Introduction
Changes and improvements have touched all the facets of human life, including employment. Initially, employers were ruthless and treated their employees inhumanely because no laws protected them. However, since the Industrial Revolution, employee representation has changed, and their rights have changed and been transformed. Labour laws that have been enacted have played essential roles in protecting employees by limiting employers’ powers.
Literature Review
Power imbalances and maltreatment of employees have affected many people in the past decades. Many were forced into overworking with minimal wages because there were no rules and bodies to safeguard their interests and rights. Some employers took advantage of the laxity in the existing rules and laws at that time and exploited their employees a lot. However, things took a different turn during the Industrial Revolution, whereby industry workers realized and fought against such oppression through labour movements and civil rights groups. Therefore, an elaborate examination and analysis of different research aid in understanding labour laws and their multifaceted nature through anti-discrimination strategies, power dynamics, and using laws and policies.
a) Power Imbalance
A study by Galvin (2019) highlights the employers’ tendencies to have the power to overrule the rights and priorities of their employees because of a superiority complex that gives them advanced bargaining power, thus perpetuating the culture of employee exploitation. However, existing labour laws have shifted the pendulum of employees’ rights and given them the power to take action against exploitative employers through lawsuits or reporting to different labour organizations that ensure the employers follow the labour laws to the letter. Therefore, labour laws have become worthy tools for championing their employers’ fair and just treatment of employees.
Employees can point out the wrongs their employers do without fearing victimization because they are protected and guaranteed safety and fair treatment by the labour laws enshrined in the Constitution. As a result, the powers of the employers are regulated by labour laws, thus creating a power balance that gives the employees a voice to speak against the evils committed by the employers. Nonetheless, labour laws and such legal policies should be reviewed and modified to change and cope with the changing environments. Such reviews will pinpoint the breeches in the law and seal the possible avenues of inefficiencies that affect their potency.
b) Addressing Employee Discrimination
A study by Angelica and Profeta (2023) looks into the impact of labour laws in preventing and dealing with discrimination against employees in places of work. Labour laws have played essential roles in addressing and preventing workplace discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, and other reasons. However, the researchers acknowledge the impeding factors to the effective implementation and the use of these laws. Some of the reasons highlighted include existing systemic biases that sometimes tolerate vices such as racism. Therefore, the contemporary scrutiny and criticism of labour laws in many parts of the US and the world could result from the desire to increase their efficiency in addressing discrimination.
Examples
Effects of Minimum Wage Regulations and Laws on Employee Wellbeing
Thomas (2018) reports that enacting and implementing the minimum wage standards in the United States of America is vital in enhancing the labour rules, laws, and regulations that impact employee treatment. The wages and compensation standards initially depended solely on the employer’s judgment. However, the minimum wage standards ensure that employers earn what they deserve without any underpayment by the employers. Employers have been compelled to play by the rules of compensation standards or face legal consequences, charging them with exploitation and unfair treatment of employees. Therefore, the laws of the compensation standards protect the employees from exploitative and manipulative employers. Therefore, the work of Thompson aids in comprehending the minimum wage standards in depth and their consequences on both the employers and the employees.
Working Duration and Employee Rights and Privileges
In their study conducted in 2021, Fuchs evaluates the labour laws regulation of overtime compensations and the employees’ working hours daily. The research looks into the models of maintaining a proper and healthy work-life balance among employees. This ensures that employee exploitation through overworking with minimal appreciation is prevented and avoided. The study generally finds a correlation between good work and life performance, good health, and employees’ working hours. Therefore, comprehending the different complexities and interdependence between employees’ performance, health, and working hours helps employers make proper decisions.
c) Impacts of Anti-Discrimination Policies
People and employees’ equality based on ethnicity, race, sexuality, and gender determine a lot about a workplace. Therefore, Fuchs, in their research in 2021, takes a look into the existing anti-discrimination policies and their effects on equity in the workplace. The positive impacts of the laws and policies are discussed in addition to the problems in law enforcement. Deeply-rooted and problematic systemic biases that perpetuate vices such as racism make it challenging to implement these laws effectively. This calls for an urgent need to review the policies, amend them, and find better strategies for implementation to prevent possible exploitations and breaches.
d) Collective Bargaining Power
Research by Bonacini et al. (2021) looks into the impact of labour laws on the collective bargaining power of employees. Fair and acceptable working conditions are characterized by healthy and considerate working hours, fair and deserved wages, and no discrimination among employees based on race, ethnicity, gender, or sexuality. Proper and admirable working conditions are established through negotiations and strategies by the labour organizations and the employers. Findings elaborate on the importance of involving the employees in decision-making by the employers to reach a satisfactory agreement between employees and employers (De Stefano, 2019).
e) Workplace Safety
A study by De Stefano in 2019 emphasizes the impacts of labour laws on employees’ safety in workplaces. Rules and regulations by labour organizations and the relevant stakeholders enforce and implement safety standards that create a safe workplace environment that does not cause intentional and avoidable employee harm. Also, the safety rules and regulations within places of work offer a lot beyond the workplace physical safety and hold the employers accountable for any harm that might arise from their irresponsible behaviours. For instance, injuries and harm from poorly maintained industrial machinery put the employer in legal tussles with the labour organizations, the government, and the employees.
f) International Perspectives
A study by Bonacini et al. (2021) examines the similarities and differences between labour laws in multiple countries globally. The differences and similarities emanate from labour laws’ political, cultural, and economic determinants. Therefore, countries have different legal models regarding labour laws, employers’ responsibilities and jurisdictions, and workers’ rights and responsibilities. However, a threshold of workers’ rights enshrined under the United Nations acts exists.
