EMPLOYMENT LAW VIOLATIONS

EMPLOYMENT LAW VIOLATIONS
I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 768
II. WORKER SAFETY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 769
A. Occupational Safety and Health Act. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 769
1. Employer’s Willful Violation of a Standard Causing Death 770
a. Elements of the Offense. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 770
i. Employer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 770
ii. Willful Violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 772
iii. Specific Standard, Rule, Order, or Regulation 773
iv. Causes Death of Employee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 774
b. Defenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 775
i. Preemption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 775
ii. Unpreventable or Unforeseeable Employee
Misconduct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 775
iii. Impossibility of Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . 776
iv. Greater Hazard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 777
v. General Defenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 777
2. Advance Notice of Inspection Without Authority . . . . . . . 778
3. False Representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778
4. Enforcement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 779
5. Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 783
B. Federal Mine Safety and Health Act. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 784
III. THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 786
A. Prohibited Acts Under the FLSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 786
1. Failing to Pay the Federal Minimum Wage or Overtime
Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787
2. Discharging an Employee for Filing a Complaint . . . . . . . 788
3. Discriminating on the Basis of Sex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 788
B. Elements of the Offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 791
1. Employee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 791
2. Employer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 797
3. Willful Violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 799
C. Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800
D. Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800
E. Defenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 802
IV. PAYMENT OR LOANS BY EMPLOYER TO EMPLOYEES OR LABOR
ORGANIZATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 802
A. Elements of the Offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 804
1. Employer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 804
2. Willfulness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 805
767
3. Pay or Lend Money or Thing of Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 806
4. Employee or Representative of an Employee . . . . . . . . . . 807
5. Request or Receive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 808
B. Exceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 809
C. Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 812
V. PROTECTING UNION FUNDS UNDER THE LABOR-MANAGEMENT REPORTING
AND DISCLOSURE ACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 813
A. Elements of the Offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 814
1. Officer or Employee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 814
2. Appropriation of Union Assets for One’s Own or Another’s
Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 815
3. Fraudulent Intent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817
B. Defenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 818
C. Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 818
I. INTRODUCTION
This Article analyzes statutes that create criminal liability for violations of
occupational safety and employment standards.
1
Congress has enacted regu-
latory schemes to ensure worker safety, eliminate labor conditions detrimen-
tal to the nation’s commerce and the general welfare of workers, and provide
labor unions with greater protection from corrupt union and management
officials. Section II discusses criminal sanctions relevant to worker safety
under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (“OSHA”)
2
and the Federal
Mine Safety and Health Act (“FMSHA”).
3
Section III analyzes criminal
sanctions applicable to employment practices under the Fair Labor Standards
Act (“FLSA”).
4
Section IV discusses § 302 of the Taft-Hartley Act (Labor
Management Relations Act), which prohibits employers from making pay-
ments and loans to employees or labor organizations.
5
Finally, Section V
reviews § 501(c) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act
(“LMRDA”), which prevents appropriations of union funds for non-union
purposes.
6
1. This article does not discuss 18 U.S.C. § 664, which prohibits the embezzlement and theft of property from
an employee pension or welfare benefit plan subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
(ERISA) codified at 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001–1461. For a discussion on criminal liability associated with
whistleblower protections, see the Securities Fraud article in this Issue.
2. Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 651–678.
3. Federal Mine Safety and Health Act (FMSHA), 30 U.S.C. §§ 801–966.
4. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 201–219.
5. Labor Management Relations (Taft-Hartley) Act § 302, 29 U.S.C. § 186.
6. Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), 29 U.S.C. § 501(c).
768 AMERICAN CRIMINAL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 58:767
II. WORKER SAFETY
This section discusses the OSHA
7
and the FMSHA,
8
which create criminal
liability for violators under certain circumstances. Part A analyzes the OSHA, its
enforcement, and the applicable penalties for offenses.
9
Part B discusses the
FMSHA, including the elements of the offenses.
10
A. Occupational Safety and Health Act
Congress enacted the OSHA to ensure healthy and safe working conditions.
11
To fulfill this purpose, the OSHA imposes two duties on employers: the general
duty and the special duty.
12
The general duty, a catchall duty, requires employers
to provide employees with safe employment and a safe place of employment.
13
The special duty requires employers to “comply with occupational safety and
health standards promulgated under this [Act].”
14
OSHA provides for criminal sanctions
15
in three situations: (1) when an employ-
er’s willful violation of an OSHA standard, rule, order, or regulation causes the
death of an employee;
16
(2) when any person gives advance notice of an OSHA
inspection;
17
and (3) when a person makes a false statement or representation
7. 29 U.S.C. §§ 651–678.
8. 30 U.S.C. §§ 801–966.
9. See 29 U.S.C. §§ 651–678.
10. See 30 U.S.C. §§ 801–966.
11. 29 U.S.C. §§ 651–678. The Act states: “Congress finds that personal injuries and illnesses arising out of
work situations impose a substantial burden upon . . . commerce. . . .” § 651(a); see also S. REP. NO. 91-1282, at
5177 (1970) (stating that the purpose of OSHA is to assure safe and healthful working conditions); cf. Indus.
Union Dep’t, AFL-CIO v. Am. Petroleum Inst., 448 U.S. 607, 646 (1980) (noting that the legislative history of
OSHA “supports the conclusion that Congress was concerned, not with absolute safety, but with the elimination
of significant harm.”).
12. See 29 U.S.C. § 654(a).
13. See 29 U.S.C. § 654(a)(1) (“Each employer [] shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a
place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or
serious physical harm to his employees.”); Ramsey Winch, Inc. v. Henry, 555 F.3d 1199, 1205 (10th Cir. 2009)
(citation omitted) (noting Congress’s intent in enacting the general duty clause was to protect employees working
under “special circumstances for which no standard has yet been adopted”); Fabi Constr. Co. v. Sec’y of Lab.,
508 F.3d 1077, 1081 (D.C. Cir. 2007) (interpreting the general duty clause to impose a “reasonably prudent
employer” standard where an individual in that industry would have recognized and protected against the
hazard); Reich v. Arcadian Corp., 110 F.3d 1192, 1196 (5th Cir. 1997) (stating that, absent specific regulations,
the general duty clause acts as “catchall provision”).
14. 29 U.S.C. § 654(a)(2). Additionally, compliance with specific standards may not excuse an employer from
obligations of the general duty clause. See Safeway, Inc. v. OSHRC, 382 F.3d 1189, 1194–95 (10th Cir. 2004)
(holding that the OSHA indicates an employer’s duty to provide a safe working environment extends beyond
compliance with specific standards included in regulations promulgated under the Act).
15. For any violation, an employer may be subject to civil fines as well as criminal liability. See S.A. Healy
Co. v. OSHRC, 138 F.3d 686, 688 (7th Cir. 1998) (holding it is not a violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause to
criminally prosecute an individual for an OSHA violation after imposing civil monetary penalties on him for the
same violation).
16. 29 U.S.C. § 666(e).
17. Id. § 666(f).
2021] EMPLOYMENT LAW VIOLATIONS 769

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