More than anything else, the private sector remains to be the world’s top employer. And as corporate regulation is seen to take a few steps back on account of the Trump administration’s push for a more radical push of Wall Street’s interests, we should see employment rates to rise. Especially now because of the United States’ new tax plan, we should expect major companies to hire more employees and push the unemployment rate down.
With that said, more and more people will see themselves working in the private sector. But so much as the precarity of employment is involved, employees should still assert their rights as workers protected by the International Labor Organization. That companies will begin to hire more employees does not stray from the need to understand labor laws in the context of office work.
Employees rights is not only something that employee’s themselves need to know. Companies also have the responsibility to understand such laws to avoid repercussions that would potentially cripple the bottomline.
Privacy
The right to privacy within the workplace is something that should not only be seen as a labor right, but as a personal right as well. Nothing will ever justify tapping into an employee’s phone or saving copies of their emails, work-related or otherwise. Still, most companies are unaware of this and continue to place their workers under surveillance. What they don’t know is that they are violating personal privacy laws that entail hefty fines. With that said, companies should think twice before storing employees’ information for purposes other than human resource management.
Discrimination and harassment
In a democratic society as ours, it is crucial for everyone to acknowledge racial, gender and cultural differences as an important feature. Companies that fail to realize this will surely suffer from anti-discrimination laws. The workplace should be where employees can cooperate regardless of their differences. Aside from that, employees should also be free from persecution of any form. Both female and male workers are also afforded the same along the lines of sexual rights. Sexual harassment lawsuits can land perpetrators in jail on top of tarnishing a company’s reputation beyond repair.
Wages
Salaries are not computed arbitrarily. There are federal guidelines to follow, as well as state laws to comply with regards to ensuring just compensation for everyone. Companies may seek to improve their profit margins by keeping wages low, but this will not prepare them for class action lawsuits from workers’ unions. With that said, companies should always emphasize the need to comply with wage laws and avoid scrutiny and heavy penalties much later on.
Job security
Another important legal item is job security, which essentially underscores the need for workers to stay and not be threatened by a layoff. Constituent to this is the provision of insurance and other social benefits that function to give workers a sense of dignity. After all, the reason why social welfare has become an important facet of labor laws is the principle of making workers more productive by not letting them worry about their daily subsistence.
