Legal Safety and Regulatory Requirements week 2 Markeeta

Legal, Safety, and Regulatory Requirements
Markeeta Watkins
HCS/341
Joanne Kronstedt
3/02/2015

Legal, Safety, and Regulatory Requirements “Common sense and compassion in the workplace has been replaced by litigation” The above statement effects the way companies and businesses are ran in today’s workforce. It is the Human Resource department’s responsibility to ensure the safety, and equality privileges for all employees. With lawsuits concerning discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination and other issues that pose grounds for a lawsuit, companies are forced to do more to protect themselves rather than focus on work related issues.
According to University of Phoenix Managing human resources ch.13 (2012), employee handbooks may constitute an implied contract between employer and employee. Some employees file lawsuits against their employers if they feel that they have been wronged in any way that was not stated in the employee handbook as a direct violation. A good example of this would be an employee getting terminated for continuously refusing to do a job that is not listed under your job description, when the handbook clearly states that you may have to perform other tasks, but they are not listed. Although this may seem like a vague reason to be terminated, it happens all the time. In my opinion I agree with the statement, far too often do we see a company being sued by a former employee, whether they are in the wrong or right, they sue because they do not agree about how the issue was handled. Companies now have to cover themselves by placing an indirect disclosure in the company handbook, focusing on protecting the business rather than employee engagement. My opinion that I agree that common sense and compassion has been replaced by litigation depends on the situation. There are instances where too much compassion in the workplace can also hinder the company. If there is not an even balance where common sense and compassion are concerned, employees could try to take advantage of that. Common sense and compassion in the workplace resembles a company and employees that look to protect one another, by helping others out for the overall success of the company. The United States established employee related regulations such as the Department of Labor, US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Department of Homeland Security (University of Phoenix, 2012). They were established for not only the safety of employers but employees as well. Under the Department of Labor wages, hours, unemployment benefits, and more are documented to protect and ensure employee equality ("United States Department Of Labor", 2014). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is responsible for there being laws in place to make sure all those who are employed are treated equal, that there is no discrimination against anything that makes a person unique from the rest. American’s with Disabilities Act protects those who may have any type of disability to undergo any discrimination due to the disability. Each organization is there to protect employees from being treated any different than other workers. It is the Human Resource Departments job to make sure employees are made aware of their rights to protect them from such treatment, and also to protect the company from wasting money on costly lawsuits ("Hr.com", 2015). Employers and employees have an obligation to each other once they enter a signed contract, which is why it is very important to read any legally binding documents. If there are questions that are left unanswered, do not sign any agreement that you do not fully understand. In the end a contract like this could protect you from any discriminatory acts, and protect the company from unlawful lawsuits. These contracts also ensure that each employee will be treated equally, and fairly, no one person will be set apart from the others. It is HR’s job to make sure this happens, they must hear feedback from employees to make certain that all voices and opinions are heard. “Common sense and compassion in the workplace has been replaced by litigation”, this statement can be argued from either point of view however it is my position that this statement is true. Companies are becoming more concerned with how to protect themselves legally from disgruntled employees than they are concerned with the welfare or success of the company. HR spends a lot of time making sure that handbooks, newsletters, and safety notifications are up to date and are placed where they need to be. Employee handbooks must be signed by each employee and saved in their employment record.

Reference Page
HR.com. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.hr.com/SITEFORUM?&t=/Default/gateway&i=1116423256281&application=story&active=no&ParentID=1119278127660&StoryID=1119650816921&xref=http%3A//www.bing.com/search%3Fq%3DHR.com+reducing+litigation+risks%26form%3DIE11TR%26src%3DIE11TR%26pc%3DHPNTDFJS
University of Phoenix. (2012). Managing human resources ch.13. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, HCS/341 website
United States department of labor. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/disability/ada.htm