4z4mdU1elAXyCl4IiahsS3tA8Vz4QOa: December 2012

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Occupational Health Related Issues

Ever wondered why official meetings always 'stress' on a particular point? Isn't there another word for it or the companies use it explicitly?

The logic is simple. An unhealthy mind produces error-prone work whereas a healthy mind produces productive work with high efficiency. Problems at home, relationships, a flat tire on the way to office are all causes of stress in the workplace. How to tackle them with ease is the key to success of a healthy worker.

In the present scenario, even a Tom, Dick or Harry company would neither prefer having employees who go frequently on sick leave nor compensating for their medical claims. However, any accident happening at the workplace should be taken care of by the management. That is why industries are given significant high-end regulations on safety operations and emergency remedies.

Occupational health and safety management typically manifests the commitment of the company to its workers' safety. The claims however are different with respect to different working environments.

Most industries claim to be protective of its workers but ultimately would have ruled out on regulations for simple issues stating them as 'potentially risk-free' or 'reasonably practicable'. In such cases, claiming compensation would be very tiresome ultimately making the worker even more stressful. Also the minds of workers mostly ponder as to, "why did I choose this job?"Or "I should have stayed in the previous one..." and so on. But what is least realized is the fact that wherever we work or under whomever we are put into, we will face similar work-related issues. The solution to this lies fortunately or unfortunately in the employees' hands.

The Organization on the other hand should begin to 'eye' the problems in a different angle and start devising manageable rules for the benefit of the workers as well as the company. Also, issues that have been disproportionately tackled in the organization should at least take a step forward and start analyzing in terms of risk assessments so that such Occupational health related issues are resolved and not repeated in future.

Occupational health is the most-discussed topic in the corporate world with the increasing number of medical claims and frequent visits to psychiatrists by the employees. Be it a hike in the pay or a period of lay-off, it is always the employees who are affected both physically and mentally. If this is the case in corporate, it is even bad in industries where workers are prone to occupational hazards. A stressful worker working on an acid tank is more susceptible to accident than a worker who is mentally fit. Thus both metal health and physical health play a very influential role in bringing enormous turnover for the company as well as the worker.

Super Co-Contributions - Maximize Your Super Fund and Secure Your Financial Future US Supreme Court Confirms Right For Third-Parties to Bring Retaliation Claims Top 5 Questions For Those Injured On The Job Members' Voluntary Liquidation Vs De-registration Guide to Oklahoma Workers Compensation Benefits

Steel Industry - Before & After the Union

Throughout this essay, I will describe the differences workers experienced in the steel industry "before the union" and "after the union." In addition, I will discuss what I believe were the most important changes workers experienced.

According to Metzgar, "before the union," his father "worked, very irregularly without a union for seven terrible years.... Metzgar's grandfather and his peers were decimated by industrial accidents while others ground down overtime into drunkenness and demoralization" (Metzgar, p. 6)

After the union, Metzgar testified "he saw nothing but improvements - overtime, dramatic improvements - in every aspect of his life. His father retired at the age of fifty-six and lived comfortably on a steelworker's pension, with steelworkers' health insurance, even spending the winter months in Florida! No regular guy in the history of the world had seen the material conditions of his life improve more dramatically" (Metzgar, p. 6)

There you have it - in Metzgar's own words in the preceding two paragraphs - illustrations of the 'before the union' era and the 'after the union' era. In the following paragraphs we will explore the most important changes workers experienced.

In total agreement with Metzgar, workers experienced dignity and respect which they lacked before the union. For example, Metzgar told the story of the foreman who fired an employee because he refused to allow his daughter to date him. According to Metzgar's father, the anger wasn't about the termination (out of work) but about the indignities the employee suffered in his inability to tell the foreman - no - without any varnish. Unionism was able to take away a foreman's power of 'life & death' and transferred it to the impersonal contract (even which the company had to abide....) Secondly, Metzgar mentioned his grandfather's industrial accident whereas he lost both arms. He suffered the indignity of having someone scratching his itches. He had to survive on a monthly disability of $30. The Union changed that by providing healthcare (whereas, a disabled employee has access to free prosthetic limbs), and a substantial disability insurance plan.

