Employment Laws
... It is primarily to protect these hordes of workers from exploitation that countries such as the United States have created employment laws -- to bring the necessary safeguards into the workplace. This paper compares and contrasts some of the employment laws of the United States with those of Japan and China, two countries that loom large in the world economy today. Employment laws in the United States appear to have primarily a protective function, focusing not only on the protection of the average able-bodied worker but also children and those with disabilities. In fact, the employment laws go even farther in protecting those who might experience discrimination on account of their age, color, national origin, gender, and any number of other aspects. ... "Paid employment has become the norm for American adolescents. ... In the United States it appears that labor laws geared towards youth are outdated. ... The federal law on the employment of children is geared towards companies which minimum annual sales of $500,000 and that are involved in interstate commerce. ... child labor act, "Eighteen is the minimum legal age for employment in mining and most manufacturing occupations, 16 for working in "non-hazardous" occupations, with exemptions provided from these minimum age requirements to permit 14 and 15 year olds to work in certain occupations during prescribed hours. ... Even in the United States, which prides itself on being a country based on the rule of law, the laws regarding employment where children are concerned seem antiquated. ... This law prohibits the employment of children under 16 years of age. "The enforcement of laws is sometimes made difficult by counterfeit identification cards…according to workers in southeastern China, the use of counterfeit Ids is fairly common. ... The Ministry of Labor rigorously enforces child labor laws" (Human Rights in Japan 1). The preoccupations of the United States, China, and Japan, with respect to labor laws are not the same. ... Many employers find the definition unclear, putting them at risk of being prosecuted should they turn down employment for someone who falls into any of these murky categories. The ADA prohibits any discrimination throughout the application process as well as through the hiring, advancement or discharge stages of employment. ... In China, one of the areas of employment law which has been of continuing interest is that pertaining to women. ... Labor Department and EEOC Agree to Boost Enforcement of Pay Discrimination Laws 1). ... It is not only equal pay legislation for which the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is concerned. "EEOC enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination on the bases of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex" (U. ... Labor Department and EEOC Agree to Boost Enforcement of Pay Discrimination Laws 2).