Introduction
Every business unit would always envision working in an environment that is peaceful, orderly and law abiding. Law in business is very important. No single business can succeed in an environment that lacks clear laws and regulations. In a business environment, there are many entities. The business itself is the first entity, which is distinct from the owner considered to be another entity. Other entities are related to the business in one way or the other.
Employees are very important part of every organization. According to Kongolo (2008), employees are important assets in every organization. A clear relationship should exist between the employees and the firm. As stated above, a business unit is an entity and when one is employed in the business. This means that there must be some specified relationship between the entity and the employee. There are various occasions where there arise disagreements between the business and the employees. The employee should always feel that the firm is fair. Furthermore an employee should acknowledge the fact that his or her effort is appropriately rewarded. In this regard, an employee should note that he or she is taken care of within the firm. The firm should also be comfortable with the employee and feel that the amount it is paying to the employee as salary or wages is dutifully earned.
Because of this necessity, the government has developed laws that would ensure that both parties have their interests taken care of without violating the interest of others. This paper seeks to analyze employment laws and determine how they help in ensuring that both the employer and the employee get what they deserve without infringing on the rights of the other.
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA)
This law became effective in August 15, 1993 as a federal law that ensured that employees were entitled to annual leave or an emergency leave as may be appropriate. It was reviewed in January 16, 2009.
The Provisions of the Law and Its Importance to the Management Team of a Limited Liability
This law states that all employees are entitled to job-protected leave for specified medical or family reasons for a maximum period of twelve working days in a period of one month. The leave should be fully paid and the reasons for this leave can be based on maternity. Hence the need for parental care, adoption of a child, care of employee’s child, spouse, or parent with serious health complications, or any other qualifying reasons are justifiable reasons for applying the leave.
Need for the Management to Comply with the Provisions of the Law
The management has all the reasons to comply with this provision because it would not only attract litigation if violated but also serious employee dissatisfaction. When the management fails to comply with this law, the employees would see it as an unfriendly management. Their morale would be reduced and this might lower their productivity.
The Penalties for Noncompliance with the Provisions of the Law
The firm can face litigation for failure of compliance with this law. Such a firm can be forced to pay the concerned employee damages, besides allowing the employee the required paid leave. This would not only harm the firm financially, but also its reputation. It would negatively market the firm.
The Applicability of the Law to Employees and Independent Contractors
The law is applicable to employees. For an independent contractor, it has individual employees to whom the law will be applicable. The contractor in this case would be considered an employer.
Recommendations to Barbara’s Bakery about Whether to Hire Employees or Independent Contractors
It would be recommended that Barbara’s Bakery hire employees directly other than hiring independent contractors. Although it would be easier to avoid conflicts with employees leading to litigation, it is more expensive to hire an independent contractor. Hiring employees directly also gives the firm direct authority to negotiate with employees on how their leave would be implemented.
Application of the Law
This law applies to any employee, whether on part-time or full-time basis, as long as the employee has been working with the firm for at least twelve months. The essence of this law is to ensure that in cases of emergency, employees do not lose their pay because they had to be away from their workplaces.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)
This law was enacted to help protect the aging population who were faced with discrimination in employment, as many American firms were keen to hire young individuals from colleges who were considered more flexible, creative and innovative and technologically advanced.
The Provisions of the Law and Its Importance to the Management Team of a Limited Liability
The law provides that under no circumstance shall an employer discriminate an employee based on his age. This would lead to avoidance of offering employment opportunity or offering remuneration or any other general treatment that may result in any form of segregation.
The Penalties for Noncompliance with the Provisions of the Law
It is very important that a firm adhere to this law because failure to do so would result to serious penalties. The law may fine the employee for breaking the law, apart from the possibility of forcing it to hire the employee despite the fact that the firm might have filled the post with someone else.
The Law’s Applicability to Employees and Independent Contractors
This law is based on age. As such, it would not be applicable to independent contractors. It is strictly based on employees. In this case, the independent contractor would be considered an employee and would need to comply with this law as well.
Recommendations to Barbara’s Bakery about Whether to Hire Employees or Independent Contractors
In the current competitive business environment, every business unit would want to ensure that it hires effective and very flexible employees who are always able to beat the expected deadlines for the firm to realize its objectives. As such, it would be very appropriate that the firm assesses its own employees and hires them directly instead of hiring a contractor for this job.
Application of the Law
This law is applicable to any employee, irrespective of the specification of the employment. It species that during the process of hiring employees, the firm must make every effort to ensure that there is no any form of discrimination, especially based on age. Once the firm employs an individual, the law prohibits discriminative actions that may be mated out to an employee based on his or her age.
Conclusion
There are laws that guide the relationship between the employer and employees. These laws exist to ensure that both sides remain fair to the other and none of them takes the advantage of its position to oppress the other. As such, every firm, such as Barbara’s Bakery, has the obligation to comply with them or risk litigation. Employees also have their role to play in this scenario and should they fail to observe it then they too will have to face the consequences of the law. When all the parties involved follow the laid down rules and regulations, the business environment would be very friendly and fruitful.
References
Kongolo, T. (2008). Unsettled International Intellectual Property Issues. Bedfordshire: Kluwer Law International.
Lisa, G. & Amy, D. (2006).The Essential Guide to Federal Employment Laws. California: Nolo.
The City Law School, (2008). Employment Law in Practice. New York: Oxford University Press.