Thirdly, Metzgar mentioned that a worker would work until he is in his fifties. In his fifties, he would become less productive due to aches and the malevolent weather (e.g., cold) whereas he would be 'pushed out the door' after so many years of being pushed to be productive. With the Union, Metzgar's father was able to retire at the age of fifty-six years old. He was financially secure and comfortable. He had two homes in two different states; cars, and etc.

Fourthly, the FLSA and the NLRA benefitted the working class many times over. It created more work for more people with shorter hours; shorter work week and early retirement incentives. Metzgar argued, also, how the important changes brought out by the unions benefitted the community at large by increasing the spending power of the working class - a spending power that translated into more jobs and igniting (via investments) new industries (like computers).

In conclusion, I could write a book (but I'm limited by time) about the differences workers experienced in the steel industry "before the Union" and "after the Union" which I borrowed from Metzgar, himself, and my own opinion as it pertains to the most important changes workers experienced.

Massachusetts Overtime Law

Massachusetts labor laws are in place to protect workers from unfair compensation practices and overwork. In addition to minimum wage law and overtime law, Massachusetts Blue Laws restrict certain establishments from requiring work on Sundays and holidays, and establish a premium pay rate for such work.

Massachusetts Overtime Law

Overtime in Massachusetts is considered any time worked in excess of 40 hours during a single workweek. The workweek must be 7 consecutive days, beginning and ending on the same day of the week for the duration of your employment. For non-exempt employees, these overtime hours must be compensated at 1.5 times your regular rate of hourly pay.

Exemptions from Massachusetts overtime law are based on the nature of the work you actually perform, not on titles or salary. If your work is considered executive, professional, or administrative, for instance, you are likely exempt from overtime pay. However, having an executive title does not immediately exempt you. You must regularly perform the duties of an executive to qualify for exemption.

Massachusetts Minimum Wage

The minimum wage in Massachusetts is $8.00 an hour, which is higher than the Federal minimum ($7.25 an hour). Tipped employees making over $20 a month in tips must be paid a direct wage of no less than $2.63 an hour, which, when combined with the tips, should be equal to or greater than the minimum wage. If it falls short, the employer must pay the difference. Tipped employees must be legally notified of this information when they begin employment.

Massachusetts Blue Laws

Originating from the beginnings of America's colonial history, Massachusetts blue laws restrict the sale of goods and the ability to require work on Sundays and holidays. Most retail employees, for instance, must be paid time-and-a-half for work performed on Sunday, and said work must be optional. Refusing to work on Sunday cannot give an employer cause to discriminate against, discipline, or terminate an employee.

Most non-retail establishments may not operate on Sundays without a police permit. Holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas have severe restrictions on requiring employees to work, as do, to a lesser extent, Labor Day, Independence Day, and Memorial Day. Depending on the nature of your work and whether or not your employer has obtained a permit, you might not be required to work these holidays.

Unfair compensation practices violate your rights. Please visit USOvertimeLawyers.com for more information about Massachusetts labor laws, or to get in touch with Massachusetts wage and hour attorneys who are committed to fighting for workers' rights.

Sex-Selective Abortion and Female Infanticide in Developing Countries

Women have been classified as members of household and should therefore remain there. This view on females has been widespread and is largely stereotypical. Gender discrimination transpires in most countries, developing countries in particular, and seems to be viral in effect making girls as the most victims.

One of the most demoralizing events in the lives of girls and women in developing countries is being discriminated. Millions of individual tragedies have become the result of such incident. As a fact, studies reveal that there is a direct connection or bond between a country's approach toward women and its social and economic development. Hence, the condition of women is fundamental to a society's situation.

In 2010, the United Nations Development Program has released a report stating that Asia leads the highest male-female sex ratio at birth in the world. Meanwhile, sex-selective abortion and infanticide leaves a track of 96 million missing women in some countries. This goes to show that even before birth, women are being discriminated.

Female infanticide is the deliberate killing of baby girls due to male baby preference of parents, as may have been dictated by the society where they belong. Low importance accompanied by the birth of females also has bearing in female infanticide. In intense cases, baby girls are being killed long enough even when they are still on the mother's womb because of the common notion that girls are servants of household.

