Gavin Howe
Labor laws are intended to protect workers' rights and ensure fair treatment in the workplace. However, in some cases, these laws may inadvertently cause hardship for workers. This can occur when labor laws are outdated, poorly enforced, or contain exemptions that leave certain workers unprotected. For instance, minimum wage violations, wage theft, and inadequate working conditions can result in significant economic hardship for workers. Additionally, the concept of undue hardship in labor law refers to situations where accommodating employees with disabilities or religious beliefs causes significant difficulty or expense for employers. Courts play a crucial role in interpreting undue hardship, and their decisions can shape the legal landscape. While labor laws aim to uphold workers' rights, their shortcomings and complexities can sometimes lead to adverse consequences, underscoring the need for continuous evaluation and improvement.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Core protections failing workers | Right to be paid minimum wage, paid for overtime hours, and to take meal breaks |
| Workers exempt from labor laws | In-home child care workers |
| Workplace violations | Wage theft, failure to pay minimum wage or overtime, denying meal breaks, and not responding to complaints about working conditions |
| Undue hardship | Accommodating employees with disabilities or religious beliefs |
| Courts interpreting undue hardship | Landmark cases like Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison (1977) and EEOC v. UPS (2013) |
| Reasonable accommodation | Employers must assess case-by-case if accommodating an employee's disability would cause undue hardship |
| Labor law failing workers | Inequities, inability to address contemporary economic issues, and declining union power |
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What You'll Learn
Archaic exemptions
Some workers are partially or completely exempt from labor laws due to archaic exemptions for specific industries and occupations. For example, "in-home" childcare workers are often considered exempt from labor laws, and a survey found that 89% earned less than the minimum wage. Similarly, unauthorized immigrants and those paid in cash are often missed in standard surveys, leaving them vulnerable to labor law violations.
The National Employment Law Project's report highlights how core protections, such as minimum wage, overtime pay, meal breaks, and access to workers' compensation, are failing significant numbers of workers, leading to economic hardship. This includes low-wage workers in key industries, who face violations such as wage theft, which impacts their earnings and local economies.
The concept of "undue hardship" is pivotal in labor law, particularly regarding accommodating employees with disabilities or religious beliefs. Courts interpret and shape the legal landscape through landmark decisions, such as Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison (1977), where the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that employers are not required to accommodate religious practices if the cost is more than minimal.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 are crucial in defining undue hardship. For instance, an employer must modify policies to accommodate an employee with insulin-dependent diabetes, unless it causes undue hardship. Similarly, an employer might need to allow a small refrigerator in the workplace for an employee's medication.
Seniority systems can also impact the reasonable accommodation process, as they are based on uniform treatment expectations. However, special circumstances may allow for reassignment or accommodation, such as in the case of an employee with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy, where the employer transferred some functions to another employee temporarily.
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Lack of protection for independent contractors
Independent contractors are not considered "employees" and are therefore not covered by the same wage and hour provisions as traditional employees. They are typically paid by the project and provide their own equipment, working off-site and at their own discretion. While independent contractors do enjoy some flexibility and autonomy, they often lack good pay, decent benefits, and independence over their work.
Large companies have been accused of exploiting independent contracting or self-employment status to lower workers' pay and benefits while maintaining control over how they work. For example, Uber has been criticised for using the independent contracting status to pay drivers less than they would be entitled to as employees.
Independent contractors are not protected from employment discrimination by Title VII, nor are they entitled to leave under the Family Medical Leave Act. They are also not covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, which means employers are not required to provide accommodations for their disabilities. Furthermore, they are not entitled to unemployment or worker's compensation benefits, pensions, or other employment benefits, and employers do not have to pay employment taxes for them.
While federal laws do provide some protections for independent contractors, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which ensure they are paid for their work and can negotiate fair terms, they are still at a disadvantage compared to traditional employees. They are not protected by anti-discrimination laws or entitled to the minimum wage and overtime pay, and they may struggle to understand and navigate legal issues, especially when it comes to contract terms.
