Areas of Employment Law
Employment law covers a broad area of subjects. Employment laws were slow to develop, and are a continual source of conflict. Employment law began to develop in the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries. There are two basic classifications of employment laws. Collective labor laws are examples of employment law which govern the relationship between employers, employees, and labor unions. Individual labor laws are the area of employment law concerned with an individual’s rights within the workplace as well as the contracts which are signed to restrict the govern the terms of work.
The first category of employment law concerns itself with contracts of employment. Contracts of employment have provided the foundation of Western economic growth since the collapse of feudalism. These contracts based upon established employment laws provide the core basis for modern economies throughout the world. Employment law within the United States recognizes two forms of contract. The first is a contract to provide employment to complete a specific task, such as the construction of a house or for a specific period of time. These contracts are less common that “at-will” contracts. In the United States most state employment laws recognize that an employee only has their job at the will of their employer. Employment law recognizes the right of the employer to release an employee at any time, with a period of advanced warning determined by the contract, so long as the release does not violate any employment laws, such as those guaranteeing protection from any kind of discrimination.
Other areas of employment law that are common in many countries around the world are the establish the payment of a minimum wage, limitations of hours that can be worked by an individual, restrictions on the work of underage persons, guarantees of workplace safety, and protection from indiscriminate firing. Employment laws regarding a minimum wage were first established in the United States in 1938. Most of the industrialized nations have established minimum wage laws, while underdeveloped countries lack these protective employment laws. The employment law which established an eight hour work day as the standard developed during the 1840s. These employment laws started as an attempt to protect underage children from the unscrupulous practices of factory owners and overseers. The eight hour work day established by these labor laws were much lower than the standard number of hours which had been common, which reached as high as sixteen hours of more following the Industrial Revolution. Work place safety standards in the United States are established under the employment law which established OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The first employment laws governing workplace safety were establish in England in 1802.
Employment law dealing specifically with children’s rights represent an outgrowth of the movement for universal schooling and worker’s rights. Child labor is generally seen as exploitative, but unfortunately much of it happens outside of the reach of officials charged with enforcing employment law. Despite the attention paid to children working in sweatshops, mot of the violations of these employment laws take place in informal settings, such as children working in the home, selling items on street corners, or working in agriculture.
