A Comparison of Federal and Puerto Rican Employment Protections

Following the Industrial Revolution of the Nineteenth Century, the federal official official disposal of the United States pursued the enactment of various laws to protect the rights of individualist laborers.This was mainly spawned at the insistence of labor unions, which were legalized in the same(p) time period. passim the following century, a name of revisions and improvements were made upon these laws, to the point where at the preface individual workers enjoy the full legal protections of the United States government at their menages of engagement.These federal statutes cover altogether beas from age discrimination to discrimination against those with disabilities. angiotensin converting enzyme major statute is based on Title VII of the strong-mannered Rights Act, which makes it illegal for an employer to discriminate against a worker on the radix of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.This applies to not only treatment on the job, but to all aspects o f the employment process, including hiring, promotion, discharge, pay, fringe benefits, job training, classification, and referral.Employers argon prohibited from showing orientation tour advertising or recruiting. For employment, an employer may not post advertisements for a position that are tailored exclusively to a particular gender, or insinuate during the hiring process that individuals fitting a certain description are more than likely to be hired. (Department of labor party.)Falling under the same statute, employers cannot dismiss an employee for all of the above classifications, and cannot pay less on the basis of gender, race, etc. This was a common practice before the creation of such protections, as in some(prenominal) circumstances women were paid much less for working the same jobs that men were macrocosm paid much higher to complete.In addition to this, the federal statutes prohibit child labor, which means in most states that workers under the ages of 18 or 16 are subject to certain restrictions in the number of hours a week they may work, and former(a) aspects of working the job including the habituate of tools and operation of machinery. (Department of Labor.)As well, Title I of the Americans With Disabilities Act prohibits employers of fifteen or more employees to discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities.This law is inapplicable in some circumstances. Obviously, if an individual is disabled in such a way so as to make them wholly unable to perform the duties of a given job, it is not considered discrimination for the employer to refuse to hire them. However, in some cases involving minor amiable illness, where individuals are still able to adequately perform the function of a job, which may or may not require less skill, employers are not permitted to discriminate on the basis of the disability, and are subject to being penalized if they are discovered doing so. (Andrade.)The federal government left some areas of employment protection to be decided by the individual states. One example of this is tokenish wage. Though there is a fairly low measuring rod of minimum wage established by the federal government, individual states may establish a higher minimum wage. In the case of Puerto anti-racketeering law, the minimum wage is $5.15 per hour worked, though over the summer of 2006 members of the House of Representatives introduced law to nourish this minimum wage to $5.40.This minimum wage only applies to employers who are covered by the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Employers not covered by the FLSA may pay their workers much lower rates, beside to $3.00 per hour. (Department of Labor.)Even so, Puerto Rico is said to have some of the most strictly set labor laws within United States jurisdiction. This is due in part to highly successful labor movements within the territory. All federal statutes regarding labor accept to states, and this includes territories such as Puerto Rico. If these regulations are not followed, the Department of Labor allow intervene in some manner and enforce the law. At a minimum, Puerto Rican labor laws must comply with the labor laws established by the federal government of the United States. (Andrade.)In some areas, Puerto Rico has gone above and beyond the minimum established standards. As mentioned, the House of Representatives has made an effort to raise the minimum wage. As well, the territory has established the Puerto Rico Occupational safety device and Health Administration, which enforces the Occupational Safety and Health Act of Puerto Rico (OSHA).Among other things, this act guarantees to each employee in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico safe and remedial working conditions. Employers must guarantee that each employee has a job and job land site waive of hazards which may cause death or physical injury. (Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Serrano.)Employers must also obey all occupational safety a nd health standards, and any rules or regulations that are applicable to the worksite. This includes federal statutes, as well as Puerto Rican laws.This is enforced through the use of inspections, which are conducted on the basis of priority in the following order imminent danger, fatalities/catastrophes investigations, complaint/referral investigations, programmed inspections, and review article inspections to ensure that any necessary modifications have been carried out by the employer. An surplus measure established a Boiler and Elevator Inspection Program, the human activity of which is self-explanatory.In this program, inspectors ascertain the safety of boilers and elevators on jobsites, judging all aspects including manufacture, installment, and safe operation. These measures, while adopted by several other states, are not specifically enforced or provided by the federal government.Contrary to the bad reputation that many labor sites outside of the continental United State s have earned, Puerto Rico modishly follows federal standards of employment protection, and has made initiatives to improve upon the federal model. With a graceful minimum wage, laws promoting safe workplaces, and an administration in place that actively inspects employers to ensure the enforcement of these laws, Puerto Rico has been deemed by many to be a safe, profitable place for laborers to work.Works CitedAndrade, N (2006, October 4). Puerto Rico-State-Labor Law Center Blog. Retrieved October6, 2006, from Labor Law Center mesh site http//blog.laborlawcenter.com/category/state/puerto-ricoAuthor Unknown, (2006). Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Retrieved October6, 2006, from ToPuertoRico.org Web site http//www.topuertorico.org/constitu.shtmlAuthor Unknown, Puerto Rico State Information Page. Retrieved October 6, 2006, from U.S.Department of Labor Web site http//www.osha.gov/oshdir/stateprogs/Puerto_Rico.htmlSerrano, M, Labor Laws Weigh Heavily on Puerto Ricos E mployers. (2005, August 25). PuertoRico Herald, http//www.puertorico-herald.org/issues2/2005/ vol09n34/ CBLaborLaws.shtml