Per our last conversation, you requested for the formulation of an employment law compliance that will be used for your start-up limousine service business located in Austin, Texas. You also indicated that you will have an initial 25 employees for the first of the year of business. This memo shall explain the various employment laws that have to be implemented by your company. There will be a discussion on the possible penalties that you will have to deal with for noncompliance of these employment laws. It is imperative for the company to abide by these laws to remain in compliance. The objective of this memo is to identify provide the laws that may affect the limousine service company you intend to establish in Austin, Texas.
The identified employment laws that are applicable to your company are: Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Sexual Harassment in the Place of Work, Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and the Family and the Medical Leave Act of 1993. These laws shall be briefly discussed in detail.
The first law is the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 or ADEA.The ADEA mandates for employees to discriminate against any person who is least 40 years of age working in the U. S. The purpose of the law is to encourage employment of older people and giving them independence to work freely without having to experience discrimination by the younger workers. Such law shall include the basic compensation plans, terms and conditions of employment, and other perks and privileges of the job. Employers are prohibited to refuse the employment of the elderly in a company. Thus, employers should not discriminate their employees by reason of age. Failure to recognize the rights of older employees will give them the right to file a case against the employer. However, the ADEA allows employers to differentiate between employees, provided that the basis for the differentiation is a reasonable factor other than age (Cihon & Castagnera
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits employment discrimination shall prohibit the discrimination against persons with disabilities, but shall be capable of performing their official functions for the position applied for. The law shall give the victim-employee the opportunity to file a complaint under ADA by showing the existence of a disability, which may be a physical or mental impairment that may limit a person’s life activities (Miller. 2013). The employers are necessary required to accommodate the needs of a person who has disabilities by modification of the work environment, and alteration of job-application process.
The Sexual Harassment in the Place of Work shall require that all employers shall include in its personnel manual a statement that discrimination of the employer or any of its co-employees based on sex or gender shall be guilty of discrimination based on sex. The employer must ensure that the workplace is free of sexual harassment by posting information on the illegality of sexual harassment, and informing the employees the list of conduct that shall fall under sexual harassing behaviour. The employer must have an internal complaint process and the method on the filing of a case before the appropriate agency (Boland, 2005).
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 has prohibited the employers to hire illegal immigrants as imposed by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (Miller, 2013). The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shall monitor the compliance audits and file the appropriate enforcement actions against those who violate the law.
The Family and the Medical Leave Act of 1993 mandates that all employers shall give their workers job-protected and unpaid leave by reason of qualified medical and family emergency events. These are the events that the law recognizes in relation to this law: pregnancy, adoption, any personal or family illness, family military leave, and the foster care placement of a child (Miller, 2013). The purpose of the law is to allow the employees to be able to strike a balance the between the demands of the employer with the needs of their own respective families. The period that is allowed by law 12 work weeks of unpaid leave given to the employee, provided that it will fall on any 12-month period for the purpose of attending to the serious health conditions of his or her parent, spouse or child/children, to give care of the newborn child, and for the purpose of adopting and to give foster care to the adopted child (Miller, 2013).
As a new employer, you are mandated by law to recognize these laws for the promotion and protection of employee’s welfare. It is imperative that you comply with these laws to avoid payment of penalties for non-observance of the employment laws. The purpose of the law is to promote the interest of the employees, who are responsible in improving the country’s economy.
References:
Boland, M. (2005). Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. Illinois: Sphinx.
Cihon, P. & Castagnera, J. (2013). Employment and Labor Law. California: Cengage Learning.
Miller, R. (2013). Cengage Advantage Books: Fundamentals of Business Law: Excerpted
Cases. California: Cengage.
