History of U.S. Labor Legislation
BUS372: Employee & Labor Relations (BWK1605A)
Abstract
Employers have a long history of using their power to abuse employees. Past employer practices have led to bloody conflicts. Over time, the development of Federal regulations has helped ease the tense employee/employer relationship.
Create a timeline of all the significant labor legislation passed in the 20th century using Word’s Table feature. Next to the name of each law, place a column with the year it was passed, and then another column, in your own words, provide a description of what the law covered. If the law was amended by another law, make an additional column and explain why and how it amended the previous law.
Remember to comply with APA, 6th edition guidelines as delineated in the Ashford University Writing Center and in the Originality Matters section of the course. You must use at least two scholarly sources in addition to the course text.
| Labor Legislation Passed | Year | Description | Amended by Another Law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton Antitrust Act | 1914 | The Sherman Antitrust Act was amended by the Clayton act which, “added language specifically excluding labor unions from being deemed a combination or conspiracy.( Seaquist, G, PG.3.1, 2015)” | |
| Federal Possession and Control Act | 1916 | This act put the government in charge of the railroads so incase of any strikes from workers happened they could replace them with military personnel. This was important because if the railway shut down it would have substantial effects on the nation. The government had these railways until 1920 when they felt there was no threat. | |
| Transportation Act | 1920 | This act created the Railroad labor board which was made to listen to any problems that arise between owners and workers. | The Adjustment Board later replaces the railroad labor board. |
| Railway Labor act | 1926 | This act made is to where employers could not treat employees different if they decided to join a union. This act is also involved with governing the labor relations of the airline industry. | |
| Norris LaGuardia Act | 1932 | Outlawed injunctions being issued to prevent workers from becoming members of a union as well as preventing injunctions being issued without notice to the union. | |
| National Industrial Recovery Act | 1933 | President Franklin D. Roosevelt “asked businesses and workers to suspend the antitrust laws, fix prices, and work together to create codes of fair competition to get the economy moving.”This act wasn’t around very long at all. | Supreme Court declared the act unconstitutional in Schechter Poultr, because it gave the president too much power. |
| Federal Social Security Act | 1935 | This Act made a nationwide system of social insurance to protect workers and their families. | |
| National Labor Relations Act | 1935 | This act made a national policy about protecting the workers’ rights to organize and to elect their own representatives for collective bargaining. This act was also known as the Wagner act. There was a National Labor Relations Board made to help with union elections and unfair practices. | |
| Fair Labor Standards Act | 1938 | The Fair Labor Standards Act set up a minimum wage and equal pay. It also set standards for maximum hours worked and child labor laws. | |
| Labor Management Relations Act AKA Taft-Hartley Act | 1947 | The Great Strike Wave of 1946 lead to the Labor management relations act. The act was named after Robert Taft and Fred Hartley because they were the sponsors for it. This act was known for being an anti union act because of what it was for, “It gives workers the right to refuse to participate in a union except when becoming a union member is a condition of employment (Seaquist, pg. 3.3, 2015).” | Landrum griffin act amended the labor management relations act. |
| Merger of the AFL and CIO | 1955 | This wasn’t really an act but I felt it should be put into my paper because, 38 unions joined together under one organization. AFL stands for American Federation of Labor and was lead by Samuel Gompers. These unions ended up forming the CIO as well and leading very successful strikes and made the unions look very skilled. Later on the CIO broke off from the AFL and went their separate ways for a while until the Taft- Hartley act passed then they merged back together. | |
| Welfare and Pension Disclosure Act | 1958 | This act made administration of many fields/plans have to file descriptions and financial reports to the secretary of labor. The fields were things like health insurance, pension, and supplementary unemployment compensation plans. | |
| Landrum Griffin Act | 1959 | This act amended the Labor Management relations act and was made for two main reasons. The first one was to, “to make the internal governance of labor unions more democratic (Seaquist, Pg. 3.3, 2015).” The second reason was to help protect the rights of employees and make sure they weren’t forced or badgered into becoming a part of the union. This made the labor organizations accountable for the things they did like all there financial transactions. It also helped protect the union’s finances. | |
| Equal Pay Act | 1963 | The equal pay act is well known because of the things it did. It made sure that an employee could not get paid differently because of their sex. | |
| Civil Rights Act | 1964 | The civil rights act made discrimination illegal. Employers could no longer discriminate based on color, religion, race, sex, or someone’s nationality. | |
| Age Discrimination and Employment Act | 1968 | The age discrimination and employment act made it illegal to refuse to hire/ discriminate against any person ages 40 to 65. This may not be a really big act but I feel it is a great one because many of those people have full lives ahead of them and should have the right to work no matter their age. | |
| Pregnancy Discrimination Act | 1978 | Congress “amended Title VII to provide that “women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions shall be treated the same for all employment related purposes, including receipt of benefits under fringe benefit programs, as other persons not so affected but similar in their ability or inability to work.”( Baker, L. A., J.D., 2008)” They made it very clear that this act was for equal rights not special treatment. | It amended Title VII |
| Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act | 1985 | The shorter version of this is COBRA it made employers continue providing health care benefits to formal covered individuals for certain time periods after the employee coverage ends. | |
| Family and medical leave act | 1993 | ||
| Americans With Disabilities Act | 1990 | “Family and Medical Leave Act mandated employers to provide unpaid time off forworker and family medical purposes.” | |
| The Right to Organize Act of 1999, | “introduced in the Senate in 1999, would amend the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to provide unions significant access to employers’ facilities for purposes of the dissemination of information and other activities related to labor organizing. Furthermore, the act takes specific measures to prohibit employers from discharging employees for exercising rights protected under the NLRA. Whether or not this action results in a public law, it does demonstrate that the push and pull that has characterized labor legislation since the 1930s is hardly at an end.” |
References
Baker, L. A., J.D. (2008). Pregnancy discrimination act: Guarantee of equal treatment, not
preferential treatment. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 77(3), 26-32. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/204132572?accountid=32521
BLS (2015). Legislative and Regulatory Timeline. [WEB] retrieved from:
http://www.bls.gov/opub/rtaw/pdf/timeline.pdf
LEGISLATION EXPANDS FEDERAL CONSOLIDATED OMNIBUS BUDGET RECONCILIATION ACT CREDIT TO OUT OF WORK SMALL BUSINESS EMPLOYEES. US Fed News Service, Including US State News [Washington, D.C] 29 May 2009.
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