Emerging Themes Related to Labor Law Research
The rapidly changing world regarding industrialization and employer-employee relationships calls for changes and modification of labour laws to meet workers’ desires. Labour laws are multifaceted and present in dynamic ways, such as through power dynamics, minimum wage standards and demands, and discrimination against employees (Kellog et al., 2020). Therefore, understanding the labour laws that govern the employer-employee relationship in the contemporary age is critical in applying the intersectionality of different aspects of labour laws.
Research Findings
The analysis and examination of all the studies used in the research, especially the literature review, highlight the unique roles of labour laws in enhancing equality between employers and employees. For instance, the long overdue problem of power imbalances between the employers and the employees makes the employers appear superior, hence limiting the possible instances that could lead to violation of the rights of the employees by the employers (Bonacini et al., 2021). The elaborate synthesis of the content on worker wellness and the minimum wage issue imparts knowledge and thoughts on the matter.
Nonetheless, the analysis and examination of the overtime payments and working hours elaborate on the application of labour laws on the employees in different workplaces and their productivity at work. The comprehensive understanding of anti-discriminatory legal processes and laws indicates a vast need and deficit in addressing racial discrimination to progressively enhance the efforts to modify the provisions targeting the achievement of equity in places of work.
Implications for Policymakers and Organizations
The resultant findings of the research used and analyzed positively impact and influence policymakers and organizations. For example, comprehending the fine details of labour laws enhances the application and adherence to ethics and laws governing the employers’ and employees’ conduct, thus creating a conducive environment for work. Since the growth of an organization can be evaluated through the nature of the workforce, retaining and maintaining a committed and skilled workforce emanates from policies championing employee safety, admirable working hours, fair compensation, and diversity.
Therefore, it is essential for the policymakers and groups of people who influence laws to keep in mind the problems that impede the implementation of labour laws, such as discrimination. However, this can be solved through progressive reviews of the laws against discrimination to ensure they cope with the changing environments and exert the desired effects. In addition, there is a need to raise awareness of employees’ rights and the importance of a healthy working environment without exploitation (Kaine & Josserand, 2019). Regarding the employees’ welfare and work environment, employers ought to appreciate and understand the vitality of keeping a motivated workforce and enhancing their productivity, contrary to popular opinions of overworking them for long hours.
The Changing Landscape of Employment
Ancient models of employment and employer-employee relationships and interactions are subject to change with the rapidly evolving global workforce. Since the global coronavirus pandemic, many people have shifted towards remote jobs by embracing modern technological advancements. Therefore, people’s relationships and interactions with employment and employers are reshaped and altered. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the adaptability of contemporary labour laws with the evolution. The labour laws’ efficiency and adaptability in championing employee rights across all platforms, including remote work, remains integral.
Recommendations for Future Research
Despite the in-depth knowledge imparted by the existing studies analyzed in the literature review, future studies still have many areas to research and intervene. For instance, there is a need to ascertain the factors affecting or impeding the proper implementation of anti-discrimination workplace policies. This would help ascertain the reasons for the failure of specific laws and policies governing the anti-discrimination treatment of employees by their respective employers. Understanding these factors could influence policies in the future to help address the problem from the root cause and realize success.
Another rich area for future research could be the effects of modern technology on the implementation of labour laws. Despite the positive impacts of technological improvements in the world, criminal minds take advantage of the same to exploit others, especially in employment. Also, the increasing use of artificial intelligence and remote jobs alter the use and implementation of labour laws, thus the need for a thorough understanding of the best models of application of labour laws. To achieve parity and fairness in applying these laws is very important. For instance, understanding the impacts of remote jobs on employees’ working hours and compensations remains to be seen, thus making it challenging to implement such laws.
Studies need to determine the impacts of labour laws on specific minority groups and their perceptions of the laws. Understanding their perception and the impacts of these labour laws on particular minority groups, such as Hispanics or people of colour, paints a picture of the causes of failure in the implementation of such laws among minority groups. Also, it points out the causes of disparities among different demographic groups, thus prompting the policymakers to enact all-inclusive policies that consider even minority groups. Also, the studies can find the impacts of different cultures on implementing labour laws.
Conclusion
Labour laws have revolutionized the employer-employee relationships globally as they champion the fair treatment of employees. Different labour laws have been enacted and put in place to tackle workplace exploitation problems. Previous studies indicate an elaborate relationship between the different facets of labour laws, such as anti-discrimination and fair compensation and working hours. However, many gaps still exist that can be exploited by future research and could lead to a better understanding and the implementation of labour laws.
References
Angelici, M., & Profeta, P. (2023). Smart working: work flexibility without constraints. Management Science.
Bonacini, L., Gallo, G., & Scicchitano, S. (2021). Working from home and income inequality: risks of a ‘new normal ’ with COVID-19. Journal of Population Economics, 34(1), 303-360.
De Stefano, V. (2019). ‘Negotiating the algorithm’: Automation, artificial intelligence, and labour protection. Artificial Intelligence and Labour Protection (May 16, 2018). Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal, 41(1).
Fuchs, C. (2021). Everyday life and everyday communication in coronavirus capitalism. In Communicating COVID-19: Everyday Life, Digital Capitalism, and Conspiracy Theories in Pandemic Times (pp. 17-61). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Galvin, D. J. (2019). From labour law to employment law: The changing politics of workers’ rights. Studies in American Political Development, 33(1), 50-86.
Kaine, S., & Josserand, E. (2019). The organization and experience of work in the gig economy. Journal of Industrial Relations, 61(4), 479-501.
Kellogg, K. C., Valentine, M. A., & Christin, A. (2020). Algorithms at work: The new contested terrain of control. Academy of Management Annals, 14(1), 366-410.
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