Employment Law, Labor Unions, and HR Trends

The Americans with Disabilities Act and Future Protections

The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 require all employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities and do not specify the types of disabilities that are protected, leaving this decision to the courts to decide when there is a dispute. Employers with more than 15 employees who will not suffer undue hardship from making such accommodations must abide by the ADA. "The Rehabilitation Act also goes beyond providing legal protections. It provides for direct services to people with disabilities which help them to become qualified for employment" (Leuchovius, 2014). As disability law evolves, the range of protected disabilities is likely to expand considerably, including a wider range of mental health conditions and non-visible disabilities, particularly those affecting veterans with PTSD, in contrast to disabilities more obviously manifested in physical form.

Labor Union Power: International Comparisons

Labor unions are considerably more powerful in Europe than in the United States. Germany, for example, has extremely strong trade unions that have historically negotiated for very high wages for their workers. The disparity in wages reflects union influence: "In 2010, Germany produced more than 5.5 million automobiles; the U.S. produced 2.7 million. At the same time, the average auto worker in Germany made $67.14 per hour in salary and benefits; the average one in the U.S. made $33.77 per hour" (Allen, 2011). In contrast to the United States, a substantial portion of the German labor force is unionized and wields considerable power as a result.

France presents a more complex picture. A smaller percentage of France is unionized compared to Germany, but unions still hold considerably more power than they do in the United States. "Less than 8% of employees in France belong to a trade union, a figure that has collapsed from a high of about 30% in the 1950s. The figure today is below that in Britain (26%), Germany (18%) and even America (11%). In the French private sector, the rate is lower still: just 5%, next to 14% among civil servants. [But] France's long tradition of street protest sometimes allows unions to secure policy concessions" (S.P., 2014). Beyond protest tactics, French law grants unions statutory power that affects all workers. "Under French law, elected union delegates represent all employees, union members or not, in firms with over 50 staff on both works councils and separate health-and-safety councils" (S.P., 2014).

General Motors' Bankruptcy and Labor Negotiations

In 2009, General Motors was forced into bankruptcy after years of financial struggle. Even before the formal bankruptcy, the company had instituted major reforms to reduce waste, particularly regarding labor costs. The company shrunk its workforce by 143,000 employees to 243,000, eliminating obsolete jobs and streamlining its brands. It also reduced the drain of pensions and benefits by negotiating with the UAW (United Auto Workers). The UAW negotiations "cut in half hourly pay for new employees and significantly scaled back the traditional retiree benefit packages that had been crippling the company, while also funding over $100 billion in unfunded retiree obligations" (Bigman, 2013).

Bankruptcy proceedings further trimmed waste, including manpower. Though GM still struggled in certain areas—including a major safety recall—the brand rebounded and has been thriving internationally, particularly in China where large, gas-guzzling SUVs function as a status symbol.