Man And Work Law

Posts Tagged ‘Safety’

If you are in the bad books of your employer, the employment law is undoubtedly going to create a huge problem. A thorough knowledge of the areas of the employment law that may apply to you, is probably your only option if you want to save your butt in the worst possible case.

At most times, the human resource employment law will be your area of concern. It is quite a large division nad deals with various employee activities like workplace violence to absenteeism. Currently, the most happening area of the employment law is the ban imposed on smoking, which has come to effect in most parts of the country. Do not blindly think that all smoking bans are similar. They have variations. In the last year alone, 9 states (now 23) have forbidden smoking in places that are open to public. Your place of work is considered a public place.

You must be familiar with the employment law that exists in the state you live in, so that you don’t risk making fouls. Do a thorough and careful research because sometimes there are lots of variations between state laws and locals laws, and also among cities. For instance, California banned smoking in workplaces in the year 1995. On the other hand, Louisiana which effected the ban in 2007, exempted certain types of businessses. Check if you belong to any of those categories. Keeping a check on the employment law of your location will aid in keeping you out of trouble, both in the workplace and outside.

Things don’t just stop there. It gets worse. Several states which have not imposed smoking bans have a few municipalities that have implemented them to certain businesses and public locations. Below are some very interesting figures. As per the 2007 surveys, 2,507 municiplaities have imposed smoking bans. 570 out of the 2,507 emphasize on a 100% smoke free workplace.

Another example is that Illinois has no state law enforcing public ban on smoking. But 37 cities and counties including Cook County and Chicago have bans. Similarly, Austin, Houston, San Antonio and Dallas along with 20 other municipalities have bans though Texas doesn’t. The eccentric nature of the employment law is highly dangerous because if you do not take enough time to read every clause mentioned in it, you are likely to find yourself in a lot of illegal nonsense. Another example that indicates the place-to-place variation in laws is that certain tobacco and alcohol trade companies have been excluded. To say that it is confusing, would be an understatement. However, it is better to be safe and take necessary precautions instead of getting fined heavily.