minorities provided an unfair advantage to white unionized workers. The Davis-Bacon Act was a direct reflection of this ideology, according to Institute for Justice, “with the specific intent of preventing non-unionized black and immigrant laborers from competing with unionized white workers for scarce jobs…” (Bullock). The Davis–Bacon Act of 1931 is named after, James J. Davis, a Senator from Pennsylvania and Representative Robert L. Bacon of Long Island, New York and was passed by Congress and signed
The Yellow dog contract that an employee was made to sign prevented the employee to be a part of any union or, any other labor organization. This contract provided the employers with tremendous power in making or, breaking an employee and his / her employment in the company. This contract was thus made unenforceable by this Act. The second declaration of The Norris Laguardia Relation Act prevented the Federal court of jurisdiction to issue injunctions against publicizing a labor dispute through speaking, patrolling or any type of assembling. The court also could not impede the efforts of the labor organizations to publicize facts in connection with labor
In the Oubre v. Entergy Operations, Inc. Case, Dolores Oubre the plaintiff was a scheduler at power plant in Killona, Louisiana, which is run by Entergy Operations, Inc. (the defendant). In 1994, Oubre’s employer gave her two options: she can either improve her job performance or accept a severance pay. While accepting the severance package, Oubre signed a document that released her employer Entergy of all claims. Although the employer Entergy Operations was released of all claims, it failed to meet specific standards or requirements for a release under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), as decided or set forth in the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA). In procuring the release, Entergy failed to comply in at least three respects with the requirements for a release under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, as set forth in the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act: It did not (1) give Oubre enough time to consider her options, (2) give her seven days to change her mind, or (3) make specific reference to ADEA claims (Twomey, 2013, p. 548).
The NLRB Act can be construed to operate within constitutional authority. The commerce governed by the act is interstate and foreign commerce in the constitutional sense. The grant of authority to the board does not extend to the relationship between all industrial employers and employees. 2. Employees have as clear of a right to organize for labor right and the prevention and discrimination can safeguard these rights.
The FLSA Provisions The Fair Labor Standard Act provides that employees of state and
3-7: Arbitration (pg. 77) Horton Automatics and the Industrial Division of the Communications Workers of America, the union that represented Horton’s workers, negotiated a collective bargaining agreement. If an employee’s discharge for a workplace-rule violation was submitted to arbitration, the agreement limited the arbitrator to determining whether the rule was reasonable and whether the employee violated it. When Horton discharged employee Ruben de la Garza, the union appealed to arbitration. The arbitrator found that de la Graza had violated a reasonable safety rule, but “was not totally convinced” that Harton should have treated the violation more seriously than other rule violations. The arbitrator ordered de la Graza reinstated.
The National Labor Relations Act allows employees to form a union or join a preexisting union. The same act prevents employers from standing in the way of workers attempting to unionize. Many organizations frown on unionization, but regardless of their opinion, they cannot interfere with employment rights. Employers are violating the law if they threaten employee 's jobs, question union activities, or eliminate benefits for employees by unionization. They also cannot offer benefits or perks to employees for refusing to unionize, as this could be seen as illegal persuasion (Employer/Union Rights, n.d.).
These laws provide some forms of labor protection where companies have in the past violated and taken advantage of the employee. From my point of view, looking back to 1978 one of the first job that I had was a $3.75 per hour
Trade union membership worldwide has been decline due to structural factors that is smaller public sector, smaller manufacturing sector and fewer large firms. The labor market has become more volatile, with workers mobility, part time work, and lastly flexible work arrangements. Moreover, enlightened managements and mobility of capital as well as diversity of work force and workplace have reduced benefits of joining trade unions, impaired trade unions bargaining power and increased the cost of organizing. These developments have adversely affect trade union worldwide. This essay is based on the decline in trade union membership and the advantages and disadvantages of trade unions.
One of the recommendations of the report was to enact legislative reform to regulate labour brokering. Proposals were then tabled at NEDLAC but there was no follow through thereafter. At the same time, the labour movement started calling for the banning of labour brokering, while the official policy of the ANC was to regulate these triangular employment relationships to prevent the exploitation of workers. There seemed little consensus on the approach to take. Then in 2010 amendments to Labour Relations Act was published, proposing a new definition for an employer and employee.
The reasoning behind it is to motivate employers and mangers to establish a zero tolerance policy. Managers or board members should take each complaint seriously and set good examples for other employees. Since employers are at liability in cases like this, they must act immediately and investigate complaints. Employers cannot
There should be trainings done to recertify management when there has been an amendment. This can be used as a way to ensure companies know the law and ensures management is abiding by the law. These trainings should also review the penalties of violating the law to stress the importance. To be compliant employees should not pay employees less than the minimum wage that is required by federal government unless there is a legitimate exemption. Companies should ensure compliance by paying their employees the overtime pay that was earned in an accurate and timely manner.
Some of the main advantages of this act are: • Lower employee renewal rate: Every time an employee leaves an organization, that organization suffers major costs for the parting and replacement of the employee that has left. Trade Unions help reduce this employee turnover rate immensely because of better management skills, better communication between and laws that leave the organization as well as the employee covered and protected if the parting with the employee is done unlawfully. • Employee Productivity Employees that belong to Trade