health care law and legislation week 6

Chapter 21

Labor Relations

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Explain the various federal and state labor acts.

• Discuss the rights and responsibilities of unions and management.

• Describe the purpose of an “Affirmative Action Plan.”

• Describe a patient’s rights during labor disputes.

• Discuss the types of discrimination that occur in the workplace.

Federal & State Labor Laws

• Relationships between employees & employers are regulated by state & federal laws.

• Federal laws generally take precedence over state laws when there is conflict between state & federal laws.

• State laws generally applicable when more rigid than federal laws.

U.S. Department of Labor

• Cabinet level department

• Functions

– promote welfare of wage earners

– improve working conditions

– advance opportunities for profitable employment

National Labor Relations Act – I

• Enacted 1935 to govern labor-management relations of business firms engaged in interstate commerce.

• Act defines certain conduct of employers & employees as unfair labor practices

– provides for hearings on complaints that such practices have occurred.

National Labor Relations Act – II

• Act modified by

– Taft-Hartley amendments of 1947

– Landrum-Griffin amendments of 1959

National Labor Relations Board – I

• NLRB enforces & administers the NLRA

– has jurisdiction over matters involving proprietary & not-for-profit health care organizations.

– agency independent of department of labor, that is responsible for preventing & remedying unfair labor practices by employers & labor organizations.

National Labor Relations Board – II

• Unions & Healthcare Orgs

– Through mid-1930s, little union organizational

• slow growth until late 1950s.

– Union activity successful in geographic areas in which unions have been active in other industries

– Limitations on # of bargaining units

• employees can form up to 8 bargaining units

• upheld by U.S. Supreme Ct.

National Labor Relations Board – III

• Elections

– NLRA sets out procedures by which employees may select a union as their collective bargaining representative to negotiate employment and contract matters.

• Unfair Labor Practices

– Unlawful Interrogation

– Failure to Discharge Non-Dues Paying Nurses

Norris-LaGuardia Act

• Aimed at reducing number of injunctions to restrain strikes & picketing.

• Sets procedures for handling labor disputes.

• Creates board of inquiry if a dispute threatens to interrupt health care.

• Board’s findings provide framework for arbitrators’ decisions.

Labor-Management Reporting & Disclosure Act

• Places controls on labor unions & relationships between unions & membership.

• Requires employers to report payments to representatives of labor orgs.

• Expenditures made to influence way employees exercise rights.

• Disclosure of agreements with labor consultants.

Fair Labor Standards Act

• Establishes

– minimum wages

– maximum hours of employment

– overtime pay provisions

– exempt employees provisions

– work week options

Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Prohibits private employers & state & local governments from discrimination in employment in any business on basis of:

– race,

– color,

– religion,

– sex, or

– national origin.

OSHA – I

• Sets & enforces safety standards

• Provides training, outreach, & education

• Establishes partnerships

• Encourages continual improvement in workplace safety & health

OSHA – II

• Promulgation & Enforcement of OSHA Standards

• Recordkeeping

• Education

• Infectious Body Fluids

• Employee Complaints

• State Regulation

• Legal Liability

Rehabilitation Act of 1973

• Protection for handicapped employees

• Applied to public & private orgs

• Requirement to perform self-evaluation of compliance

• Jobs must not be designed to eliminate hiring of disabled persons

Family and Medical Leave Act – I

• Enacted to grant employees temporary medical leave under certain circumstances.

• Covered employers must grant eligible employees up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period.

Family and Medical Leave Act – II

• Leave granted for:

– birth & care of employee’s child.

– placement of adopted or foster child with employee.

– care of immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition.

– inability to work because of serious health condition.

Family and Medical Leave Act – III

• Illegal to terminate health insurance coverage for an employee on FMLA leave.

• Following FMLA leave, employee’s job—or an equivalent job with equivalent pay, benefits, & other terms & conditions of employment— must be restored.

State Labor Laws – I

• Laws Vary State to State

– Union Security Contracts and Right-to-Work Laws

– Wage and Hour Laws

State Labor Laws – Union Security Contracts

• Closed shop contract

• Union shop contract

• Some state statutes forbid such contracts

• Right-to-work laws

• Wage & hour laws

State Labor Laws – III

• Child Labor Acts

– working papers

– forbids employment of minors at night

– prohibits minors from operating certain machinery

• Workers’ Compensation

– physical injury

– job stress

– influenza Vaccination

Labor Rights

• Organize & bargain collectively

• Solicit & distribute union info

• Picket

• Strike

Management Rights

• Receive a strike notice

• Hire replacement workers

• Restrict union activity

• Prohibit union activity during working hrs

• Prohibit supervisors from participating union activity

Patient Rights & labor Disputes

• Patient rights take precedence over labor- management rights

• Patients have right to

– privacy

– well-being

Affirmative Action Plan – I

• Prohibits discrimination on basis of age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin.

• Affirmative action program includes

– collection & analysis of data on the race and sex of all applicants for employment.

– non-discrimination clause in manuals.

– use of data to show compliance with the law.

Affirmative Action Plan – II

• Failure to comply can result in denial of federal funds.

• Health care orgs should have equal employment opportunity or affirmative action plan in place.

Injunctions

• Court order directing that a certain act be performed or not performed.

– Persons who fail to comply with court orders are said to be in contempt of court.

• Earliest use of injunctions in labor relations was by employers to stop strikes or picketing by employees.

• Availability of injunctive relief limited.

Administering Collective Bargaining Agreement

• Administered in “good faith”

• Supervisors should familiarize themselves with the agreement

• Importance of recordkeeping

• Grievance procedures

• Arbitration

Workplace Discrimination – Age

• Discrimination in Employment Act

• Promotes employment of older persons

• Prima facie case 1.complainant is in a protected age group

2.complainant is qualified for his or her job

3.complainant was discharged

4.discharge occurred in circumstances that give rise to inference of age discrimination

Workplace Discrimination – Disability

• Americans with Disabilities Act

– enacted by Congress to prohibit age discrimination

• Tips for Employers

– train managers as to ADA requirements

– review & revise job descriptions for compliance

– bring physical environment into compliance

– post notice describing purpose of ADA

Workplace Discrimination – III

• National Origin

• Pay Discrimination

• Pregnancy Discrimination

• Race

• Religion

• Sex

Sexual Harassment

• Unwelcomed sexual advance

• Request for sexual favors

• Verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature

• Creating an environment that is unreasonably intimidating or offensive

Preventing Sexual Harassment

• Implement an anti-harassment policy.

• Prompt action to prevent & correct any harassment.

• Encourage employees to promptly report harassment.

REVIEW QUESTIONS – I

1. Provide a general overview of the NLRA.

2. Using the hospital as a setting, give two examples of what would violate the NLRA.

3. How do patients' rights come into play during a strike by nurses?

4. What is the purpose of OSHA?

REVIEW QUESTIONS – II

5. Why was the Norris-LaGuardia Act enacted by Congress?

6. Discuss various ways in which discrimination can occur in the workplace.

7. What steps can an organization take to prevent successful lawsuit brought forward on the basis of sexual harassment.