Introduction
The workplace presents a delicate surrounding that is full of different types of personalities and risks. The varying demands of safety, comfort, and work-life balance generate numerous problems for human resource managers. The practices of human resource departments have assisted in the creation of safe and comfortable environments for all workers. Reports from the Bureau of Labor indicate that approximately four million employees are injured while about 5000 die in workplace-related accidents (Mekkodathil, El-Menyar, & Al-Thani, 2016). Laws and regulatory obligations are presently being implemented to assist in the standardization and promotion of well-being in the workplace. This paper evaluates the effects of legal, safety, and regulatory demands on human resources practices in organizations. This is realized by upholding the rights of workers and employers. Human resources practices influence legal, welfare, and regulatory guidelines in organizations while entities such as the United States Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission safeguard the privileges of workers and employers. Organizations that adhere to legal, safety, and regulatory requirements have a decreased number of accidents, employee compensation claims, court cases, and unnecessary expenses.
Effect on the Human Resources Process
Legal, security and regulatory concerns have a great impact on human resources endeavors as they are associated with the fact that common sense and compassion in the workplace has been replaced by litigation (Hale, Borys, & Adams, 2015). In modern-day society, lawsuits appear to be rising tremendously while organizational managers and directors are seeking to establish human resources practices that prevent all probable court cases. In most of the workplace settings in modern society, there is minimal or no concern on compassion and common sense. Instead, workers are at all times mindful of whether the organization will take legal action against a person or be sued. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen human resources departments to satisfy the safety, legal, and regulatory demands and ensure that all workers are treated reasonably and uniformly. The rights of both employers and workers are secured by different entities, for instance, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Department of Labor, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Upon recruitment of employees, human resource management has to consider the numerous legal demands that have been laid out by the US government. For example, the Civil Rights Act of 1991 embarks on the prevention of discrimination against religion, race, nationality, sex, or color of the skin. This compels the human resource departments to make sure that job-related processes abide by the legal and regulatory requirements. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 guarantees legal rights and safety for individuals with mental and physical impairments. As outlined in the law, organizations should not ask job applicants whether they have a disability. In its place, they should ask whether an applicant is physically able to carry out the tasks outlined in the job. Organizations that hire employees with disabilities should establish strategies and policies that assist in the compensation of their shortfalls (von Schrader & Nazarov, 2015). Moreover, the United States Department of Labor presents the main regulations and laws that influence human resources processes. It outlines the legal requirements for salaries and hours, health and safety, medical benefits, retirement, employees’ compensation, and conditions in the workplace.
Safety and regulatory requirements affect human resources processes for the benefit of employees and the organization at large. There are numerous federal and state safety and regulatory requirements, which include the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This is a federal agency tasked with the implementation of safety, health, and regulatory requirements. Through the OSHA, human resources processes are required to make sure that organizations are compliant with all stipulated safety and regulatory demands. For example, in some organizations, such as healthcare-related ones, employees are supposed to wear gloves and masks in their tasks (Phillips et al., 2015). In organizations dealing with construction tasks, workers are required to be in helmets and steel-toed boots for enhanced safety in their daily activities. Safety and regulatory requirements oblige human resource departments to give workers the guarantee of workplace surroundings that are free from dangers and health hazards.
Conclusion
The workplace presents an environment full of different personalities and hazards. The existing demands of safety, comfort, and work-life balance create many problems for human resource departments. Organizations that abide by legal, safety, and regulatory obligations have a reduced level of accidents, compensation claims, and court cases. Lawsuits appear to have increased tremendously while human resource departments are seeking to establish practices that prevent the occurrence of litigations. There is a need to support human resources departments to suit the safety, legal, and regulatory stipulations and ensure that employees are treated justly and uniformly. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 protects legal rights and well-being for individuals with mental and physical impairments. Safety and regulatory requirements necessitate human resource departments to offer workers the guarantee of a workplace environment that has no dangers and health hazards.
References
Hale, A., Borys, D., & Adams, M. (2015). Safety regulation: The lessons of workplace safety rule management for managing the regulatory burden. Safety Science, 71, 112-122.
Mekkodathil, A., El-Menyar, A., & Al-Thani, H. (2016). Occupational injuries in workers from different ethnicities. International Journal of Critical Illness and Injury Science, 6(1), 25-32.
Phillips, J. A., Holland, M. G., Baldwin, D. D., Gifford-Meuleveld, L., Mueller, K. L., Perkison, B.,… Dreger, M. (2015). Marijuana in the workplace: Guidance for occupational health professionals and employers: Joint guidance statement of the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses and the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Workplace Health & Safety, 63(4), 139-164.
von Schrader, S., & Nazarov, Z. E. (2015). Employer characteristics associated with discrimination charges under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 26(3), 153-163.