Complying With Federal Laws

Quick Summary

As your enterprise grows, you become more than just a business; in the eyes of the federal government you are now an employer. As an employer, you must also maintain a safe and healthy workplace for employees. Those rules are enumerated in the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA).

You also have legally mandated responsibilities to protect your employees by preventing workplace harassment and discrimination, as specified in the Equal Employment Opportunity Act.

And you have to allow employees to take time off for life events, like births and deaths, as well as medical emergencies. So we’ll be discussing your responsibilities under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as well.

Employer Compliance | Federal Law OSHA, EEOC, FMLA

In This Section

Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)

Designed to promote occupational health and safety in the workplace. Businesses with more than 10 employees need to evaluate the workplace for health and safety risks. Then management and employees will work together to design and implement a plan to mitigate those risks.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

This is the federal government agency entrusted with promoting fairness by outlawing any kind of workplace discrimination. These laws cover discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, age, and disability. Compliance requirements kick-in for businesses with 15 or more full-time employees. At this level, the main obligation is to create an employment practices policy and to communicate it to every employee. Companies with 100 or more employees also need to file an annual EEO-1, also known as The Employer Information Report.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide time off for qualified individuals for maternity leave, pregnancy disability, family deaths, and serious medical conditions, among other reasons. After notifying employees, employers’ major concerns are the cost (approximately 5% of payroll); tracking leave time taken by employees; avoiding abuse of the program, including lawsuits; and creating a plan for replacing employees who are on leave, which is fair to everyone on your workforce.