Labour laws are laws that are supposed to be observed by all the workers and the employers. Labour laws help the workers and the employers to know their rights and help to reduce tensions between them as stated by Brody, (2010). An employer is the person who gives remuneration after work has been done. The labour laws covers all the issues that arise in the workplace including relationships between the employers and the employees, the procedures to be followed when a person is being laid off, the hours that one is supposed to work, the ways of dismissal, the minimum wage a person is supposed to be paid, the issues of safety and health in the workplace and also deals with the labour unions and according to Tucker, (2010), it also deals with the standards of employment.
Employer’s rights
The employers need to know their obligations and their rights so that they can exercise them as stated by Tidwell et al, (2009). An employer like the employee has his own rights in the workplace. One of them is the right an employer has to expect the employees to perform their duties in the required and in the right way for them to receive their payments.
They have also the right to hire the people who are qualified for the work and have the combination of the qualifications they are looking for. They do not have the rights to discriminate employees and not hire them because of their religion, gender or race. The employers also do not have the right not to employ a qualified person because of their disability as Zachary, (2011), suggests, if the disability will not prevent them from performing their duties as expected.
The employers have the right not to employ a person with a problem of drugs. If the person had problems of drugs in the past and they have overcome the addiction, it means that the problem is not current and the employer should give them a chance.
If the employer is not satisfied with the work of an employee, he has the right to fire that person after giving them a chance to improve their habits. The employers also has the rights to fire an employee immediately if he is involved in illegal acts and is violent which makes the other employees not to be safe. Immediate termination will require the employer to explain the reason of the termination.
The employer also has the right not to let the fired employee get back to their working area which ensures that there is security for the other employees and also for the employer. According to Brown, (2009), they have the right to expect the employees to be punctual and that they attend the job as required even if they are not paid.
The employer is supposed to pay the people he has employed not less than the minimum wages. For the employees in the managerial positions or the executive positions, the employer has a right not to pay their overtime. They also have a right of expression as Barbash, (1963), argues. This means that the employers can give an opinion and they can express their arguments and their views to the employees.
The employers have the right not to pay their employees for sick leaves or vacations. They are supposed to give maternity leave to the new mothers of about three months in the year they give birth, but they have a right not to pay them. If they provide the paid maternity leave, they are then supposed to do it to the fathers too. The parental leave must not be in the first twelve weeks after the child is born, but it can also be taken any other time provided it is the first year of the child. Some employees may choose to take the leave immediately after the birth, others may choose to work part time for some time, and others may choose to leave after a certain time. In case of couples working together and they have the same employer, he the employer can give them 12 weeks combined for their parental leave. For the pregnant women, they are entitled to a leave if they have complications due to the pregnancy and their doctors have advised them to get the leaves.
The family and Medical leave act provides that a person who is an employee is entitled to three months or twelve weeks leave to take care of a family member who is seriously ill every year. The family members who are included in the law are employee’s children, spouses and the parents.
Employee’s rights
According to Popa, (2010), an employee is a person who works for another person with the aim of getting payment or remuneration for the work done. A person seeking for an employment has a right to ask questions about the employment and the expectations of the employer to the employee. They also have aright to sign employment contracts which state their terms of employment. The contract defines whether the employee is a part time worker, a voluntary worker or he is employed permanently.
Every employee has a right to receive remuneration or wages after working. The wages or the salaries are supposed to be at least the minimum wage that has been set. Employees are also entitled to have leaves other than sick leaves.
An employee has a right not to be harassed in the workplace or be discriminated by the employer, and to work in a healthy and a safe place. Every worker is supposed to be compensated if they suffer an illness or an injury in the workplace. They are entitled to compensation where they can be paid partially for the time they are not able to work and also their medical bills can be catered for.
The employees who lose their jobs by quitting, being laid off or by getting fired still have their rights and they are supposed to be respected by the employers and to be given the reasons which explain why they should be terminated as Arnold, (2006), suggests. They may also continue to get some rights like the right to health. They are supposed know what they are supposed to do if they are fired illegally.
Answer 1
Under the Family Medical Leave Act, an employee has a right to receiving a parental leave of twelve weeks after they have had a newborn baby. There is an option where the parents can opt to go for the leave after sometime or take a few days each week. In our case, Babs has just returned from her maternity leave which she had a right to have as stated by the law, she wants to get more days to spend time with her baby. Babs should apply for the leave she needs as a maternity leave if she did not have the full twelve weeks leave as required. If she had her full leave, the only other option she has is to apply for a family leave to take care of her child where she can work for three days in the house. If the application is denied, she will not have any remedy because she had been given the leave she was entitled to.
Answer 2
According to the labour laws, an employee has a right to get twelve weeks leave to take care of a sick family member who may be the parents, children or the spouse. In our case, Joel took two days off to take care of his sick father and he has been summoned with a letter to a disciplinary meeting. Joel was supposed to inform the manager of his absence and that he was going to take care of his sick father. Joel had a right as an employee to take care of his sick father, but he had to inform the manager of his absence.
References
Arnold. D., 2006. The rights of employees. Academic Journal. Vol. 16 Issue 3, p415-418, 4p
Barbash. J., 1963. Employer ‘Free Speech’ and Employee Rights. Academic Journal. Vol. 14 Issue 4, p313, 6p
Brown. A., (2009. Respect Employee Rights, Stand Up for Employer Rights. Periodical. Vol. 25 Issue 12, p64-65, 2p
Brody. D., 2010. A tale of two labour laws. Academic Journal. Vol. 57 Issue 2, p63-68, 6p
Popa. A., 2010. The Liability of the Employer and the Liability of the Employees between Civil Law and Labour Law. Academic Journal. Vol. 17 Issue 2, p133-140, 8p
Tidwell. G; Rice. D., Kropkowski. G., 2009. Employer and employee obligations and rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. Academic journal. Vol. 52 Issue 3, p243-250, 8p
Tucker. E., 2010. Reforming Labour Law: Can We Escape Labour Law’s Recurring Regulatory Dilemmas?. Academic Journal. Vol. 39 Issue 2, p99-138, 40p, 7
Zachary. M., 2011. labor law. Periodical. Vol. 72 Issue 1, p23-26, 4p
