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Is defined as the large area of law covering all aspects of the employer and employee relationship Is important to know from both sides: as an employee and as a company Consists of thousands of laws 2

Includes countless laws enacted to protect workers Includes laws which affect every American, such as taxes collected to finance unemployment compensation 3

collective bargaining employment discrimination unemployment compensation pensions worker’s compensation 4

Is when employers and employees negotiate their salary and work requirements Involves the employees being represented by a union, a group formed by employees to negotiate with the employer Is governed by the National Labor Relations Act 5

Can sometimes lead to strikes and layoffs to force demands With union representation is less popular now than in the past 6

Is common in the sports industry Many of the top professional leagues have players unions –for example, a strike lead to a 191 day lockout of the 1998 NBA season –the NBA owners, teams and league lost nearly one billion dollars 7

Is a federal law passed in 1935 Allows employees to join unions and collectively bargain Prevents employers from seeing which employees are in a union Created the National Labor Relations Board to oversee and enforce the NLRA 8

Aims to prevent employment discrimination based on race, sex, age, religion or physical disability –the Equal Pay Act states employers cannot discriminate wages based on gender –the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 makes it unlawful to discriminate employees based on a disability 9

Is a federal organization overseeing most employment discrimination laws including the Equal Pay Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 Requires employers to display posters with employment discrimination law topics Handles employment discrimination complaints 10

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Provides funds for workers that are unemployed due to layoffs Allows time for workers to find another job Prevents workers from taking a job for which they would be overqualified Was established by the federal Social Security Act in 1935 Is funded by taxpayers 12

Are payments made to employees after retirement, similar to a retirement plan Are regulated by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ERISA requires employees and the Labor Department receive a detailed list of what each employee will receive when it is time to collect their pension –this prevents fraud and allows the employees to see they are receiving adequate funding 13

Is an important area of employment law for employees’ well being Is regulated by laws regarding employee injury and illness occurring on the job Is mainly controlled by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) –regulates and investigates workplace incidents involving injury and illness for most U.S. workers 14

In Brooklyn, N.Y., an OSHA compliance safety and health officer requested that construction employees be removed from a 22-foot deep excavation due to the hazardous 10-ton concrete protrusion hanging above them. Fifteen minutes later, the overhang collapsed and fell, landing in the exact spot where the employees had been working. 15

Are designed to provide payment and assistance to employees who are hurt or disabled on the job Provide fixed monetary awards to such individuals Protect employers by limiting the maximum amount an employee can recover if hurt or disabled 16

Provide monetary payments to families if a family member is killed on the job Fund payments through the Federal Employment Compensation Act 17

Contract law and employment law are interrelated Many employment laws, such as pension plans and labor unions use contract law to enact and enforce their employment laws 18 Contract Law Employment Law

For example, labor unions such as the United Auto Workers operate under employment law They work to gain favorable labor contracts for their workers. The labor contracts would be considered an area of contract law In this way, employment law can be thought of as a part of contract law 19

However, contract law and employment law are different in the fact that employment law changes much more frequently than contract law –most of contract law was enacted after years of law and thus does not change often –employment law affects more current events such as pension plans and worker’s compensation 20 Contract Law Employment Law

U.S. businesses spent about $11 trillion last year complying with these laws Most of those transactions fall under contract law Dues for labor unions are covered under employment law –these laws affect the lives of millions of workers –for example, the union of United Auto Workers at Honda in Toronto requires dues of two hours pay per month 21

Is concerned with worker’s rights Includes the right to organize and/or join a union Includes the right to strike Prevents an employee from being fired or demoted because of union activity (such as joining a union or discussing union activities) 22

Is the most common type of employment in the United States States that the employee can leave the job at any time, without reason Also means that the employer can terminate the employee at any time, without reason 23

Are organized to protect the rights of employees Negotiate contracts containing clauses protecting against “at will” termination Require membership to be covered by contract negotiations 24

In 2003 the employees of major grocers in St. Louis went on strike –the ability to strike is granted by the National Labor Relations Act –10,000 grocery workers went on strike After six months of negotiation the grocers and union of the grocer’s employees came to an agreement Grocers agreed to new healthcare rules and a raise for employees Grocers lost millions of dollars in sales due to the strike 25

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 12% of U.S. employees were unionized in 2006 –in 1983, 20% of U.S. employees were unionized –the percentage of unionized workers continues to fall Is likely suffering due to the downturn in U.S. manufacturing, an industry that was historically highly unionized 26