Reword the attached

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This week’s agenda reviewed the topics of agencies, employment laws, employment discrimination, and labor laws. When creating an agency there must be a principal, an agent, a consent between the two parties that the agent will work on behalf of the principal, the agent is subject to the principal’s control, in which all of these things create a fiduciary relationship. The authors of Introduction to Business Law has said, “an agent has a fiduciary duty to act loyally for the principal’s benefit in all matters connected with the agency relationship” (Beatty, Samuelson, & Abril, 2015). There are situations in which both parties are obligated to act in a certain fashion or disclose information to the other party. All information is considered confidential and the agent may not engage or participate in behavior that may reflect the principal in any way. There are three duties of care by an agent: 1. Duty to obey instructions, duty of care, and duty to provide information. Likewise, the principal has a duty to its agent: duty to pay as provided by the agreement, duty to reimburse reasonable expenses, and duty to cooperate with the agent. “Although an agent can greatly increase his principal’s ability to accomplish her goals, an agency relationship also dramatically increases the risk of legal liability to third parties,” says Beatty and Samuelson (Beatty, Samuelson, & Abril, 2015). There will be several times in our lives where we may act as a principal or act as an agent, this area of law affects us all and will continue to do so throughout our lives.

Employment law affects all of us as well, each of us who has ever had a job is either directly or indirectly affected by these laws. Employment security includes, the Family and Medical leave act which allows both men and women to take 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year for child birth, adoption, or a serious health condition of their immediate family. Common law protects employees against wrongful termination, contract law, tort law, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Whistleblowing laws protect the employee from reporting the wrongful activities of its employer, eliminating the risk of the employee. Off-duty activities and lifestyle choices, if they are legal, cannot be held against the employee. Employees also have freedom of speech and the right to unionize to discuss workplace environments.

There are also specific laws that are created to ensure that the employees are not unfairly discriminated against. “Under the Equal Pay Act of 1963, a worker may not be paid at a lesser rate than employees of the opposite sex for equal work” (Beatty, Samuelson, & Abril, 2015). Additionally, employers also cannot discriminate against its employees on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, through the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Women who are pregnant may also not be fired, refused to be hired, or not be promoted due to pregnancies. Whether young or elderly, faced with physical or mental disabilities, or genetics, an employer cannot deny employment to a qualified individual.

As a mother, I believe that one of the most important acts set in place is the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. During pregnancy women go through so many physical and emotional changes that they are not in control of. The last thing that a woman, who is carrying her child, should worry about is losing her job; worrying about how she will care for her unborn child with no income or health benefits. If, “employees are allowed time off from work for other medical disabilities, women must also be allowed a maternity leave” (Beatty, Samuelson, & Abril, 2015).

A close friend of mine was hired to what she thought was her dream company. After one month of employment she and her husband found out she was expecting their third child, unexpectedly. Only 5 short months later she was let go from her position as a remote Business Development Manager. Even though their basis for termination was work performance, she is not in a very delicate situation when trying to find a new job in her third trimester. Pregnancies, although an exciting time for many, pose a very difficult situation for those working.

These chapters were very informative and there was not a certain part or section that I thought was confusing.