With the advent of technologies, determining the gender of fetus has become a lot easier. Sex-selective abortion then happens to female fetuses because of male baby preference.

Cultural norms play important roles in gender discrimination. It is because people tend to follow the trends and practices in the community where they belong. There are few countries who give more importance to males as they refer to them as "assets" of the family because they can earn and support the family for a living. Females, on the other hand, are tagged as "liabilities" of the family because they will only marry and will not be able to contribute to the earnings of their family.

One of the unending repercussions of unsuccessful sex-selective abortion is abuse. Girls are more open to possibilities of abuse when parents failed to terminate or stop the conception of girl fetus. Physical harms follow the lives if girls throughout their lives which most of the time become the primary reason of psychological implications or trauma.

Super Co-Contributions - Maximize Your Super Fund and Secure Your Financial Future US Supreme Court Confirms Right For Third-Parties to Bring Retaliation Claims Top 5 Questions For Those Injured On The Job Guide to Oklahoma Workers Compensation Benefits Members' Voluntary Liquidation Vs De-registration

FLBA Federal Labor Relations Board - The Balance of Power Shifts Once More!

The Obama Administration has appointed several well-connected labor union folks to the FLBA Federal Labor Relations Board Authority, and summarily fired the former Bush Administration appointees to that group. This shifts the balance even further towards labor and away from corporations. I am not sure if you have read Ayn Rand or not, perhaps, you should. Suffice it to say this is not a good move for America's economic vitality or ability to compete in global markets.

Stacking the deck with "pro-union" appointees is problematic for free-market capitalism. I hope everyone is aware of this. A company has no reason to discharge good employees that are efficient and productive. If a union causes too many problems for a company, the company will become unviable and insolvent at some point. At which point; we bail them out with taxpayer's money? Smooth plan indeed!

What we should realize here is that Labor Unions already have too much power, and to back them up the courts and lawyers are there ready to serve their will. Along with the politicians who realize to win in a number of the states must have union support, and assistance with their massive man power. What a lot of folks do not understand is that if unions gain the upper hand, companies will be slow to open new factories, plants, locations, or expand as we recover from the recession.

This means fewer jobs and more hardships for unemployed workers as state unemployment benefits run dry. While the FLBA or Federal Labor Relations Authority sure comes in handy when solving disputes, putting up pro-labor appointees sends a very deafening message to large corporate employers, and quite frankly, that could very well be the wrong message. Please consider this.

Super Co-Contributions - Maximize Your Super Fund and Secure Your Financial Future US Supreme Court Confirms Right For Third-Parties to Bring Retaliation Claims Top 5 Questions For Those Injured On The Job Guide to Oklahoma Workers Compensation Benefits Members' Voluntary Liquidation Vs De-registration

Contract Law - Why is it So Important? Your Rights As a Worker

A contract law is a binding legal agreement that is enforceable in a court of law. That is to say, a contract is an exchange of promises for the breach of which the law will provide a remedy. I have a passion for these types of cases.

Many firms work on the basis of contract law. Such firms are called contract firms. Firms like construction firms work on contract basis.Law firms dealing with cases related to contract laws (employment, salary etc) are called contract law firms.

If an employee works in a company for more than one month, he is entitled to a written employment contract which will cover all the important terms and conditions. An employment contract is an agreement to the terms and conditions of employment - agreed by both the employer and employee.

In principle, there is always a contract between an employee and an employer as the agreement of an employee to work and the employer's agreement to pay for work is a contract by nature. The employer may have previously outlined the conditions of employment (pay, hours, etc).

Even if the employee does not serve two months of employment, according to the employment contract law, he is still entitled to a copy of the contract if the job was originally meant to last longer than one month.

The most important right that contract law ensures to the employees is that they have a right to be paid for the work they do. Most companies agree in this, however at times there is a disagreement about the amount owed the employee.

Every firm has different contract terms and conditions. For example a construction firm has a separate construction contract for its employees. The firms' employer has a right to give reasonable instructions to them and for them to work at their job. These rights and obligations are called contractual terms. The government contract law provides the employees the right to national minimum wage and right to paid holidays.

