Chapter 20: employment law Flashcards
employment at will
employment laws where employers can terminate employees at any time for any reason (as long as not illegal - discrimination/retaliation); employees can quit without notice or reason
all states are “at will” but many states have exceptions: Public policy, implied contract, covenant, good faith
TN does NOT- can be fired without cause
whistleblowing
being fired, disciplines for blowing the whistle on the employer
federal and state laws are diff, TN has own
example with TN whistleblower (what two things must occur)
Tractor Supply lost a case because employee refused to break the law when asked and was fired –> new TN law
1) employee must have reported it and to someone outside the company
2) MUST prove that the report was the ONLY reason for being fired
cannot retaliate
employers cannot retaliate against employees for exercising rights they have under all employment laws
Fair Labor Standards Act
Federal Law:
applies to federal law so private employees with 500,000 gross sales (also federal, state, local govt)
employer has to have 500,000 gross sales
There is not a TN Law - do not pick TN Wage and Hour law
an employee has 2yrs to file a claim with the United States Dpt of Labor
cannot go straight to court - and if the employee signed a mandatory arbitration clause, they must follow that
TN does not have a wage and hour law
but most states do
TN tried to pass law in 2016 never passed
there is wage theft with ______
costing workers lots
may seem small: when employers do not pay for time spent preparing a work station at the start of a shift, or cleaning up and closing up at the end of a shift, can add up each year
purpose of FLSA
1) establishes min wage and over time standards
2) establishes overtime threshold (40hrs per week) for non exempt employees
3) record keeping requirements
what are the current min wages in TN
FLSA –> federal min wage 7.25 an hour min
but TN does NOT have a wage/hour law
exceptions to minimum wage
youth workers - business may hire under 20yrs and pay them only 4.25 an hour during the first 90 calendar days of employment, so long as no other workers are displaced by the youth workers
tipped employees - must be paid at least 2.13 an hour and the combo of the hourly wage plus tips must equal regular minimum wage
what must employees receive when working overtime
must be paid for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek of at least one and 1/2 times their regular rates of pay
are there exceptions to overtime?
yes, there are many! but need to only know one:
overtime exemption
1) must meet weekly salary threshold of $684 a week (falls under executive, administrative, professional) –> FLSA to $844 per week
2) primary job duties must be management of the company; direct work of two or more employees: this is the hire/fire authority: must be performance of office work (directly related to management or general business) - also exercise of discretion and independent judgement with respect to matters of significance; also advanced knowledge - work primarily intellectual in character (field of science of learning) –> customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction
Chipotle example:
Chipotle did not pay assistant managers for ovetime even though they typically spent the majority of their shifts working the assembly line, filling orders for customers, grilling, operating cash register, etc.
how to calculate overtime:
assistant manager - 50,000
weekly would be paid 961.53
if worked 50hrs, that is 10hrs more than 40hrs –>
961.53/50 = 19.23
19.23 x 2 = 28.84 per hour for 10hrs of overtime
comp time (not allowed for private companies but can for public sector employees)
workers who work over 40hrs in a week earn an additional time off, which they may use in later weeks
companies often prefer this type of arrangement of avoid paying expensive overtime premiums , but it violates federal law
example: “employee works 48hrs in one week, supervisor tells them to take an extra day off next week so their hours will even out
comp pay
30% of private employers will use comp time (compensatory time) instead of paying for overtime
FLSA - even if private employees wan to use comp time, employers cannot!
unauthorized work
when the employer knows or has reason to believe the employee worked overtime, then the employee must be paid
example of comp time
employees who worked closing shifts and were required to wait off the clock after stores were locked
personal time
time a non exempt employee spends doing work from their smartphone is considered time worked
sometimes prohibit phone usage
(wanting employee respond to email over weekend - have to factor in payment for that)
mandatory time records
if the employer has lost, destroyed, or failed to keep time records, this violates FLSA
burden will fall on the employer to disprove the the number of overtime hours that the worker claims to have worked
child labor
cannot be placed in dangerous work environments
14 yrs min
OSHA
occupational safety and health act
8 or more employees
OSHA will investigate and has OSHRC (review commission) to hear cases
OSHA Section 5a: employers shall maintain a safe workplace
OHSA and workplace violence
2nd cause of death
must put in place workplace violence plans
