Based on the presentation of laws in this chapter, do you think there is too little or too much government intervention? Explain your answer
Some people argue that there is too much government intervention, whereas others say there is not enough. Based on the presentation of laws in this chapter, do you think there is too little or too much government intervention? Explain your answer
**********DISCUSSION Summary READING of Chapter 2**********
There are a variety of laws that were put in place to ensure a balance of power between employees and employers. For the purposes of compensation management, these laws can be categorized in four groups as income continuity, safety, and work hours; pay discrimination; accommodating disabilities and family needs; and prevailing wage laws.
The federal constitution forms the basis for employment laws. The following four amendments of the Constitution are most applicable: Article I, Section 8. “The Congress shall have Power . . . to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes. ” First Amendment. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Fifth Amendment. “No person shall . be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. . . . ” Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1. “ . No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
Government in the United States is organized at three levels roughly defined by geographic scope. A single federal government oversees the entire United States and its territories. The clear majority of laws that influence compensation were established at the federal level. Next, individual state governments enact and enforce laws that pertain exclusively to their respective regions (e.g., Illinois and Michigan). Most noteworthy are differences.
Please respond to the 2 discussions listed below: Cite 2 references
****TA 1. **** After analyzing how the laws were presented in the Martocchio text, I believe there is a perfect middle ground between too much and too little government interference in the workplace. However, there may be too much or too little in specific cases. It depends on the individual case, job, and constantly changing work environment.
Argument for Balanced Intervention
Currently at work are various foundational statutory laws, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), and others, that provide a basic level of government intervention to safeguard workers’ rights and ensure fair treatment in the workplace (Martocchio, 2020). These laws include statutory mandates to prevent employer exploitation and promote necessary safety standards and retirement security. These regulations are needed to ensure universal protections are adhered to, and employees can work in a safe environment, not exploited by employers.
Argument for Too Much Intervention
Conversely, other people answer the following lines: there is too much government interference, as this reduces business agility and cuts back economic efficiency. In detail, strict regulations impose considerable compliance costs on employers, particularly small businesses that hire and/or workers’ benefits to compensate. Which in turn leads to a reduction in their profits. Furthermore, administrative requirements to demonstrate compliance with laws can create administrative charges that ultimately divert resources from the core business goals (Martocchio, 2020). Here, the claim is that the government should interfere as little as possible, as it only hinders companies from innovating successfully and becoming productive.
Argument for Too Little Intervention
On the other hand, there are some domains where regulatory intervention by the state falls short or is an inadequate response to new challenges arising in modern circumstances. Specifically, the expansion of non-traditional work arrangements such as in the ‘gig economy,’ working from home, and unequal wages illustrate contemporary problems for which regulatory intervention might need to be increased. For example, the increasing prevalence of various kinds of ‘gig’ work has exposed the problem of limitations to existing labor laws, which are largely oriented to traditional arrangements for full-time, permanent employment. Most gig workers or independent contractors cannot access employee benefits such as health insurance or retirement plans. Moreover, they do not qualify for unemployment insurance either. If current protective labor laws or frameworks do not capture such workers, then extending the protections of those existing arrangements might be a reasonable suggestion. Enriching existing laws may be a sensible suggestion since such work arrangements will likely become increasingly prevalent. Also, it is a matter of fairness that vulnerable workers can capture the benefits of the system they support. Lastly, consider seemingly progressive labor laws such as equal pay or antidiscrimination legislation currently existing in many democracies. These are all examples of labor-market regulations that aim to address inequitable outcomes by embellishing the market with ‘corrective’ measures that may go against the grain of what economic efficiency would otherwise dictate.
In short, the right balance of intervention depends on context, and the challenge will change as the world of work evolves. On the one hand, the case for foundational protections, which are currently well-established goals, is quite clear. Yet there are also domains where both backing away from and stepping up intervention can be justified. The intermediate, nuanced course that carefully balances these considerations will be the right one to safeguard decent labor markets and support dynamic economies.
Recognition of policy tradeoffs raises the question of improving current government interventions in light of future demand for work and ensuring that government policies continue to guide the labor market to be fair, equitable, and efficient.
Reference
Martocchio, J. J. (2020). Strategic Compensation: A Human Resource Management Approach
JC****#2
Over 180 federal laws covering a wide range of workplace activities for over 10 million workplaces and 150 million workers are overseen by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) (U.S. Department of Labor, 2023). Among these regulations are the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which governs health and safety conditions in the majority of private sectors, and the Fair Labor Standards Act, which sets guidelines for overtime compensation and salaries. A comprehensive list of 16 laws on compensation alone is provided by Marocchio (2020). These laws fall into four major categories: pay discrimination, safety and work hours, accommodating disability and family requirements, income continuity, and prevailing wage regulations. One of the most significant laws about compensation is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), passed in 1938. It discusses child labor laws, overtime compensation, and the minimum wage. These are general facts, but because every law was made in response to a scenario involving a case, no legislation is too tiny. One such definition of “term hours worked” that exists in the FLSA is found in the “Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947” (Martocchio, 2020). It includes compensable activities including lunch breaks, travel time, on-call time, and training sessions. There is always room for more rules, regulations, and government action. More laws are made or altered, and the workforce must investigate and set standards as circumstances change. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) of the United States enforces federal laws, such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, to combat discrimination in the workplace, which is a significant issue (Hentze & Tyus, 2021). People who disclose workplace discrimination are shielded from retribution by these statutes. Equally protective against discrimination in the workplace are state statutes that mirror federal civil rights legislation. The majority of states have implemented legislation pertaining to job discrimination, including safeguards against prejudice stemming from many aspects like ethnicity, sex, age, marital status, country of origin, faith, or handicap (Hentze & Tyus, 2021). State and federal laws also prohibit harassment based on membership in certain protected groups. A legitimate occupational qualification must be used to justify an employer’s discriminatory practices, which cannot be based on race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, or marital status (Hentze & Tyus, 2021). In order to assess an applicant’s or employee’s suitability for a position, they may also demand that they undergo medical and physical exams. Human resources professionals must be aware of and adhere to laws, whether they originate from local, state, or federal governments, to safeguard workers.
References:
Hentze, I., & Tyus, R. (2021, August 12). Discrimination and Harassment in the Workplace. Www.ncsl.org. https://www.ncsl.org/labor-and-employment/discrimination-and-harassment-in-the-workplace
Martocchio, J. J. (2020). Strategic Compensation: A Human Resource Management Approach (10 Ed). Boston Pearson Education.
U.S. Department of Labor. (2023). Summary of the Major Laws of the Department of Labor. U.S. Department of Labor. https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/majorlaws
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