INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS AND
labour LEGISLATIONS
Prachi & Asheeka
 United states of America - USA
The United States of America is the world's third largest country in
size and nearly the third largest in terms of population. Located in
North America, the country is bordered on the west by the Pacific
Ocean and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. Along the northern
border is Canada and the southern border is Mexico. There are 50
states and the District of Columbia. With a population of over 333
million. it is the most populous country in the Americas and
the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the
United States is Washington, D.C.

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 TRADE UNION ACT - USA

Labor law's basic aim is to remedy the "inequality of bargaining

power" between employees and employers, especially employers
"organized in the corporate or other forms of ownership
association".

What are the rules relating to trade union recognition?

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) governs union recognition and provides for union
recognition when a majority of employees vote for a union in a secret ballot election or
when an employer recognises a union based on a majority of employees having signed
authorization cards.

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What rights do trade unions have?
Unions have rights under the NRA to organise and represent employees from unfair labour
practices as well as to take industrial action (strike) under certain circumstances.

Are there any rules governing a trade union's right to take

industrial action?
Yes. The NRA, as interpreted by the National Labor Relations Board and federal courts,
governs unions' right to strike as do collective bargaining agreements.

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 MINIMUM WAGE ACT 1948 - USA
▣ In the United States, the minimum wage is set by U.S. labor law and a range
of state and local laws.
▣ In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act established it at $0.25 an hour ($4.81
in 2021 dollars) In 1938, the federal government established a minimum wage
of $0.25 under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Adjusting for inflation,
that wage is worth $4.94 today.•
▣ The government periodically assesses the federal minimum wage level with
changes in inflation or the cost of living and the rate has not increased since
July 2009.
▣ As of 2022, the federal minimum wage rate in the United States is $7.25 per
hour, unless the worker falls into a category specifically exempted from
FLSA.•

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 MATERNITY BENEFIT 1961 – USA
▣ Under this law, legal parents are protected for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave
(per year).
▣ Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies to all public agencies, all public
and private elementary and secondary schools, and companies with 50 or
more employees. These employers must provide an eligible employee with up
to 12 weeks of unpaid leave
▣ Some states have laws that do protect and guarantee employees for paid
family leave. The US does not have a federal paid maternity and family leave
act. Some states, however, include paid leave legislation for family members.
States like California, New Jersey, and New York have pioneered paid leave
legislature in their respective states.

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 
“
40 percent of women don’t qualify for the Family Medical Leave Act
(FMLA) which grants 12 weeks of protected job leave, unpaid, at the
federal level.
 Only 12 percent of women in the private sector have access to any sort of
paid maternity leave.
 There is no federal paid maternity leave — it’s left to the states to figure
out.
 The only states with an active policy are California, Rhode Island, and New
Jersey.
 25 percent of women are forced to return to work within 2 weeks of giving
birth to support their families.

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 Child & adolescent labour
(prohibitions & regulations Act 1986) - USA
▣ The law that restricts the employment and abuse of child workers is the Fair
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA).
▣ FLSA restricts the hours that youth under 16 years of age can work and lists
hazardous occupations too dangerous for young workers to perform.
▣ Under the Federal Law, for non-agricultural jobs, children under 14 may not be
employed, children between 14 and 16 may be employed in allowed occupations
during limited hours, and children between 16 and 17 may be employed for
unlimited hours in non-hazardous occupations.
▣ Under the State Law, each state has minimum requirements such as, earliest age a
child may begin working, number of hours a child is allowed to be working during
the day, number of hours a child is allowed to be worked during the week.
The United States Department of Labor lists the minimum requirements for
agricultural work in each state.