The Effects of Labor Legislation in the United States

The affects of labor law legislation in the United States meant that employee incomes would go down as a result. Employers needed to pay for extra costs like hiring attorneys and special trained professional and extra safety equipment to make sure that they comply with the government regulation laws. As a result, employee wages went down. However, if you take into account the benefits, wages and vacation time, it still equals the same amount of pay.

A major problem in the United States has been the decline in literacy rates and in education for American children. Literacy rates have dropped behind many world nations like Japan and most European countries which also explain this lagging behind in production. SAT scores have gone down and despite more funding in the school systems, the result have not raised in terms of education levels for students.

International trade has also had a major impact on Unites States companies as during the 1980s more and more American companies began utilizing the international market and combining research and development and the processing of goods with companies overseas.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s the American government responded to the changing work and global environment and economy by imposing even more regulations on businesses and employer. The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990 which required employers to provide for a reasonable accommodation for workers. This included a ramp or elevator in the workplace for individuals. The Americans with disabilities act prohibited discrimination in the workplace in hiring, firing, and treatment practices on the bases of any person with a disability.

In addition, the Civil Rights Act of 1991 was passed along with the Family and Medical Leave Act, and Older Workers Benefits Protection Act in 1993.

The increased legislation also led to a ton of lawsuits and court cases that were brought up before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) which was put in charge of settling disputes between employers and employees. The Commission is in charge of making sure that there is no discrimination against workers because of race, religion, disability, gender, ethnicity, etc. The commission enforces anti-discrimination legislation through judicial means and also recommends educational programs to be used in cases of discrimination. From the year 1970 to 1990, the amount of lawsuits that have gone to the EEOC and to the court systems have increased dramatically. In the year 1970 there were less than 500 lawsuits while by the year 1990 that number had risen dramatically to almost 3000 lawsuits.

Lawsuits also rose because congress allowed for jury trials for lawsuits involving workers discrimination in the workplace because they felt that jury trials would award more punitive damages than a judge. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 and the Americans with disabilities Act changed legislation in the United States because those two acts allowed for compensatory damages to be awarded to the employees if they were maliciously discriminated against in any form. A cap was put on the amount of damages that could be awarded by trial juries.

A major reason that has been stated for the advantage that American companies and the American economy have over the European countries is that there is more flexibility in the United States. In Europe, a high premium is placed on job security and equality. In the United States there is not always that guarantee of job security which gives employers more flexibility with their workers and a chance for stability in their employment. However, in today's modern society unions have placed a premium in job security and have gone of strike because of job security. With the Good Year Tires strike this year which is still going on, the workers went on strike because Good Year was only willing to guarantee that 10 out of 12 plants would be guaranteed to stay open on American soil instead of moving them overseas. The union struck because they wanted guarantees for all of its workers that all of the Good Year Plants would remain open for job security.