Employment law violations

• Author: Sean Jettner
• Pages: 669-714

EMPLOYMENT LAW VIOLATIONS

I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 670

II. WORKER SAFETY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671

A. The Occupational Safety and Health Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671

1. Employer’s Willful Violation of a Standard Causing Death . 672

a. Elements of the Offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 672

i. Employer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 672

ii. Willful Violation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674

iii. Specific Standard, Rule, Order, or Regulation . . 675

iv. Causes Death of Employee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676

b. Defenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676

i. Preemption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676

ii. Unpreventable or Unforeseeable Employee

Misconduct. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 677

iii. Impossibility of Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678

iv. Greater Hazard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678

v. General Defenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 679

2. Advance Notice of Inspection Without Authority . . . . . . . 680

3. False Representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 680

4. Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 680

5. Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 684

B. Federal Mine Safety and Health Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 684

III. THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686

A. Prohibited Acts Under the FLSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686

1. Failing to Pay the Federal Minimum Wage or Overtime

Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687

2. Discharging an Employee for Filing a Complaint . . . . . . . 688

3. Discriminating on the Basis of Sex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 688

B. Elements of the Offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691

1. Employee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691

2. Employer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 695

3. Willful Violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 696

C. Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698

D. Enforcement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698

E. Defenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699

IV. PAYMENT OR LOANS BY EMPLOYER TO EMPLOYEES OR LABOR

ORGANIZATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700

A. Elements of the Offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701

1. Employer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701

2. Willfulness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702

669

3. Pay or Lend Money or Thing of Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703

4. Employee or Representative of an Employee . . . . . . . . . . 704

5. Request or Receive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705

B. Exceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 706

C. Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708

V. PROTECTING UNION FUNDS UNDER THE LABOR-MANAGEMENT REPORTING

AND DISCLOSURE ACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709

A. Elements of the Offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710

1. Officer or Employee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710

2. Appropriation of Union Assets for One’s Own or Another’s

Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 711

3. Fraudulent Intent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 712

B. Defenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 713

C. Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 714

I. INTRODUCTION

This Article analyzes statutes that create criminal liability for violations of occu-

pational safety and employment standards.

1

Congress has enacted regulatory

schemes to ensure worker safety, eliminate labor conditions detrimental 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 Labor Management Relations Act (“Taft-Hartley Act”), which prohib-

its employers from making payments and loans to employees or labor organiza-

tions.

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).

670 AMERICAN CRIMINAL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 60:669

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. The 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

The OSHA provides for criminal sanctions

15

in three situations: (1) when an

employer’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

regarding OSHA compliance.

18

This Section discusses each of these situations,

then reviews OSHA enforcement and penalties generally.

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; see also S. R EP. NO. 91-1282, at 5177 (1970) (stating the purpose of the OSHA);

cf. Indus. Union Dep’t, AFL-CIO v. Am. Petroleum Inst., 448 U.S. 607, 646 (1980) (noting the legislative history

of the 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); Ramsey Winch, Inc. v. Henry, 555 F.3d 1199, 1205 (10th Cir. 2009) (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 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).

16. 29 U.S.C. § 666(e).

17. Id. § 666(f).

18. Id. § 666(g).

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