Presentation: Rights and Obligations of Employers and Employees

Presentation | Presentation: Rights and Obligations of Employers and Employees | Introduction Statutes and their regulations and common law determine the rights and obligations of employers and employees to each other and may differ from state to state. Employers and employees have an "employment relationship" that is sometimes referred to as a contract of service.When an employee accepts employment, that individual agrees to work for some form of payment, such as wages, salary, commission, and pierce rates. An employer also has rights and obligations, such as providing a discrimination and harassment-free workplace, pay slips and employment records, and workplace safety, to name a few. There are other rights and obligations of both employer and employees, such as privacy in the workplace. Although employers have some leeway in gathering information about their employees, employers must take care not to violate employees ' right to privacy.Rights and Obligations of Employers and EmployeesAn obligation that employers are beginning to recognize as a new role is establishing work/life balance, so as to prevent burnout by their employees. Companies are beginning to reshape their cultures to bring a better balance to the workplace. The greater the balance, the greater the productivity. Work/life conditions are not the only obligations of employers, however. Federal and state laws have long required employers to make "reasonable accommodations" for persons with disabilities. In 1990 Congress passed legislation called "Americans with Disabilities Act" to level the playing field for persons with disabilities. California passed a law on January 1, 2001, however, which redefines the definition of disabled, resulting in the inclusion of all types of physical and mental conditions. This new legislation is expected to increase litigation and costs for all California employers.Under Section 7 of the National Labor Act, employees have the right to organize a union and

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