Super Co-Contributions - Maximize Your Super Fund and Secure Your Financial Future US Supreme Court Confirms Right For Third-Parties to Bring Retaliation Claims Top 5 Questions For Those Injured On The Job Guide to Oklahoma Workers Compensation Benefits Members' Voluntary Liquidation Vs De-registration

Know More About The Recent Changes In UAE Labour Laws

To assist accommodate the present shifts in the global market and to help in recovering Dubai's and the UAE's as a whole, economies, the Ministry of Labour has issued numerous Ministerial Decrees, changing the UAE Labour Laws. The goal to these modifications is to tackle the free movement of expatriates in the region and to make sure that their rights are a lot more severely upheld.

One of the new modifications relates to the Wage Protection System that was established over the course of 2009-2010. In the event of non payment of salary all personnel of private sector companies have the right to call either the Ministry of Labour's toll free number to anomalously lodge a complaint against their employer for unpaid salary or to report an online application with their labour card, direct to the Offices of Wage Protection. The Offices of Wage Protection will conduct an investigation into the establishment and why salaries have not been paid.

As from January 2011 all skilled and professional workers will be exempt from the requirement of getting a No Objection Certificate ("NOC") from their employer to allow them to transfer their sponsorship and work permit. All skilled workers will be from January 2011 exempt from the six month labour prohibition. All other non-skilled workers would be required to complete 2 years of employment before they to would be able to also change employer freely, without the requirement of a NOC. These changes must exponentially increase the movement of the skilled work force but will still prohibit those without the required education certificates. The changes come in conjunction to changes in fees for work permits and the reduction in length for which a work permit would be valid from three years to two years.

The above should not be confused however, with the twelve month employment prohibition which will still have effective, irrelevant of length of service or a NOC. This ban is placed on employees who violate their employment contract, such as leave a fixed term contract during its term.

These changes are necessary to make sure that the labour market has the chance to spread their skills as required and to not reprimand employees who hope to move from companies whereby their treatment is far from perfect.

Harassment: Resolving Conflict

Harassment in the workplace can be described as actions directed at an individual, or group of individuals, which results in an intimidating, difficult and humiliating environment to work in for the victim. It's basically understood to be unwanted comments, conduct or gestures that are derisive, offensive, threatening, humiliating, hateful or demeaning. It could be a recurring or one-off event but it is so notable that it negatively affects an individual's performance, contribution or work environment. It can also include physical, debasing behaviour, exploitation of power, isolation, and discrimination, sexual and racial. The concept of bullying is basically continuous behaviour towards an individual that is deliberately intimidating, humiliating and undermining but is not exactly unlawful.

The act of harassing can be subtle or blatant and will often involve undesirable comments and gestures such as the display of offensive material; insults to a person's race, gender, disability or sexual preference; violent or threatening conduct, intrusive questioning about a person's personal life; offensive communications such as emails or phone calls, exclusion from normal workplace interactions; unwarranted degrading comments or evaluations of workplace performance. Considering the above, it is important to note that it does not involve legitimate negative assessments of an employee's work performance if these are communicated in a suitable manner. Bullying in the workplace does not have to be something that occurs frequently over a long period of time, it can happen just once for it to be considered harassment and unacceptable.

If you are experiencing harassment there are several things you can do to deal with the situation appropriately. If you do not feel confident enough to approach the person responsible and ask them to stop their negative behaviour you can make a written complaint to either your manager or the offender's manager. Make sure you save a copy of the complaint no matter how small or unimportant you think the incident is. Accurately described accounts of all exchanges or relations should be recorded for future reference. If you belong to a union, your representative should be contacted as unions usually have harassment policies and may be able to give you support and legal assistance. Your employer should also have harassment procedures in place to deal with potential cases and it is advisable to become familiar with these guidelines. If you struggle to resolve the complaint, you and your employer can participate in a mediation process that is monitored by a third party who is familiar with employment relations problems.

Sloppy Job Titles and Compliance With the FLSA

Job Analysis Very few large employers have a job title/job code system that's 100% accurate and smaller organizations may not be aware of the need for this under the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the law that covers how exempt and non-exempt employees should be treated by the organization for overtime and other employment conditions. Accurate job titling means that there's a suitable job code (with a job description) for every type of position, and every person/position is properly titled. Mis-titling can lead to mis-classification under the FLSA, and confusion when trying to analyze jobs.

