 |
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.
|
|
|
Main Types of Sentence
Absolute discharge: No financial penalty, no conditions.
Conditional discharge: No financial penalty, but if the offender commits a similar crime in the stated period (e.g., 12 months), he can be brought back and given a more severe sentence for the original offence.
Fine: Up to £ 2,000 at magistrates' courts, unlimited in the Crown Court.
Probation order: The offender is placed under the supervision of a probation officer for specified period (often 1 or 2 years), who has to have regular contact with him. Other conditions can also be attached, such as that the offender must take medical treatment.
Community service order: It is expressed in hours (between 40 and 240). The offender carries out socially useful tasks, such as helping with the disabled, or decorating elderly people's houses, at weekends and other spare time.
Suspended sentence of imprisonment: For example, 'nine months suspended for two years'. If the offender commits another offence within the stated period, the original sentence can (at the discretion of judge or magistrate) be activated, and he can be made to serve it after any sentence imposed for the subsequent offence.
Partly suspended sentence of imprisonment: For example, 'twelve months imprisonment, six months suspended for two years'. The offender serves some of the sentence immediately. On release, the other part hangs over him like a suspended sentence.
Imprisonment: The offender goes to prison. The usual remission is one-third of the sentence. He will also, in many cases, become eligible to be released on parole after one-third of his sentence. The grant of parole is discretionary.
Unit 6B
Selecting the Legal structure For Your Firm in the USA
SUMMARY
There are many reasons today for owner-managers of small businesses to look at the legal structure of their firms. The changing tax laws and fluctuating availability of capital are just two situations which require alert managers to review what legal structures best meet their needs.
A ll forms of business organization have advantages and disadvantages.
If you were to make an analogy between starting a business and playing a card game, you might say, "The game is just for fun, but business is business." Well, you would be right. But let's consider some important similarities.
The game requires skill, strategy, planning, and, most important, a thorough knowledge of the rules. Going into business requires skill (the knowledge of your craft or trade), and it also requires strategy and planning. Most important, to be successful in business, you must understand the rules (or the laws) by which you must conduct your business. All planning and strategy must consider the multitude of local, state, and federal laws and business practices that govern the operation of the business.
Before you enter the complex arena of business and the myriad of laws which influence your freedom of choice and mobility of action, you must first choose the legal structure for your business that will best suit your needs and the needs of your particular business. In order to intelligently select the legal structure for your business, you must ask yourself, "What are my alternatives?" So, let's now look at the nature of various legal business structures.
|
|
|
There are three principal kinds of business structures: the proprietorship, the partnership, and the corporation. Each has certain general advantages and disadvantages, but they must all be weighed to reflect your specific circumstances, goals, and needs. The sole proprietorship is the first form we'll consider.
THE SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP
The sole proprietorship is usually defined as a business which is owned and operated by one person. To establish a sole proprietorship, you need only to obtain whatever licenses you need and begin operations. Hence, it is the most widespread form of small business organization.
|
|
|
