Employee Rights/Safety

Introduction

This paper will be discussing Compliance and the HR functions that discuss different laws that are relating to HR functions. In the second part we know that the employer is required to ensure safety and protect the health of its staff in carrying out the work, and that obligation is an obligation of result.

Compliance and the HR functions

Employment at Will

One of the most challenging aspects of working in employment in an “at will” state like Texas, especially in a business with several locations (i.e., quite a few managers who employ and fire), is dealing with unemployment compensation claims (Employment-at-Will, 2012). The employment at will doctrine states that any hiring is presumed to be “at will” which means that the employer is free of charge to terminate individuals “for very good reason, bad reason, or no reason at all,” and the employee is equally cost-free to quit, strike, or otherwise cease work. In Texas, there are exceptions such as public policy (e.g. serving on jury duty) and statutory (e.g. refusing to commit illegal acts).

Statutory exceptions also consist of the federal anti-discriminatory laws (i.e., age, gender, national origin, race, and so on.) that began to be implemented in the mid-60s. It needs to also be mentioned that an employer, even in employment at will states, ought to follow his own policies and procedures when it comes to terminations. Of course, collective bargaining and other kinds of employment agreements can abrogate the employment at will status in certain employment scenarios (Muhl, 2001).

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) will provide federal protection from genetic discrimination in health insurance and employment. Genetic discrimination occurs when people are treated differently by their employer or insurance company because they have a genetic change that causes or increases the risk of an inherited disorder. GINA is a federal law designed to protect people in the United States from this form of discrimination (Greaves & Smith, 2009). The law has two parts: Title I, which prohibits genetic discrimination in health insurance, and Title II, which prohibits genetic discrimination in employment. Title I makes it illegal for health insurance providers to use or require genetic information to make decisions about a person's insurance eligibility or coverage.

Fair Credit Reporting Act

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is United States federal legislation that promotes accuracy, fairness and privacy for data used by consumer reporting agencies. Consumer reporting agencies include credit bureaus and financial agencies -- such as those that sell information about rental history records. Consumer rights under the FCRA stipulate that (Massey, 2007):

The consumer must be told if information in his file has been used against him. Anyone who uses a credit report or another type of consumer report to deny a consumer's application for credit, insurance, or employment must tell the consumer and must give him the name, address, and phone number of the agency that provided the information. 

The consumer has the

Financial services

Right to know what is in his file. The consumer may request and obtain ...