Natural disasters are unpredictable and can lead to serious property damage and loss of lives. Not only this, but natural disasters can also lead to the disruption of company and business operations, leading to the delay of employment services. To overcome these issues, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state laws such as the Texas Law have put in place regulations to help protect employees’ rights in a natural disaster. The laws offer different regulations on how employees should be compensated if a natural disaster like Hurricane Harvey were to occur. These regulations are meant to cover all employees working at different levels. These levels include exempt employees, non-exempt employees, and remote workers. For exempt employees, the employer is mandated to pay their salaries in full even after a disaster has occurred and only worked once or part of the day the event occurred (Miers et al., 2017). Exempt employees can be described as exempt from the minimum hourly wage cap and overtime pay requirements since they are not compensated based on the number of hours they have worked for the company or business. As such, during a natural disaster like Hurricane Harvey, exempt employees are paid their full week or monthly wages without any deduction since their pay is not calculated based on the time spent on work.
On the other hand, in case of a natural disaster, non-exempt employees are supposed to be paid their full wages based on their hours of work. According to Miers et al., non-exempt workers “must be paid only for the time they work. As a result, employers need not compensate non-exempt employees who are not working because of a storm” (2017, p.1). Non-exempt workers, unlike exempt workers, are paid based on the number of working hours and qualify for overtime pay if they have worked over 40 hours per week. Thus, the non-exempt workers are paid only the amount of working hours covered in a natural disaster. This is because the employer is supposed to pay for the work provided, and since the natural disaster disrupted the work, the employer cannot pay for work they cannot supply. Aside from the non-exempt workers, FLSA and state laws also provide guidelines to protect remote employees. Remote employees are workers performing their duties or working in a different location from a central office. Like non-exempt employees, the employer is mandated to pay the non-exempt remote employees for work done remotely even though the employer did not express their views on working from home (Morris, 2021). The employees are expected to offer self-reports containing working hours to reduce the chances of wage violations for the employers to compensate them, especially for overtime pay. For exempt employees working remotely, the employer is also mandated to pay their usual salaries even if the work was done remotely for a few hours. Thus, employers are mandated to protect the rights of all employees in the event of a natural disaster.
Aside from offering regulations to meet the employees rights regarding their working hours and payment, the FLSA has also provided guidelines for employers to meet employees’ rights to wages when faced with the challenge of delayed payment. Natural disasters can interfere with payment processes for employers. As such, the Texas law and FLSA advise employers to pay their non-exempt employees twice a month and once a month for their exempt employees. Doing this ensures that the employer can process the employee’s pay even during a natural disaster. The employee is also guaranteed their right to an advance in the advent of a natural disaster. Accordingly, employers can offer to grant their employees an advance of their pay if they have the capability during a natural disaster (Miers et al., 2017). Employees have the right to request an advance from their employers to help them recover or sustain themselves or their families during a disaster. Doing this ensures that the employees are financially stable during a natural disaster.
Leave policies are also essential to employee rights during a natural disaster. One of the leave policies that employees are entitled to be the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The FMLA allows employees to take time off to seek medical attention if they become injured or sick during a natural disaster (Waldfogel 1999). It also allows workers to take time off to be with their families during the disaster. The act allows them to have ties to rebuild the homes which the disaster could have destroyed. The employer should also be aware of employees who voluntarily took time off to work during the disaster. Volunteering during a disaster aids in helping save numerous lives and is welcomed. Employees are also protected from taking a leave of absence to participate in relief work to help their communities after a disaster. Under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), military persons are protected to return to their civilian jobs after helping with relief services. Such a policy protects employees who wish to take time off and join the military for relief work to help rebuild the community.
Apart from taking leaves and time off, employees can also face the challenge of layoffs and reduced working hours. During a disaster, employers might decide to lay off employees or a facility to cut costs, which may affect the ability of their employees to earn wages. However, under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN), employers are to notify them. The federal act mandates that all employers with over 100 employees should give them a 60-days notice that they are planning mass layoffs or shutting down facilities. WARN aims to protect employees from employers’ sudden mass layoffs and facility shutdowns. However, the act does offer some leeway for employers in case of a disaster, and a facility is affected by the event. As such, the act needs to be amended to protect employees from being laid off during such a situation. The employer, however, could offer short notices for the closure of the facility or lay off the employees in case of a disaster. Such a notice would help the employees organize themselves and seek other forms of employment.
Lastly, employees are encouraged to protect themselves if they become unemployed during a natural disaster such as Hurricane Harvey. According to Reuters, Hurricane Harvey led to a significant surge in unemployment in Texas as the labor offices recorded about 300,000 people being left temporarily unemployed (Mutikani, 2017). Employees should register and file for state unemployment benefits in case their sources of employment are affected by a natural disaster leading to unemployment. The employees are eligible for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA), which will play a critical role in ensuring they receive unemployment compensation during a natural disaster (Miers et al., 2017). Seeking state assistance during a disaster is critical in allowing individuals to earn a wage even though they are temporarily unemployed. However, state unemployment benefits are not a lasting solution to the issue as they run for 26 weeks, which may inconvenience employees who have not found employment. As such, the government can play a crucial role in extending the tenure and amount for the state unemployment benefits. For instance, President Biden has increased unemployment benefits to $ 300 per week (Tankersley and Casselman 2021). The president’s actions will help increase the amount of money unemployed persons receive, which will help them overcome financial issues faced during a disaster.
Therefore, federal and state laws are integral in protecting employees’ rights during a natural disaster. The policies dictate how employers and employees should conduct themselves during the disaster to prevent any form of exploitation. They help guide and protect how employees receive their pay and how they should be compensated while working during a disaster. They also help protect employees from any form of wage violation from the employer and vice versa. The regulations also help the employee maintain their status as they seek to prevent the employer from carrying out massive layoffs without warning them. Lastly, they ensure that employees are aware of state unemployment benefits, which allow them to receive financial support when they are temporarily unemployed due to a natural disaster. Thus, the government should develop more labor-related policies to protect employees’ rights, especially during a natural disaster.
References
Miers, K. R., Taylor, M. P., & Nguyen, D. (2017). Picking Up the Pieces: Employer Responsibilities in the Aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Littler Mendelson P.C. https://www.littler.com/publication-press/publication/picking-pieces-employer-responsibilities-aftermath-hurricane-harvey
Morris, D. (2021). When disasters strike: Pay, leave and related issues. SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/compensation/pages/disasters.aspx
Mutikani, L. (2017). Hurricane Harvey boosts U.S. jobless claims to more than two-year high. U.S. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-idUSKCN1BI1MV
Tankersley, J., & Casselman, B. (2021). Unemployment benefits expire for millions without Pushback from Biden (Published 2021). The New York Times – Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/06/business/economy/unemployment-benefits.html
Waldfogel, J. (1999). The impact of the Family and Medical Leave Act. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 18(2), 281-302. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1520-6688(199921)18:2<281::aid-pam5>3.0.co;2-j
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