Learning About Workplace Rights and Safeguards

Omaha – At-will employment is the default in U.S. labor law. It can trace its roots back to the much older master/servant relationship. The American labor movement was created to bring meaningful democracy into the workplace. Labor unions allow employees to work jointly with management to raise levels of fairness and justice above the levels that management unilaterally establishes. Unions once represented over one-third of the workforce and now it represents barely one-tenth.

The vast majority of everyday wage earners are without the protection of a mutually-negotiated collective bargaining agreement. They are without a union to help assert their legal rights. Where will these unrepresented employees learn about the laws that cover them in the workplace?

Today, approximately 90% of K-12 students will eventually enter the workforce as employees. They will sell their intelligence, experience, and strength to employers to earn a living. The question is how well are our public schools preparing students for participating in our economy? This does not refer to English and math skills, but of insuring that giving a full day’s work is rewarded with a full day’s pay. Where will they learn that employers cannot illegally discriminate in job opportunities? Where will they learn of their rights when they become unemployed or hurt on the job through no fault of their own?

The piece that is missing from some, but not all, K-12 educations is the story of how the employment relationship was humanized over time. There is no disputing that as the Industrial Age enveloped America the lives of everyday wage earners were fraught with uncertainty. Wages were low, work was dangerous, and the hours were long. The Gilded Age that followed was remarkable for its robber barons, huddled masses, and not much in between.

Today, there are many laws and regulations established to create workplace rights and safeguards meant to protect employees, but the facts surrounding their establishment is mostly untaught. Faced with that reality, the William Brennan Institute for Labor Studies has developed a brochure, written for high school students, for use in public schools across the state.

The brochure, titled Entering the Workforce in Nebraska, lays out the basics of wage and hour; discrimination and harassment; safety and health; unemployment insurance; and workers’ compensation regulations. The Institute is currently working on finding ways to get feedback and exploring options for distribution. As the year develops, the staff will refine the brochure and find ways to get it before the next generation of Nebraska’s workforce.