Fair Work Choices Act Analysis

The Fair Work Commission has reviewed penalty rates in many businesses such as hospitality, restaurants and retail industry awards. According to section 156 of the Fair Work Act 2009, there is a need to deal with this issue as a prospectus of a broader review of modern awards. As per The Australian Fair Work Commission, there is a reduction of 5 % in Sunday penalty rates in this year for workers, who are working in hospitality and this will increase to 10% in 2018 and 2018 as well. The same trend can be seen in the retail or pharmacy sectors and their worker will have to take home Sunday cut by 5% this year and until 2020, it will reduce by a further 15%.This imperative has advantages and disadvantages as well. Business giants have appreciated the decision and said that they can open their business on weekends and will be able to hire more employees. JB Hi-Fi and Myer will fall under the categories of those big retailers who will get benefits from these changes. On the other hands, retail workers will face the biggest hit. For example, employees working in the hospitality sector will face the reduction in the rates from 175% to 150%, however, casuals will get will same rates without any changes.

Throughout the Twentieth Century, the evolution of workers’ rights in the workplace has drastically evolved. Through the utilization of constitutional freedoms, workers across the nation came together to support the goal of receiving fair treatment from employers when it came to wages, work conditions, and benefits. However, this wasn’t achieved without great sacrifice from the average man as standing up for their rights was a brave act that usually resulted in consequences.

The Personal Responsibility Work and Opportunity Act was a bill that was passed into law in 1996. This law created a new program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). The changes in the TANF program were significantly different than the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. The TANF program became a part of the national welfare reform which puts a stop to women with children being entitled to an endless amount of cash benefits. Welfare reform was part of President Bill Clinton and his campaign’s “promise to end welfare as we know it” (Gilbert and Terrell 2013 p.74). The sponsor of this bill was a Republican representative for Ohio’s 12th Congressional district and his name was John Kasich (https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/104/hr3734).

than $5.15 an hour. Overtime pay at a rate of not less than one and

Considered to be a landmark, in 1938 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act. The nation was experiencing social and economic development of judicial opposition and depression. This law set national minimum wages and maximum hours workers can be required to work. Incorporated into this law are overtime pay and established standards to prevent child-labor abuse. Consequently, in 1963 an amendment was made to this law, which prohibited wage discrimination against women.

With the WAGE Act, instead of or in addition to filing a complaint with the NLRB, employees or unions would be allowed to file a private right of action in courts and be entitled to any remedies available under the NLRA and if successful also receive reasonable attorneys’ fees. One of the criticisms with a failed predecessor of the WAGE Act, the Labor Law Reform Act in 1978, was that it would create increased filings of complaints, therefore allowing employees to harass employers costing time, money, and energy. With employees and unions being able to file suit for violations of the NLRA this same argument could be leveled here, that employees and unions will be extremely litigious and the number of cases filed against employers will increase thereby increasing costs, time spent on litigation, and flood the court systems with endless litigation that could make the courts run less efficiently. Therefore, it is likely that this argument against the WAGE Act will surface once debate on the bill picks up and knowledge of the act becomes more

Give examples of legislation that impact on. Employee holidays, rest periods, working hours and night working. Explain why these are important for both the employee and employer

The main features of current employment legislation are:- Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), Minimum Wage Act (1998), Pensions Act (2008), Employment Rights Act (1996), Disability Discrimination Act (1996), Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974), Sex Discrimination Act (1975) and the Race Relations Act (1976) .

The implementation of the Fair Work Act 2009 which came into force on January 1st 2010, was to create a national workplace relations system for the purpose of setting wages and conditions of employment. This legislation is overlooked by the Fair Work Commission and ombudsman, whose role is to maintain a safety net of minimum wages and conditions and ensure compliance with the Fair Work Act. The creation of the Fair Work Act (2009) is to regulate business cooperation’s for the purpose of providing safety nets for minimum wages and entitlements, flexible working arrangements and ensure fairness at the workplace. Under the Fair Work Act 2009, ten National Employment Standards

The Fair Work Amendment Bill 2014 (Cth) addresses 10 key issues that will lead to improvement of the

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers of hourly employees to pay a minimum amount of salary to each employee. This prevents employees from being underpaid for a position. This act also requires employers to pay more per hour to employees who work an excess of 40 hours per week. While this act primarily protects employees it also works as a checks and balances system for employers by forcing companies to budget wisely, hire employees according to their needs, and supervise employees appropriately. Would you rather hire an additional employee or pay four employees 10 hours of overtime pay each week? I would rather hire an additional employee for half the cost of 40 hours of overtime.

Australian Industry (AI) Group (2012), Applications to Vary a Modern Award – 2012 Review, Stephen Smith, Director – National Workplace Relations.

During 2011 employer associations in Australia conducted an active lobbying campaign to introduce legislative changes with respect to industrial relations. Predominantly they were seeking to diminish the power of collective bargaining and increase managerial control under the

What role does the Fair Labor Standards Act play in compensation? Discuss three of the various exemptions and what are the key points are for each before an employer decides to pay a position as "exempt" from the federal or state overtime regulations.

In Australia, industrial relations system has been shaped by diverse legislative Acts and political forces coupled with judicial decisions at both the state and federal level. This evident in the sense that there have been diverse amendments of the 1904 Act in light of increased pressures in the industrial sector. This elicited mixed reactions from the employees and employers, among other stakeholders in the industry. However, due to the disadvantages and/or drawbacks of the centralized system of collective bargaining in comparison to the advantages or positive aspects of the decentralized approach of collective bargaining, employers have favored departure from the centralized wage-fixing. Against this backdrop, it behooves us to explore