It’s very important for employers but also, employees to know what kind of rights workers have in the modern era of business. No more can employers demand anything from workers, but workers have also had their rights pitted in more accurate and agreeable terms. There was a swing of the pendulum whereby the workers regained lots of power from the business owners they work for, and now it has slowly reached the middle. But the consequences for breaking some rules have risen and sharpened in their severity. This is where the heart of the matter lies, so let’s explore this together.
Discriminations laws
According to the Department of Labor, no business can ever discriminate against a worker for his or her, race, color of skin, religion, sex or political opinion. However, some have blurred the lines in the opinion on social issues lately, causing ‘cancel culture’ to rise. It’s important that businesses take a stand but also, allow their employees to be who they want to be. The best thing to do is to support both parties and or sides of the argument and try to stay out of it as best as possible. If a worker doesn’t agree that a transgender man is a real man, then you shouldn’t enforce your views on them, even if a fellow employee complains. What you should do is involve your HR department, and ask them to try and keep their views to themselves and express them outside of work, while not overtly trying to represent the company i.e. wearing brand memorabilia.
Injury and cause
Just because a worker is hurt doesn’t mean they have the ability to win a lawsuit against you, so businesses should not panic. In fact, we have very clear lines in terms of what constitutes a workplace injury and a workplace accident. The latter is caused by no one’s fault in the business while an injury is due to a lack of judgement by the business itself. This is why so many workers’ compensation cases are won by seasoned lawyers. They can build a case that shows that a business has not followed its own laws, or perhaps standard industry procedures and best practices. They play a great role for workers who have been poorly treated by their employers. However, you can also contact them as an employer, and ask or pay for their services in guidance on how to avoid an unsafe workplace.
Remote working
In the world of COVID-19, employers will need to buck the trend and give their employees the ability to work from home if they can. Many states have passed laws, allowing employees to work from home and still be classed as full-time workers, despite the employer being unable to ratify how many hours they have worked. So essentially, it’s just how much work they have done that constitutes whether or not they have met their obligations. It’s a good idea to learn about your local remote working laws.
Businesses and employees need to learn about workers’ rights in order to avoid being penalized and creating an unfair working space. It benefits everyone to do so.
