Page 478 - Encyclopedia of Business and Finance

eobf_L 7/5/06 3:14 PM Page 455

Law in Business

employer must recognize the union. A typical contract ination in 1990 with the passage of the ADA. The ADA
spells out wages, benefits such as health insurance and represents a strong national policy that opportunity to
vacation, rights to compete for promotions, and the cir- achieve to the limit of one’s ability should extend to all.
cumstances in which employees may be laid off or fired. All businesses need to know a few basics about civil
In the United States in 2005, unions represented only rights law. In interviews, no question may be asked about
about 15 percent of employees. a person’s health history or physical or mental condition
except “is there any reason physical or otherwise that
CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS would prevent you from doing this job?” Reasonable
It is well known that almost all workers are protected by accommodation must be made for those with disabilities.
the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, A simple example would be that a desk would be built a
and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. little higher for an employee in a wheelchair. The extent
These acts apply to companies large and small, unionized of “reasonable” remains an open question. A person sub-
or not. The law says that employees may not be discrimi- ject to occasional seizures would be qualified to work for
nated against in terms of conditions of employment Sports Unlimited, Inc., as a clerk but probably not for
including hiring and promotion because of race, religion, Quality Mechanics as a test driver.
creed, national origin, sex, and disability. In the not too A business must also make sure it is accessible to cus-
distant past, many companies would not hire members of tomers with disabilities. This includes both access to facil-
racial or religious minorities for positions of authority ities and equal service as a customer. Many open questions
regardless of their ability. Women were discouraged from remain. For example, to what extent must an Internet
entering many trades, such as construction, or profes- sales company provide access to those with vision or hear-
sions, such as law and medicine. State laws often forbid ing impairments? All companies should consult lawyers or
women from “dangerous” jobs such as mining although specialists on ADA compliance.
the jobs were no less dangerous for men. These civil rights
There are exceptions. Someone with a history of drug
acts have been very successful in expanding opportunity
problems need not be hired as an airline pilot or railroad
in America.
engineer. If drug or alcohol problems come to light,
Affirmative action is not a federal law but an execu- employees must be given reasonable treatment—but if
tive policy (ordered by the president) that requires compa- they do not respond, they may be fired.
nies that do business with the government, or institutions
such as schools that receive federal funds, to work to
PROTECTION OF PROPERTY AND
increase numbers of workers (or students) from underrep-
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
resented classes. This can be tricky because companies are
required to seek out and promote members of certain Local authorities, of course, provide police protection
minority groups without discriminating against others. from theft of inventory and other company property by
This is not an easy task, but it was part of American pol- customers, employees, and outsiders. Yet, other properties
icy in 2005. that many businesses have are at least as valuable, and are
also protected by law. Among them are business secrets,
BFOQ stands for “bona fide occupational qualifica-
tion” and represents an exception to civil rights laws. One patents, copyrights, and trademarks/names.
may discriminate if there is a good reason to do so. Since
people have a right to privacy, an attendant in a restroom Business Secrets. Businesses frequently keep secret infor-
can be required to be of the same sex. Models for a line of mation that is the heart of their business. Customer lists
dresses can be exclusively young, slim females, and casting for an insurance company or a stockbroker are examples.
for a movie or play may discriminate on any basis. In a State and federal law severely punish anyone who steals or
1977 U.S. Supreme Court case, the Court held the state makes use of such property. The most famous secret in the
could require guards in a male maximum-security prison world might be the formula for Coca-Cola. If any person
to be male. Some questions remain open. Could a Chi- or company can duplicate Coca-Cola, they may produce
nese restaurant wishing to create the atmosphere of China and sell it under their own name. The law protects the
have only Chinese servers? That is an open question. secret from theft but not from duplication.
In the 1970s Congress added older workers to the list
of protected classes. Legal protection is given only to per- Patents. Patents are a protection given by the federal gov-
sons over the age of forty. A company may refuse to hire a ernment for inventions. A patent gives the inventor the
twenty-five-year-old as being “too young” or, in an actual exclusive rights for seventeen years to use or license the
case, a thirty-seven-year-old as being “too old” for a job. invention. Anyone infringing on the patented product is
Persons with disabilities received protection from discrim- subject to fine and imprisonment. A drug company’s new

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION 455