Labor Laws Flashcards
Norris-LaGuardia Act (1932)
Courts routinely issued injunctions against striking and picketing by workers, issued merely on the basis of testimony by the employer. Uncooperative workers were fined and jailed without trial or due process.
Protected the workers’ right to strike. It strictly forbade courts from violating a worker’s right to strike, organize through a union, assist someone else involved in a labor dispute, peacefully picket and peaceably assemble.
“the individual unorganized worker is commonly helpless to exercise actual liberty” under the conditions of the modern capitalist economy
National Labor Relations Act (1935)
Dictates the terms of labor relations in the private sector. The right to self-organize; form or join labor organizations; bargain collectively; and engage in other activities of collective bargaining, mutual aid or protection.
It prohibits company-led unions, and rules as an unfair labor practice the discrimination against workers who are engaged in collective bargaining.
Fair Labor Standards Act (1938)
Established Minimum Wage, Standardized the eight-hour day and prohibits child labor. Children under sixteen are barred from working
Taft-Hartley Act (1947)
Series of amendments to the NLRA. Passed in a more conservative post-war climate, the amendments were intended to forbid unfair labor practices by unions.
Two important sections, widely considered anti-labor, are the “secondary boycott” provision and the “right to work” provision.
A “secondary boycott” is the boycotting of someone else’s employer, meaning a union worker cannot picket another worker’s employer.
The “right to work” provision allows state legislatures to outlaw “union shops,” meaning new employees must not be compelled to join the union within a certain time period.
Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (1959)
Also known as the Landrum-Griffin Act
Response to corruption and racketeering in labor unions. It guarantees an equal right for every union member to nominate and vote for union leadership, attend meetings and take part in discussions, rigorously regulates elections in unions, protects union members from being disciplined for suing a union
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (1964)
No employer may “refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his [or her] compensation, terms, condition, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (1967)
(ADEA) prohibits employment discrimination against people 40 years of age or older. It also prohibits employers from refusing to refer a person for employment on the basis of age. ADEA also covers unions, prohibiting them from refusing to include members on the basis of age.
Occupational Safety and Health Act (1970)
(OSH Act) covers private sector businesses who have two or more employees. It requires employers to keep the workplace free from hazardous conditions. Three rights for employees: a “right to know” information about the dangers involved in their job, a right to file OSHA complaints to control workplace hazards, and a right to not be punished for exercising rights protected by OSHA.
Family and Medical Leave Act (1993)
(FMLA) lets eligible employees take unpaid leave for specific family and medical reasons without the danger of losing their jobs or health insurance. Employees are allowed twelve workweeks of leave after the birth of a child, to care for a spouse or child with a serious health condition, or in the event a serious health condition prevents the employee from adequately performing their job.
Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act (2013)
Office of Federal Compliance Programs issued Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act as well as the Vietnam Era Veteran’s Readjustment Assistance Act. These labor laws seek to protect veterans and individuals who may have disabilities. Employers can ask job applicants to voluntarily identify as a veteran or as a person with a disability during the application process or after they have been offered the job.
