The document covers many important topics such as: 1) Unethical workplace behaviors include lying, theft, and discrimination which should be documented and reported. 2) Laws establish minimum wage, family leave, and prohibit discrimination based on characteristics like gender or disability. 3) Sexual harassment can include unwanted advances or hostile environments and should be reported to supervisors or EEOC.

1. Ethics and Legal Issues
An overview related to the
workforce

2. Focus Question
• Name some traits that
employers want when they
hire an employee.

3. Ethics
• Principles of conduct
that govern a group or
society

4. Commonly Observed
Unethical Behavior
• Lying
• Withholding needed information
• Abusive or intimidating behavior
• Misreporting actual time or hours
worked
• Discrimination
• Misuse of Internet and email privileges
• Theft or misuse of company property

5. Confidentiality
• Keeping your mouth
shut and not sharing
information that has
been entrusted to you.

6. How to Handle Unethical
Behavior
• Keep a written record. Describe each
incident including date and time.
• Check your observations with trusted
friends colleagues.
• Gather evidence/proof
• Decide whether to remain anonymous or
speak up
• Report only facts or observations

7. Focus Question
• Brainstorm some typical
ethical scenarios you may
face in the workplace.

8. Focus Question
• Brainstorm some typical
laws that affect workers.

9. Workplace Rights:
Minimum Wage
• Federal government and state governments
establish these laws that establish the lowest
hourly wage an employer must pay for
worker’s services. Current federal minimum
wage is $7.25 an hour. NJ minimum wage is
currently $7.25 and hour although there are
proposals in the assembly and senate to
increase the minimum wage.

10. Focus Question
• Do you support a raise in the
minimum wage?

11. Workplace Rights:
Compensatory Time
• Some states allow workers
to receive time off from
work rather than money
for working overtime

12. Workplace Rights:
Collective Bargaining
• Laws that allow unions to
negotiate with management
for better salaries,
wages,benefits and working
conditions

13. Workplace Rights:
Strikes
• Work stoppage organized
by workers in order to force
management to accept
unions terms in negotiation.

14. Focus Question
• If your company went on
strike would you join
them, why or why not?

15. Workplace Rights:
Unemployment Insurance
• Government insurance
program that provides
financial aid to workers
who lose their jobs.

16. Workplace Rights:
Family Leave Act
• Family Leave Act passed in 1993
guarantees employees at companies
with more than 50 employees to 12
weeks of personal leave to care for a
family member such as a spouse or a
child.

17. Workplace Rights: NJ
Family Leave Insurance
Act
• As of 1/09, NJ just started
deductions from workers (.09% of
wages or about $1.12 per pay
period) to pay for NJ family leave
insurance which allows workers to
take paid time off to take of a sick
family member or bond with a
newborn or adopted child

18. Focus Question
• Give an example of
prejudice that you have
personally witnessed.

19. Discrimination
• Unequal treatment based
on such factors as race,
religion, nationality,
gender, age, or physical
appearance

20. Equal Pay Act of 1963
• Requires equal pay for
men and women for
equal work.

21. Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Bans discrimination in
employment based on
race, color, creed,
religion, gender and
national origin.

22. Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990
• Protects the rights of
individuals with disabilities
for example it requires
employers provide
wheelchairs and other
accommodations.

23. Affirmative Action
• A government plan to
provide access to jobs for
people who have suffered
discrimination in the past

24. Focus Question
• Do you support
affirmative action? Why
or why not?

25. Illegal Immigrants in the
Workplace
• Businesses must by law
verify that all new employees
have proper working papers
and identification.
Businesses face fines if they
hire illegal immigrants.

26. Focus Question
• How should the government
handle issues of illegal
immigration?

27. Services offered by Lawyer
• Lawyers handle many
services including: defending
clients, wills, deeds, property
law, divorce, tax liability,
discrimination.

28. Civil Law
• Laws that apply to
conflicts between private
parties. Examples include
divorce, breach of
contract, personal injury.

29. Contingency Fee
• Most lawyers work on a
fee (hourly) basis however
some will accept a fee (%)
of the amount awarded in
civil case.

30. Settlements
• Mutual agreements between
parties in order to avoid going
to court . A settlement may
include a monetary award or a
correction of a situation. Many
states require parties to a civil
case to try to settle out of court.

31. Criminal Law
• Government brings an
indictment or list of criminal
charges against a business
or person. Examples include
fraud, murder,
manslaughter.

32. Focus Question
• Describe the difference
between criminal and
civil law.

33. Summons
• Order to appear in
court

34. Felony
• Serious crime
punishable by
imprisonment or death
such as murder, rape,
fraud.

35. Misdemeanor
• Less serious crimes
such as shoplifting,
striking another worker.

36. Focus Question
• Brainstorm what you
know about sexual
harassment.

37. Sexual Harassment
• Any unwelcome behavior of a
sexual nature. Examples
include jokes, gestures,
repeated or threatening
requests for dates, and
unwanted touching.

38. Quid pro Quo
• Explicit offer of reward/ job
promotion for sexual favors
or negative job action in
exchange for denying
sexual favors
•

39. Hostile Work
Environment
• When a workplace climate
is hostile to workers based
on sexual harassment such
as images, jokes, gestures,
pornography, unwanted
advances

40. Unwanted Advances
• Repeated unwanted
sexual advances
towards an employee by
a supervisor/co-worker.

41. How to deal with Sexual
Harassment
• Immediately tell the person
to stop. Be clear and direct
• Write down what happened,
noting date, time and place

42. How to deal with Sexual
Harassment
• Write down witnesses
• Comment about how the
harassment affected your
work
• Inform a supervisor/Human
Resources Department

43. How to deal with Sexual
Harassment
• If not settled to your
satisfaction by the company
report to the EEOC (Equal
Employment Opportunity
Commission

44. Focus Question
• Describe what you would
do if your boss made
inappropriate sexual
advances toward you.