Federal Employments Law

In my Personnel career, I was always the one who was responsible for regulatory compliance for the companies I worked for.  I subscribed to the BLS and CCH services and read the Congressional Record. The Wage & Hour Laws and National Labor Relations Law had been in place since the 1930s, so I read them and interpreted them. The Employment Law deluge began in 1964 when Lyndon Johnson became President. 

All of these laws ignored the fact that the US had been successful operating as a “Meritocracy”, with freedom of association.  US manufacturing was at the top of the “food chain” and attracted the best and brightest. Government jobs were dull and meaningless and occupied the bottom of the “food chain”. 

Our labor laws were written by the American Communist Party and the labor unions and handed to the Democrats to pass. It was clear that the DOL was the Department of Organized Labor. They were written to brainwash union workers to adopt an “entitlement mentality”. 

Their propaganda narrative claimed that the business leaders who brought us through the Industrial Revolution were “Robber Barons”. They were actually mostly engineers who were using technology to invent new tools to improve productivity and raise our standard of living. They were not focused on coddling the workforce and they did make mistakes as managers of people.

The industrial revolution shifted the US workforce from family farming and family businesses to increasing numbers of immigrants laborers. Accidents on the job were more common, because some jobs were dangerous and a fatal accident would but a family in the “poor house”.

Labor relations was not an “enumerated power” granted to the federal government, but they violated the Constitution and passed laws to regulate labor relations. The threat of Communism in the early 1900s was their excuse. 

If the government had restrained itself, changes would have been made by the businesses themselves to avoid getting the reputation of being a bad place to work. That didn’t happen, so US labor law usurped the basic rights of a business owner to operate freely. These laws damaged business owners’ property rights and freedom of association. Discrimination would have ended on its own. Families would have stepped up to tend their wounded if government had not confiscated their wealth with income and inheritance taxes.

Despite my distain for government overreach, I had no problem with the Civil Rights Act’s ban on race discrimination.

I didn’t stop using employment tests, but chose to do the work to review tests taken each year to determine that there was no “adverse impact” based on race. I continued to hire the best fit, but they came in all flavors, so I never obsessed about recruiting protected groups. When I found an employee that didn’t fit, I would tell them why. I encouraged employees to do what they loved.

I knew that I wasn’t required to reach agreements with unions, so I didn’t.  I insisted on following the union contract and wouldn’t do any side deals.  I knew NLRB rules to fight union organizing attempts so I used them.

I was serious about not polluting and would go looking for money to buy treatment equipment.  I was serious about safety and expected employees to be careful.

I would send employees with the most accidents, absences, tardiness and leaves of absence to drug counselors for evaluation and treatment.

I was serious about productivity and would go looking for money to buy equipment for production groups to increase their productivity and quality.

I thought most Employment Laws were unnecessary, but I ensured compliance. I did most of my own legal work and used lawyers sparingly. I had no lawsuits. I ensured that all firings and layoffs were valid and handled correctly. I treated everybody the same, with respect. That resulted in not having any lawsuits. 

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader