FROM: Yvette Calderon, Market Research Assistant
DATE: February 17, 2014
SUBJECT: Employment Law Compliance Plan
The task to which I am assigned is to make the employment law compliance plan for Lonnie Pete. He is opening a limousine service in Austin, Texas. In the first year of the business, the number of employees the company is planning to have is 25. Employment law compliance plan would help the organization to avoid any unlawful activates.
Employment laws are very much important for all type of business. The employment laws dictate and guide the employers about how they can treat their employees. Both state and federal employment law make sure that the rights of the employees remain protected. Following are the some national employment laws as well as specific Texas laws that the organization must follow:
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
The Civil Right Act of 1964
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
Occupational Safety and Health Act
The Texas Labor Code Anti-Discrimination Provisions
The Texas Minimum Wage Law
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
The 1967Age Discrimination in Employment Act(ADEA) protects the rights of individuals who are 40 year old or above from employment discrimination based on age. This particular act covers employees as well as those that may be applying for employment. According to this act, it is illegal to discriminate an individual because of his or her age with respect to any condition, term, or privilege of employment, including, promotion, hiring, job assignments, training, layoff, compensation, firing, and benefits.
The ADEA are applied to the company whose workforce is 20 or above. As Mr. Pete is planning to have 25 employees so ADEA will be applied to the company. The ADEA covers just about every aspect of business concerning the employee and his or her rights in regard to age. If the organization would not follow the law the then an individual can file a suit against the employer. The court reserves the rights to ask the employers to give the employees benefits and wages that the court believe he or she has lost due to discrimination (Age Discrimination: What Employers Need to Know, n.d).
The Civil Right Act of 1964
Another law that the organization must follow is Civil Rights Act of 1964. This act protects the right of the employees and under this act the employers cannot discriminate the individuals on the basis of religion, sex, color, race etc. If organization does not follow the law then a fine of $1,000 or more is charged or the imprisonment of no less than one year (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, n.d). The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
To control the issue of unauthorized immigration, the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 was designed. In the labor force, there are almost 178 million of civilian workers in the United States. However, this figure does not include the undocumented workers (Robinson & Gilbertson, 1987). New American foundation claimed that in Texas, 9% of the workforce is undocumented, which is the third highest percentage. In the beginning, the laws had many loopholes and the organizations were not held accountable for hiring the people that fall in the category of undocumented workers. It was unlawful for them to be in the country, but was not illegal to hire these individuals until the amending of the amending section 1324. As for those who have been found guilty of knowingly hiring, recruiting, or referring Un-documented workers, the penalties are as follows: (1) first offense—not less than $250 nor more than $2000 for each illegal worker; (2) second offense—not less than $2000 nor more than $5000 for each illegal worker; (3) third and subsequent offenses—not less than $3000 nor more than $10,000 for each undocumented worker. Additionally, those employers who have engaged in a