10 Common Legal Issues in the Workplace

 

Companies today must be very aware of the legal issues involved in employer-employee relations and the responsibilities companies have to establish and maintain a safe and fair environment.

 

Companies have to establish a clear set of policies and practices that guide corporate behavior toward its workers and its business partners.

 

Companies that produce products and services for the consumer also need to stand behind what they produce and meet common expectations for product reliability and consumer safety.

 

The laws governing workplace culture are changing all the time, and both employer and employee need to keep up with current trends in society as they may apply to the workplace.

 

Here are some of the more common legal issues seen in the workplace.

 

1. Faulty products

 

There is an implied warranty that goes with all products under which consumers can expect those products to work as advertised, without being faulty or causing injury. There are also express warranties that companies offer to cover certain problems within specified time limits. These warranties must be honored as well.

 

If several customers experience similar problems with a company’s products, these dissatisfied customers can file class action lawsuits against the company that can affect the company’s short-term financial status and longer-term brand image.

Companies need to practice quality management in developing their products to ensure reliability and safety and, should any problems be found, immediately notify customers of any needed recalls or preventative steps needed for safety.

 

2. Workplace safety

 

Safety applies to the workplace as well. Workers should feel safe in the workplace, especially where hazardous chemicals or working with dangerous equipment may be involved. Proper protective equipment and procedures should be used to minimize any injuries.

 

Even in workplaces with offices and meeting spaces need to be careful about worker safety. Injuries from trips and falls are a major reason for workplace lawsuits and are typically due to employer negligence over the conditions that caused the injuries. Companies should provide adequate warnings over wet floors or slippery sidewalks or weak stairs, etc.

 

3. Wrongful termination

 

Employers who are unaware of labor laws can easily violate them. If workers are fired, there need to be good legal reasons for doing so. And workers need to be aware of those reasons. Terminating an employee for the wrong reason can lead to lawsuits.

 

A worker can make a case against the company if he or she is terminated for a variety of reasons including being treated differently from other employees, or for complaining about safety issues, or for being too old, or for reporting illegal activities. And there are more reasons like these that can get a company in trouble.

 

Employers need to know federal and state laws concerning their responsibilities to workers before, during, and after termination including proper notification, advanced warnings, documentation, and policy conformance.

 

4. Breaking privacy laws

 

Many employers may be unaware that they cannot use employee names or photos in advertisements or other promotions without employee approvals. This a violation of privacy and also possibly infers employee endorsement of the company’s products.

 

Just because employees work for a company doesn’t give the company a right to use their identity for commercial gain. Taking photos or videos in public may be legal but recording conversations without permission is not. This includes phone calls where someone is recorded without their knowledge.

 

5. Social media impact

 

The use of social media is growing all the time. People use Facebook and Twitter in their private lives to exchange ideas and feelings and events. They share photos and discuss everyday life – including their work life. This is where the danger comes.

 

Comments about a worker’s company can lead to serious consequences. Workers have been legally terminated for damaging remarks about their employer. Everyone should be aware that they are not immune from consequences from using social media even in their private lives. There have been many legal precedents to demonstrate this point.

 

6. Intern or employee?

 

It’s a common practice for companies to hire interns. It’s a great way for these people to come in, learn a business, and do some minor work to help the company. But hiring an intern can be a double-edged sword. It helps the intern, possibly to the point of being hired in the future as a permanent employee, but it also raises a question. Is the intern doing too much work and not getting paid fairly?

 

If the intern is really doing the job of a permanent employee, he or she may not be legally considered an intern but instead a regular employee who should be paid like one.

Sometimes a company will make the mistake of hiring an intern to replace a regular employee and do the same work. This is obviously illegal if that intern is not paid the same for the same work.

 

The purpose of hiring an intern is to help that person learn a new business or skill, more so than actually doing meaningful work for the company. If that is not the right balance, it is very likely that the law is being broken.

 

7. Time or Overtime?

 

Pay for time or overtime is an ongoing debate that has political overtones. The law enacted in 2016 may or may not be the law of 2020 or even the law of 2019. Adding to the confusion is the research that shows about half of the employees in some industries do not know how many hours they have worked in given week.

 

The current law says that unless exempt, employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act must receive at least time and one-half their regular pay rate for all hours worked over 40 in a work week.

 

The FLSA provides minimum wage and hour standards but states can provide more protective standards. Companies need to be aware of current legal definitions and requirements regarding fair employee compensation.

 

8. Discrimination

 

Workplace discrimination comes in many forms. The federal government has laws expressly forbidding discrimination on national or ethnic origin, sex, age, religion, disability, gender preference, and retaliation. But even if employees are treated differently from other employees, they may be victims of workplace discrimination.

 

Sexual harassment or some form of intimidation is also illegal and examples of discrimination. Companies must be very aware of discrimination and work positively to prevent it, through established company policies and awareness meetings and practices.

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9. Illegal labor

 

Companies should make sure that their employees can work legally in the United States and do the background checks or identification checks needed. There can be illegal immigrants signed on with falsified documents, and surprise immigration audits can cause major problems for unaware companies. Child labor can also be a subject of legal action.

 

10. Patent infringement

 

Start-up companies come up with new techniques and new technologies all the time. But sometimes there are challenges from existing companies for patent infringement of their ideas or products. This challenge leads to lawsuits.

 

There are similar issues possible in the areas of copyrights and trademark violations. Companies need to follow legal guidelines for establishing their original content and avoid creating anything similar to the work of others while claiming it as their own.