Labor and Employment

Labor and employment law comprises state and federal law governing the rights of employers and employees. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), 29 U.S.C.S. §§ 151-169--originally passed in 1935 as the Wagner Act--establishes federal labor law. The stated purpose of the NLRA is to promote the free flow of interstate commerce "by encouraging the practice and procedure of collective bargaining and by protecting the exercise by workers of full freedom of association, self-organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing, for the purpose of negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment or other mutual aid or protection." The Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 (the Taft-Hartley Act), 29 U.S.C.S. §§ 141 - 197, allowed employees to opt out of union activities, eliminated closed shop unions, and banned certain union activities as unfair labor practices. Twelve years later, the Landrum-Griffin Act, 29 U.S.C.S. §§ 401-531, proscribed a number of unfair labor union tactics. The National Labor Relations Board enforces the NLRA.

Employment discrimination laws comprise the major segment of employment law. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C.S. § 2000 et seq., is the touchstone employment discrimination law. Title VII prohibits discrimination against employees on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 proscribes wage discrimination on the basis of sex for employees who perform substantially equal work for the same company. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 prevents employers from discriminating against employees who are 40 years of age or older because of their age. Titles I and V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), ban employment discrimination against individuals with disabilities and require employers to provide reasonable accommodation to allow disabled workers to perform their jobs. Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prevent the federal government from discriminating against its disabled employees. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 expanded the timeframe within which employees who are discriminated against may file claims. Other critical employment laws include the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid leave to most employees facing the birth or adoption of a child, a seriously ill spouse, parent, or child or a serious health condition themselves; the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which guarantees a federal minimum wage and overtime pay to a large class of employees and prohibits detrimental workplace conditions; and the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, which seeks to ensure safe and healthful working conditions by prescribing workplace safety standards.