Worker Protection in the USA

Worker protection laws developed only in the XX century. Prior to 1900, workers had very little or no protection from dangerous job conditions, low pay, and the risk of firing. Today, however, many statutes protect the worker.

There are two primary issues of worker protection: job safety (including the handling of work-related injuries) and financial security. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is the federal agency most responsible for job safety. When accidental employee injuries do occur in the course of employment, state workers' compensation laws impose strict liability on employers for death or disability benefits, medical expenses, and wage loses. The Fair Labor Standards Act protects children in the workplace by limiting the types of employment children can have at various ages. This act also sets minimum-wage and overtime requirements on employers and is the fist major federal act aimed at increasing workers' financial security.

Passed in the 1930s, the unemployment compensation law is one part of the Social Security Act. The other part is the employer-employee funding of retirement, disability, and health insurance programs. Private pension plans have helped to advance the financial retirement security of millions of workers (the Employee Retirement Income Security Act is the major federal law regulating private person plans).

Unit 6 A

Crime

Crime is a term that refers to misconduct forbidden by law. Every crime consists of two elements: an actus reusandamens rea. Theactus reusis simply an act or it may be an omission to act. It must be accompanied by a particular mental state – the mens rea. Common examples of mens rea are recklessness, negligence and intenton to cause a particular consequence.

Crimes may be classified in various ways. For statistical purposes, many governments divide crimes into offences against people, against property, and against public order or public morality. Other important kinds of crime include organized crime and white-collar crime.

Crimes against people include assault, kidnapping, murder, and sexual attacks. Such crimes usually bring severe punishment.

Crimes against property include arson, burglary, embezzlement, forgery, fraud,theft, and vandalism. In most countries, these crimes carry lighter penalties than do crimes against people.

Crimes against public order or morality include disorderly conduct, illegal gambling, prostitution, public drunkenness, and vagrancy.

Organized crime consists of large-scale activities by groups of gangsters or racketeers. These activities include gambling, prostitution, the illegal sale of drugs, and loan-sharking.

White-collar crime includes criminal acts committed by business and professional people, such as cheating in the payment of taxes, and stock market swindling.

.From the point of view of procedure, criminal offences may be divided into indictable, summary and "either way" offences. Indictable offences are those which may be tried on indictment , that is, by a judge and a jury. This category includes all the most serious offences. A summary offence is one which is triable summarily, that is, by a magistrates' court. An "either way" offence is one which is tried summarily or on indictment.

Main Types of Sentence

Absolute discharge: No financial penalty, no conditions.

Conditional discharge: No financial penalty, but if the offender commits a similar crime in the stated period (e.g., 12 months), he can be brought back and given a more severe sentence for the original offence.

Fine: Up to £2,000 at magistrates' courts, unlimited in the Crown Court.

Probation order: The offender is placed under the supervision of a probation officer for specified period (often 1 or 2 years), who has to have regular contact with him. Other conditions can also be attached, such as that the offender must take medical treatment.

Community service order: It is expressed in hours (between 40 and 240). The offender carries out socially useful tasks, such as helping with the disabled, or decorating elderly people's houses, at weekends and other spare time.

Suspended sentence of imprisonment: For example, 'nine months suspended for two years'. If the offender commits another offence within the stated period, the original sentence can (at the discretion of judge or magistrate) be activated, and he can be made to serve it after any sentence imposed for the subsequent offence.

Partly suspended sentence of imprisonment: For example, 'twelve months imprisonment, six months suspended for two years'. The offender serves some of the sentence immediately. On release, the other part hangs over him like a suspended sentence.

Imprisonment: The offender goes to prison. The usual remission is one-third of the sentence. He will also, in many cases, become eligible to be released on parole after one-third of his sentence. The grant of parole is discretionary.

Unit 6B