Effective job analysis is the key to an effective and defensible FLSA review. Under the FLSA, positions, not jobs, must be classified accurately. A position represents a single "box" on the organization chart normally filled by a single incumbent, while a job refers to a common set of duties performed by one or more incumbents in the organization. Job analysis refers to the process of studying a job to identify "content", i.e. duties and responsibilities of a job.

In an FLSA classification review, you are seeking specific information about jobs that relate to the various exemption tests. For example, for any exemption test, you must identify the "primary duty" of the job. Since primary duty refers to several factors, including percentage of time spent, relative importance of duties, freedom from supervision, and pay relationships, it's important to collect detailed information to determine the primary duty of the job.

In many companies, there are hundreds of active job classifications and it is not practical to test them all under the FLSA rules. So here is today's Daily HR Tip:

Prioritize the jobs for review under the FLSA using the following criteria:

Jobs with both exempt and nonexempt employees (non-exempts may be at entry level)Entry-level and lower-level exempt jobs Jobs in business areas or families that have undergone significant organizational change Exempt jobs that have the title "assistant manager" or "team leader" or "supervisor" Jobs receiving attention from the Department of Labor, the courts, or the media Known "tricky" jobs for which exemption may be more difficult to establish (e.g. pilots, paralegals, IT tech support, etc.) High-headcount exempt jobs Jobs involving long work hours High-level nonexempt jobs

Proper FLSA classification of jobs is important to ensure that employees are treated fairly and legally and that employers avoid unnecessary penalties, which, if audited, can include prison time for repeat offenders!

Children and Women Labor Law

Recently I visited a packaging factory which was owned by one of my friend's father. They manufacture corrugated boxes (carton) with labor intensive processes. The formation of corrugated box includes many processes starting from the loading of huge paper reels on the corrugation machine, cutting and creasing, pasting, slotting, printing and ending with the stitching and bundling of the carton.

When I went to the manufacturing area of that company I was not surprised watching old women stitching and bundling the carton whereas small children transporting the corrugated boxes to the ware house and cleaning the waste of manufacturing area. When I asked the reason for hiring old women and such children for these tasks the owner of that company told me that due to the intense competition and increasing oil/gas and electricity prices it's very difficult to survive so to reduce their manufacturing cost they have to opt for such options.

If we talk regarding what Pakistani government has laid rules for the right of the labor in Pakistan we will come across different labor laws such as article 11 which states that child labor is prohibited and article 37(e) states that women should not be employed for the job which is not in accordance to their sex and age.

When I asked the owner of that company that is he not afraid if government comes to know that he is violating the labor law. He replied while smiling, afraid no way. Such activities are so common in Pakistan no one even give heed about this, everyone is just busy in earning in one way and another. Such statement from the owner tells us that the agencies which are protecting the labor laws in Pakistan are very inefficient and corrupt. If someone is caught, they very easily escape by bribing the officers.

Such exploitation of labor especially little children is not in favor of the country as they are the merely future of that nation. If they will be brought into the labor work from their childhood then who will go to schools and become future doctors, engineers and entrepreneur. Governments need to look after such activities and ensure that the department which has been kept responsible to ensure no such activities occur is working efficiently and effectively. Child labor results in the wastage of natural talent as these children if given opportunity to study can excel in different fields instead of just picking the garbage and doing donkey work.

Workers Comp Lawyers

Workers comp cases are trickier than most others. Every commercial and industrial business that has more than three employees must have workers compensation insurance. That system is covered by the Industrial Commission. That is a state agency that makes sure everyone is playing by the rules. That means you may be entitled to your benefits from your workers compensation if you are injured on the job. It must be proven before you get to actually have the benefits. There is a process you must go through.

When injured on the job, you must tell your boss by giving him a written notice. The notice should be written within 30 days, but you have two years to actually file it. After the two years is over, so is your ability to file the claim.

