Worker Protection in the USA

Worker protection laws developed only in the XX century. Prior to 1900, workers had very little or no protection from dangerous job conditions, low pay, and the risk of firing. Today, however, many statutes protect the worker.

There are two primary issues of worker protection: job safety (including the handling of work-related injuries) and financial security. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is the federal agency most responsible for job safety. When accidental employee injuries do occur in the course of employment, state workers' compensation laws impose strict liability on employers for death or disability benefits, medical expenses, and wage loses. The Fair Labor Standards Act protects children in the workplace by limiting the types of employment children can have at various ages. This act also sets minimum-wage and overtime requirements on employers and is the fist major federal act aimed at increasing workers' financial security.

Passed in the 1930s, the unemployment compensation law is one part of the Social Security Act. The other part is the employer-employee funding of retirement, disability, and health insurance programs. Private pension plans have helped to advance the financial retirement security of millions of workers (the Employee Retirement Income Security Act is the major federal law regulating private person plans).

 

 

Unit 6 A

 

Crime

Crime is a term that refers to misconduct forbidden by law. Every crime consists of two elements: an actus reus anda mens rea. Theactus reusis simply an act or it may be an omission to act. It must be accompanied by a particular mental state – the mens rea. Common examples of mens rea are recklessness, negligence and intenton to cause a particular consequence.

Crimes may be classified in various ways. For statistical purposes, many governments divide crimes into offences against people, against property, and against public order or public morality. Other important kinds of crime include organized crime and white-collar crime.

Crimes against people include assault, kidnapping, murder, and sexual attacks. Such crimes usually bring severe punishment.

Crimes against property include arson, burglary, embezzlement, forgery, fraud, theft, and vandalism. In most countries, these crimes carry lighter penalties than do crimes against people.

Crimes against public order or morality include disorderly conduct, illegal gambling, prostitution, public drunkenness, and vagrancy.

Organized crime consists of large-scale activities by groups of gangsters or racketeers. These activities include gambling, prostitution, the illegal sale of drugs, and loan-sharking.

White-collar crime includes criminal acts committed by business and professional people, such as cheating in the payment of taxes, and stock market swindling.

.From the point of view of procedure, criminal offences may be divided into indictable, summary and " either way" offences. Indictable offences are those which may be tried on indictment, that is, by a judge and a jury. This category includes all the most serious offences. A summary offence is one which is triable summarily, that is, by a magistrates' court. An " either way" offence is one which is tried summarily or on indictment.