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Employment Law Case Digest Article
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Labour and Employment Law – the Same or Different?
from:Labour and employment law are often terms used interchangeably. In actual fact, there is a difference between labour and employment law. Labour laws usually deal with employer-union relationships and employment laws with employer-employee relationships. Is this a distinction without a difference? Possibly, unless you happen to deal in labour and employment law on a regular basis and the distinction is important to your business.
Well, for the purposes of this short article, you will be reading about employer-employee relationships in the area of sick leave pay. As you know, most US employers offer sick leave pay. You will find some also offer accrued sick leave pay when employees quit or are laid off. This is mostly used as a benefit to attract and keep employees. However, this is NOT mandated under labour and employment law, it is strictly voluntary.
So great, where does that leave an employee? If an employer does offer sick leave pay, then you are entitled to it – so long as you comply with terms and conditions in related policies or your employment contract. Since this is a totally voluntary benefit, labour and employment law has no effect on this. So basically, it is up to the employer to follow through or not. However, there may be a loophole here should you need one. If company sick leave policy states you need a Doctor's note and the company doesn't consistently apply this to everyone, you may be able to sue.
What about sick leave of your own or a family member? If this sick leave pay is totally voluntary and not governed by labour and employment law where does that leave you? Here you are covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act and may have up to 12 weeks of sick leave for your own or a family member's illness. This is without losing your job or group health benefits. So that's good news.
You may recall that something dubbed the Healthy Americans Act was first introduced in the US Senate in 2005. The idea was to compel employers to provide annual sick leave benefits to workers who logged at least 1,500 hours in a year. That first Act didn't get anywhere and was reborn as the Healthy Americans Act of 2007.
In a nutshell this act (if it passes) would dissolve all employer-based insurance. It would mandate every employer who covered his employees in 2006 convert the total they spent on insurance into salary increases. Whoa what a pay raise that would be! Employers would be legislated to do this, but would want to because every year health costs go up at least 10 percent or more. If the total for employers freezes at 2006 levels, employers would be exempt from 2007's increase. There no indication this Act will pass in 2007.
Employment Law Case Digest News
State retirees ask judge to roll back health insurance increase - Albany Times Union
State retirees ask judge to roll back health insurance increase Albany Times Union By Rick Karlin TROY — Did the state Legislature give away its power to control how much money state employees pay toward their health care? The question emerged during a court hearing Wednesday as the Retired Public Employees Association sought to ... |
Supreme Court Digest - WisBar
Supreme Court Digest WisBar "The United States conceded at oral argument that it made an intentional decision not to litigate any of the issues involved in the circuit court. Our case law is clear and consistent – failure to preserve issues means that they are waived. |
News Digest: May 7 - Federal Times
News Digest: May 7 Federal Times OPM had expected a 55078-case backlog last month. The National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations last week asked President Obama to continue testing expanded collective bargaining rights for two more years. The council set up 12 pilot tests ... |
Sports digest: Woman found Junior Seau with no sign of life, according to a ... - San Jose Mercury News
Sports digest: Woman found Junior Seau with no sign of life, according to a ... San Jose Mercury News The complaint says Goodell is prohibited from punishing players for any aspect of the case occurring before the new collective bargaining agreement was signed last August. It argues a CBA system arbitrator has the right to decide player punishment ... |
UK public procurement law digest: successfully setting aside UK procurement ... - Lexology (registration)
UK public procurement law digest: successfully setting aside UK procurement ... Lexology (registration) This edition of the MoFo UK Public Procurement Law Digest looks at the following cases in which the Northern Ireland High Court granted the aggrieved bidders' applications to set aside: Clinton v. Northern Ireland Department for Employment and Learning ... |
Public firms usually settle foreign bribery charges - USA TODAY
 USA TODAY | Public firms usually settle foreign bribery charges USA TODAY Criminal and civil fines imposed on corporations totaled more than $3.8 billion from 2007 to 2011, a boom era in enforcement of the anti-corruption law, according to a widely followed digest issued by the Shearman & Sterling law firm. |