Generally, when an employee is injured on the job, workers compensation is the only way to fix it. That is because in rare occasions injured employees are not entitled to any other avenues of compensation. It is easy to get workers comp because whether it is the employers fault or employees fault lawyers will most times get the employee compensated. It really doesn't matter who it is that is at fault. A worker being hurt on the job is serious whether it's negligence from the employee or employer. Employers used to even be covered by contributory negligence which blocks liability. When the worker wins, he receives paid medical bills from the insurance company which also includes prescriptions. The insurance company can contact the medical providers you are already seeing although you may put in a request for change.

The worker will receive disability benefits from the insurance company. Disability payments are two thirds of the employees gross weekly wage. Workers comp payments are also non taxable. If it is more than a seven day period then the insurance company will start paying per day every day until the employee is back to work as long as they have a written note from their doctor saying they can't work. The worker will not get the payment of the first seven days until 21 days have passed without going back to work. Permanent partial disability will kick in if a worker is permanently disabled. Only then is the worker entitled to lifetime benefits including medical expenses and disability payments. Workers compensation although will get you a fraction of your pay, does not work the same as other injury claims. You will not receive pain and suffering.

Employment Mediation: Identifying Mutual Solutions

Employment mediation is a controlled procedure whereby a qualified, experienced and independent mediator facilitates communication between parties who are experiencing an employment relationship problem. The role of the professional mediator is to assist the parties with finding an amicable resolution to a potentially harmful business situation. Mutually agreed solutions can result in improved working relationships and productivity levels; when applicable, the negotiation of an exit package when the parties decide that their relationship cannot continue; or the settlement of a dispute that involved potential litigation.

Employment mediation is becoming increasingly commonplace in the work environment and has established itself as the favoured method to address conflict resolutions. With the economy in recession, there has been an increase in unemployment and in the difficulty of finding alternative employment. As a result, experienced employment mediation consultants are experiencing unprecedented demand for their services. Further, Employment legislation is constantly being developed and amended to the point where has become unrealistic for many businesses to keep abreast of the regulatory requirements governing employment relationships. By encouraging positive and constructive communication channels, employment mediation professionals are able to resolve conflicts while maintaining professional and productive working relationships.

The benefits of utilsing the services of employment mediators are numerous; with the government funding the mediation service, it is inexpensive. Because mediators can enter the process of mediation at any stage of the resolution process, they provide the flexibility to accommodate any organisation's business model and operational requirements. Compared with traditional Courts, employment mediation provides an extremely cost effective manner of conflict resolution. It empowers the parties to take control of the mediation process and deal with problems "in-house". Sometimes businesses experience improvement in staff morale and productivity. Basing mediation on mutually beneficial outcomes, professional employment mediation can provide your business with the edge in an increasingly competitive marketplace; where the quality and productivity of employees is often the key difference in providing the competitive edge.

However, not all employment mediation professionals and agencies are created equally. When using private mediators for employment mediation services ensure they have the relevant expertise and experience to deliver the workplace solutions required. Exceptional interpersonal communication and negotiation skills are essential. The ability to empathise with all parties in a constructive and impartial manner, combined with a comprehensive knowledge of employment law distinguish those mediation services that are excellent from those that are average. The time spent finding a reputable mediator will make all the difference.

Tips to Avoid Trouble For Construction Contractors

Construction contractors are in a profession that constantly remains in high demand. Because of the variety of projects that come their way and the often large scale makeup of many of them, it's important that contractors have the proper contractor legal representation and are fully apprised of their rights. Here are some legal as well as project tips for contractors.

1. Hire the best contractor legal representation you can afford: This is not an area to scrimp and save money. Your legal representation is what will often get you out of sticky situations. Therefore, make the investment in a knowledgeable attorney that knows how to win when necessary and keep you educated on the process.

2. Maintain a full understanding of both your rights and responsibilities: As a construction contractor, you have certain rights in terms of the work you do as well as responsibilities. For example, when beginning projects, it is your right to present a budget and timeline to the client which you think is reasonable and fair. They may or may not accept it, but you must bid according to what you actually think you can do. It is your responsibility as a contractor to stick with the budget and timeline you agreed upon and not try to gouge the client out of more money or time if unnecessary. You need to have a full understanding of what the law says are your rights and responsibilities in your chosen profession.

3. If a legal quagmire presents itself, seek the advice of your personal counsel quickly: Don't try to work it out yourself; that will likely only make the situation worse. Instead, write down an account of what happened and immediately seek contractor legal representation. In most instances, they will advise you on your legal rights, but may also give you tips on how to diffuse the situation without taking it to court.