Overall, independent contractors may face hardship due to a lack of protection in the form of lower pay, fewer benefits, less independence, and a higher risk of discrimination and unfair contract terms.
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Wage theft
The Economic Policy Institute estimated that wage theft costs US workers up to $50 billion annually, more than all robberies, car thefts, and burglaries combined. This issue disproportionately affects people working minimum-wage jobs, women, people of color, and immigrants. While tougher wage and hour laws, stronger enforcement, and increased penalties can help deter wage theft, the number of federal investigators has decreased, hindering effective policing of labor law violations.
To combat wage theft, employees can file complaints with the Department of Labor at the state and federal levels. The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) works to ensure employers change their practices and repay missed wages, with willful violators facing fines and potential imprisonment for future convictions. Strengthening legal protections, increasing enforcement capacities, and educating employees about their rights can help reduce the incidence of wage theft and alleviate the hardship it causes to workers and their communities.
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Religious beliefs and practices
Undue hardship is generally considered to be more than a minimal burden on the operation of the business. It may be shown when an accommodation is costly, compromises workplace safety, decreases workplace efficiency, infringes on the rights of other employees, or requires other employees to do more than their share of potentially hazardous or burdensome work.
Religious accommodation in the workplace can take many forms, including flexible scheduling, voluntary substitutions or swaps, job reassignments, and lateral transfers. It can also include adjustments to dress and grooming practices, such as allowing employees to wear religious head coverings or observe religious prohibitions against wearing certain garments.
Employers are required to promptly obtain any additional information needed to determine whether a reasonable accommodation is available without imposing an undue hardship. This involves mutual cooperation and flexibility between the employer and employee to find a suitable solution.
It is important to note that religious discrimination can also involve treating someone differently because of their lack of religious beliefs or because they are associated with someone of a particular religion. Harassment based on religion is also prohibited, including offensive remarks or creating a hostile work environment due to frequent or severe offensive behaviour.
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Employer flexibility and profits
Labour market flexibility allows companies to make decisions about their labour force in response to market changes and to help boost production. Flexible labour markets allow companies to make changes such as employee hiring and firing, compensation and benefits, and working hours and conditions.
Employers typically prefer high levels of unemployment because, as workers become more desperate for employment, they are willing to work for lower wages, thus increasing employer profits. Employers can achieve this by hiring large numbers of part-time employees to avoid government regulations associated with full-time employees, such as paying for health insurance. This allows employers to maximize their profits while decreasing the standard of living of the working classes.
Financial or wage flexibility occurs when wage levels are not decided collectively, and there are more differences between the wages of workers. This can be done through rate-for-the-job systems, assessment-based pay systems, or individual performance wages. This allows employers to force employees to compete for wages, thus lowering the average wage paid to employees and ultimately maximizing profits.
Labour unions can limit labour market flexibility by negotiating higher wages, benefits, and better working conditions with employers. Unions can also reduce flexibility by making it more difficult to hire workers, as they push up wage costs and introduce a negative shadow price for labour. However, supporters of increased labour market flexibility argue that it leads to lower unemployment rates and higher gross domestic product (GDP) due to the unintended consequences of tight labour market restrictions.
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Frequently asked questions
Undue hardship is a legal concept rooted in labor and employment laws, which influences workplace accommodations, employee rights, and organizational responsibilities. It refers to significant difficulty or expense incurred by an employer in relation to providing specific accommodations. This could include financial difficulty or disruptions that fundamentally alter the nature of the business.
Courts play a crucial role in interpreting undue hardship, with judicial interpretations evolving over time to reflect societal changes. For example, in the case of Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison (1977), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that employers are not required to accommodate religious practices if it causes more than a minimal cost, setting a low threshold for undue hardship under Title VII.
Labor laws may fail to protect workers due to exemptions for specific industries or occupations, or by treating workers as independent contractors. Additionally, labor laws may become outdated, as seen with the New Deal labor laws, which do not address contemporary issues like deindustrialization, outsourcing, and anti-union campaigning. Courts have also ruled in favor of employers, permitting the use of permanent replacements and security forces against striking workers, further diminishing the power of labor laws to protect workers' rights.
