Employer-Employee Relations and Rights

A company is only as good as its employees and healthy and harmonious employer-employee relations would ensure the success of the business. Employer-employee relations can also be called industrial relations and this is basically the relationship between labor and management.  This relationship is governed by different federal and state laws and employers are required to observe the rights of their employees in any management decision.  There should always be some type of labor relations training for management. State-labor relations and labor-law relations is a related topic.

Basic Workplace Rights Protected by Law

In order to promote peaceful and productive employer-employee relations, here are some of the basic workplace rights as provided by the California Department of Industrial Relations that should be observed:

• The minimum wage in California is $8.00 per hour. Almost all employees except outside salespersons, individuals who are the parent, spouse, or child of the employer, and apprentices regularly indentured under the State Division of Apprenticeship Standards should be paid the minimum wage.
• All hours worked over eight hours in any workday and over 40 hours in the workweek is considered overtime and employees are entitled to receive one and one-half times his or her regular rate of pay.
• There is nothing in the law that mandates an employer pay an employee a special premium for work performed on a holiday, Saturday, or Sunday – these are treated like hours worked on any other day of the week.

Protected Employee Activities

Under the Labor Code, the following are considered “protected activity” of employees:

1. Filing or threatening to file a claim or complaint with the Labor Commissioner
2. Taking time off from work to serve on a jury or appear as a witness in court
3. Disclosing or discussing your wages
4. Using or attempting to use sick leave to attend to the illness of a child, parent, spouse, domestic partner, or child of the domestic partner of the employee
5. Engaging in political activity of your choice
6. Complaining about safety or health conditions or practices

Rights to a Safe and Healthy Workplace

According to the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973, every employer has a legal obligation to provide and maintain a safe and healthful workplace for employees. As of 1991, a written, effective Injury and Illness Prevention (IIP), Program is required for every California employer.

California law requires employers to have workers' compensation insurance if they have even one employee.  Failing to have workers' compensation coverage is a criminal offense. It is punishable by either a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year, or both.

Required Breaks

An employer may not employ an employee for a work period of more than five hours per day without providing the employee with a meal period of not less than thirty minutes, except that if the total work period per day of the employee is no more than six hours, the meal period may be waived by mutual consent of both the employer and employee.Employer-employee relations also include any agreement entered into by the management and labor through labor relations and collective bargaining or other terms and conditions of employment. If you that your labor law breaks have been violated, you may want to contact a labor law lawyer or a labor relations specialist.

• This article is provided for informational purposes only. If you need help with an Employment Law question, please click here to consult with Rodney Mesriani or an Employment lawyer in your area.