FMLA and OSHA Acts on Ken

FMLA and OSHA Acts on Ken

FMLA enhance employees to have balance within their working environment and role to be taken in the family, and the WHD administers it. The employees are given unpaid leave for twelve weeks per year as a job-protected leave. This act aims at accommodating both male and female as a legitimate interest of employees for an equal employment opportunity. Ones the employees have been provided with the leave by their respective employers; the given employee should, therefore, to readily available for a covered family member with either illness, the birth of a child, placement of a child and qualifying military exigency. Ones the employee finishes the twelve weeks leave they must be maintained in their earlier positions or a corresponding position they had before they had taken the leave earlier (Gutpa et al., 2018)

For employees to qualify for the leave;

They should be able to meet the 1250 working hours for the employer for one year. Ken should have been working for the state of estates planning firm for this designated period to qualify for the leave.

The company should have more than 50 employees within 75 miles of the organization. FMLA is applicable to all private and public organizations. FMLA is suitable for employees for birth and cares within a period of one year of birth. Employees who have child adoption within the one year of placement are also eligible for 12 weeks of work leave.

Norman needs to understand that Ken is eligible for the 12 weeks leave every year he works for the firm even if they adopted the child. Ken is eligible for the leave to go and have time to show love and care for the child as soon as they have adopted the child even though his wife did not give birth physically as had been judged by Norman earlier. FMLA does not necessarily require one to give birth physically as Norman had earlier thought, and therefore, he should be read the act and policies that is implemented in the FMLA. Ken is also eligible to the leave when they realize through writing from a given medical facility that the adopted child has some illness that requires attention for improved health conditions. Ken and his wife are eligible for the leave at the same time to meet the needs of the adopted chill for goo development.

Recommended resolutions for Ken’s situation

Ken can go ahead and have an agreement with Norman to use an intermittent and cut down the leave schedule after the adoption of a boy or girl with good health if at all the adopted child is not facing any severe health conditions. This will allow him to have well-stipulated work schedule they will agree on with the Norman after the adoption to have and spend time with their child to enable him to show love and care. They can agree on particular working period with employee or have transferred to another job position to better accommodate his needs for within the twelve-week that is provided for the leave.

For Ken as the worker in the firm the following are the solutions that can help him in getting the leave even if Norman says he is not eligible for it;

He should sit down with Norman and have drafted on time he has worked for the firm. Hence if he meets the 1250 hours requirement within the 12 months, he has been in the organization, this would be one good reason to be eligible.

Since he adopted the child and his wife did not give birth physically as claimed by Norman, Ken should inform Norman on the importance of love care that the adopted child will need especially during the first one month of the placement. The FMLA law allows him to have such leaves for a period not exceeding 12 weeks.

 

 

The company handling these requests

The firm should come up with well defined, and written policies that will allow their employees to take these leaves to enable them to have time with their families.

Top managers like Norman need to get informed that the FMLA policy is not only applicable for the employees who have physical birth but rather it also covers those who have adopted a child as they also need the leave for bonding. The employers in organizations need to note that FMLA has implemented the placement of a child of an employee for adoption to be eligible for 12 weeks leave just like those who have physically given birth to a child to allow them to care for their adopted child.

Decision making in the firm should not only rely on one individual; hence it necessary to also inform the human resource department on issues that touch on the employee’s human resource in prior. The organization should come up with communication policies on who makes decisions and well-specified roles to be played by different departments, including human resource and also Norman to avoid such issues to arise again in future.

Labour laws and how Norman can apply it in the firm

Labour laws act ensures that all employees right to form their unions without being held back by their respective top manager and employers. This will enhance them to come together to raise their common interests as employees; hence the employers should not interfere with this exercise.

Section 7 of the national labour relations act that employees are subjected to “the right to self-organization, to form, join or assist labour organizations in bargaining collectively through representatives of their choosing and to engage in other concerted activities for collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.” This union helps the employees to solve problems and come up with possible solutions that will help improve their lives. Collective bargaining is the freedom of employees to come together in unions and negotiate with employers. The employees can have a voice in their working environment to air issues to do with their wages, health care needs, job security and any other relevant activities that may affect them (Rowe-Finkbeiner et al., 2016)

The unions can as well be used by the management in firms to settle disputes that the two parties are unable to solve at individual levels. They should work in ensuring that terms and conditions of the unions are negotiated to help in the smooth running of the organization. The management should ensure that the rights and needs of the employees are well defined to avoid disagreements when problems arise. Firms should allow their employees to form unions as it supports healthy families, especially when having sick days.

OSHA and possible applications

President Richard Nixon and the United States Congress created OSHA IN 1970 to help employers and employees to reduce injuries, sickness and deaths in their working environment. Employers are expected to provide a secure and healthful work setting for their workers to enhance a smooth and effective working in their everyday activities. Earlier there was a high level of fatal and causalities reported in different working environments, but after the agency was implemented there were cut in death, illness and injuries in the firms. OSHA has been able to cut down deadly safety hazards and health risks (Friend & Kohn, 2018)

Norman’s office should apply this act to ensure safety for its employees. This will help in ensuring that the firm meets all the stipulated requirements of OSHA to make the employees feel safeguarded. This will enhance cutting down the number of employees requiring sick leaves and also those who get injuries from having leave outs. Through this, there will be high productivity in the organization that aims at achieving organizational goals and performance.

OSHA has many educational materials to assist employers and employees learn preventive measures in the workplace hazards. Norman’s office can use these materials in ensuring that the employees are educated on such hazards that may likely lead to accidents and deaths in their working environment.

OSHA is has a mission in protecting workers from toxic chemicals and deadly hazards at work and providing assistance to employees to best practice ways to save lives. It also provides training, education and compliance assistance. It covers both private and public sectors employers and their employees. Under the act, the employees are subjected to working conditions that do not have risk or severe harm to the employees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Friend, M. A., & Kohn, J. P. (2018). Fundamentals of occupational safety and health. Rowman & Littlefield.

Gupta, P., Goldman, T., Hernandez, E., & Rose, M. (2018). Paid Family and Medical Leave is Critical for Low-wage Workers and Their Families. Center for Law and Social Policy. Retrieved from: https://www. clasp. org/publications/fact-sheet/paid-family-and-medical-leave-critical-low-wageworkers-and-their-families.

Rowe-Finkbeiner, K., Martin, R., Abrams, B., Zuccaro, A., & Dardari, Y. (2016). Why paid family and medical leave matters for the future of America’s families, businesses and economy. Maternal and child health journal, 20(1), 8-12.