Federal Human Resource Laws and Objectives
Human Resource Laws and brief summary of policy (listed in chronological order)
1935 Social Security Act: Payroll taxes withheld from workers’ paychecks to fund retirement benefits, disability and unemployment insurance.
1935 Wagner Act: Legalized labor unions and established the National Labor Relations Board
1938 Fair Labor Standards Act: Established minimum wage and overtime pay and child labor rules
1947 Taft-Hartley Act: Provided some protections fro employers and limited union power; permitted states to enact right-to-work laws
1959 Landrum-Griffin Act: Protects union members’ right to participate in union affairs
1963 Equal Pay Act: Prohibits unequal pay for the same job regardless of gender
1964 Civil Rights Act, Title VII: Prohibits discrimination in employment decisions based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.
1965 Executive Order 11246: Prohibits discrimination in employment by companies doing business with the federal government based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin
1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act: Prohibits employment discrimination against workers 40 or older
1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act: Established safety and health standards at the workplace to protect employees against job-related accidents, injuries and illness
1974 Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA): Established and regulates the financial stability of employee benefit and pension plans
1974 Job Training Partnership Act: Provides block grants of money to states, which pass them on to local govenments and private entities that provide on-the-job training.
1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act: Prohibits employers from discriminating against pregnant women.
1985 Consolidated Omnibus Budged Reconciliation Act (COBRA): Requires employers to provide continued health insurance coverage by company-sponsored group medical insurance plan at employee expense following termination.
1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act: Prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status; employers required to verify and document employee’s legal work status.
1988 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (WARN): Employers are required to notify workers in advance of layoff of a group of employees at the same time.
1988 Drug-Free Workplace Act: Covered employer must implement policies to restrict employee drug use.
1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on disability
1991 Civil Rights Act: Amends Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; prohibits quotas, provides right to jury trial for employees, allows punitive damages against employer
1993 Family and Medical Leave Act: Employers must provide unpaid leave for childbirth, adoption, illness
1994 Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act: Prohibits discrimination by employers against employees who take leave of absence from work to fulfill military service obligations.
1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA): Allows employees to transfer their coverage of existing illnesses to new employer’s insurance plan.
Various Workers’ Compensation Laws: state-by-state laws that establish insurance plans to compensate workers injured on the job.
Various Fair Employment Laws: state-by-state laws that protect workers from discrimination, harassment and retaliation by employers and supervisors against employees based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, medical condition, physical and mental disability, sexual orientation.
Tags: Human Resource Laws