4. Get everything in writing and notarized, with copies to your attorney: This is for record-keeping purposes and ensures that in the event that you need contractor legal representation, you have written forms of backup.

These tips will not only ensure that you understand your contractor rights, but also help to keep you out of legal messes. Maintain close contact with your attorney and be sure that they are completely familiar with your business and the overall contractor industry. For this reason, it's best to go with a lawyer that specializes in this field as they will be well versed in case law. Moreover, make sure your lawyer knows to work closely with your union representation, if that is an option available to you in your area.

The Most Important Aspects Of Employment Law

If you are a new business owner or an existing company looking to employ people for the first time then there are many laws governing employment that you must be aware of. There will be differences in employment law depending upon which country your business operates in but in general these points will apply. Not abiding by these laws can have very serious consequences and can even lead to your business being shut down by the government so it is advisable that you familiarize yourself with them and do everything in your power to comply.

Minimum Wages And Payments

Most countries have a minimum wage that must be paid to workers to comply with the law. In the United States this is currently around seven dollars per hour and it applies to the majority of workers. There are some exceptions to this and these include executive, administrative and professional employees, commission only sales workers and teachers and professors. You need to check with the government whether the positions that you want to fill are covered by the law or exempt from it. Payments for overtime worked are also governed by this law.

Safety In The Workplace

It is the company owner's responsibility to ensure that the safest possible working conditions exist for their employees. Failure to do this could lead to heavy prosecution especially if an employee is injured due to the employer's negligence in this area. There have been many cases where businesses have been closed due to violation of safety laws. It is mainly common sense and is not onerous to implement. Providing protective clothing, fire extinguishers and proper fire exits, using signs to indicate hazardous areas or spillages and the storage of dangerous materials or items are a few of the common safety requirements.

Discrimination

There should be absolutely no discrimination against people in the workplace based on their gender, race, their country of origin or if they have disabilities of any kind. This also applies to job interviews before a person actually becomes employed by the company. An interview should be based solely on the person's abilities and specialized knowledge that is required to perform the work and no discriminatory factors based on them as a person should be taken into consideration. Once a person is employed they should be provided equal opportunity in terms of wages, hours of work, type of work to be undertaken and advancement within the company.

Company Handbook

Although not required by law in most countries, a handbook which details what is expected of employees in terms of conduct, hours of attendance, pay and conditions, company procedures and safety will be viewed as a very positive step by the authorities. It is important that all workers are clear on what their responsibilities are and also can see the steps that the company are taking to ensure their safety and offer them equal opportunities in their workplace.

3 Ways to Get a Good Worker Compensation Lawyer

A good workers compensation attorney is important to safeguard the workers' interests in incidences when a mishap happens and they would need to get the rightful compensation for it. The compensation will cover the financial losses that result from the inability to work after the accident or injury.

So how do you find a good workers compensation attorney to represent your staff when a mishap happens?

1. Ask lawyer acquaintances and family members

Those who are in the line would most likely be able to recommend some friends or colleagues who specialize in workers compensation. Lawyers have close rapport among themselves even if they do not practice in the same field. So don't hesitate to ask a divorce lawyer if he or she knows any good workers compensation attorney.

2. Get advice from the union

The local union is able to give you some references even if you are not a part of the union. The recommendations given are usually good. Just note down the contact details and get in touch with the recommended attorneys.

3. Ask the bar association

This would be the best source for you to get recommendations.

When making a decision, find out the success rate of the lawyer. Conduct a background check before making a decision, and then only confirm the services of that lawyer. Do not ever make a payment before performing a background check. During the meeting with the lawyer, observe if you are comfortable with the working style of the attorney. You'd be able to tell if you would feel comfortable simply by interacting and discussing with the lawyer.

A good workers compensation attorney will be able to quickly understand the details of your case and get to the core of the problems that you are facing. He or she would also be able to dispense valuable advice and have a good background and adequate experience in representing workers in similar situations. A good attorney should also be able to make you feel comfortable during the proceedings of the case as well as be competent enough to be able to get the rightful amount of compensation.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

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