United States Marine Corps Marine

United States Marine Corps

Marine Corps

Workplace laws are established to protect the rights of the worker. Those in the military may have different responsibilities than civilians. Being part of the military is much different than what is considered a regular job because members of the armed services are charged with serving and protecting our country. This means that there are different dynamics associated with these jobs and at times, those employed in the military may be at more risk than others. Because of the nature of their jobs, women and men in the military are often deployed at a short moment's notice and must also at times be stationed in countries other than the United States. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 and the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1970 were both established to protect workers and their right to take a leave of absence from work should the need arise as well as the right to safety on the job. These laws apply not only to civilians, but to military employees also.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was established so that workers could take a leave of absence for such situations as the birth of a child or caring for elderly parents. The law states that employers with fifty or more workers must offer employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave without the threat of losing their jobs. During this time of leave, employers are required to maintain the employees insurance if it falls under a group health plan. Employers risk being sued if they attempt to discourage an employee from exercising his right to FMLA (Baird and Reynolds 2004).

In 2009, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which expands on coverage under the current FMLA. The NDAA provides an extended leave of absence to the family member of the military employee who is deployed to a foreign country. It provides for a family member to take up to twenty six weeks within a twelve month period to care for a military employee who is recuperating from an injury suffered while on military duty in that foreign country (www.envoynews.com). This is an important addition to the existing FMLA laws because original law did not account for this.

This is an important step because those that serve and protect our country are oftentimes forgotten once they return home. They may suffer mental or physical injuries or both and may require constant care. Most do not have the luxury of having a private in home healthcare professional. They must rely on a family member to assist them while they recuperate. The amendment to the FMLA for military employees allows for not only the spouse or parents to care for the individual, but also the children (if capable) are allowed to take advantage of the leave without fear of losing their jobs. Without the NDAA, recuperating military employees may involuntarily put their family members under unnecessary stress as well as financial hardship trying to figure out caregiver options.

Many civilian employers are not aware of this amendment. They may be aware of the FMLA as it applies to their employees, but have no knowledge of the NDAA and how it may apply to any of their employees having a close family member in the military. Although it is the employer's responsibility to keep abreast of any and every law that affects its employees, it might be a good idea for the employee to let the employer know that there is a possibility that they may need to make use of this law. This way, there are no surprises and things such as job coverage can be worked out ahead of time. Once all parties are informed, if the employee should need to take advantage of the amendment there will be no surprises and the transition should be smooth.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act was established in 1970 to protect workers from health and safety hazards on the job (www.osha.gov). This not only applies to civilian workplaces, but military bases as well. Most are not aware that military bases employ not only military personnel, but civilians and contractors, too. Many of the everyday jobs in a civilian workplace can also be found on a military base. As such, they fall under the OSHA laws the same as any other workplace. Employers must ensure that the workplace is free from any workplace hazards and health issues that would harm the employee. Posters must be placed in conspicuous areas in the workplace identifying potential health and safety hazards. Employers must also inform workers about first aid methods. To make sure that employers are keeping their workplaces up to standard, an inspection from an OSHA employee may take place without advance notice. This usually happens when a complaint is filed with OSHA by an employee of an organization. The employer may not take action or discriminate against the employee that filed the complaint.

If OSHA finds that the complaint is warranted, the employer must correct the situation and obtain certification that the health or hazard situation has be fixed. The employer must also notify the employees that the issue has been resolved. Employers are given a small window of time to contest any citations issued by OSHA. If the citation is not contested by the employer, the problem must be fixed or a penalty will be issued. Employers should not ignore OSHA because even though the laws were instituted to protect the employees of a company, they can also protect the employer from any potential lawsuits. The laws were designed to protect both the employee and employers.

Members of the military may face deployment to a foreign country on a short notice. We know that OSHA covers military bases, but very little useful information can be found on whether OSHA covers deployed military staff. When signing up for the Marine Corps or any other military branch, the person should realize and be told by the recruiter that if our country is in conflict or at war with another country, there is chance of deployment and a chance that the person (depending on his specialty) will have to fight in the war. Because of this, the OSHA laws may not apply to deployed military persons. OSHA cannot issue citations to instances of war because it is reasonable to expect that in a war, there is the possibility of injury or loss of life. While this is unfortunate, it is a situation that cannot comply with the OSHA laws. If OSHA tried to step in and demand that those on the battlefield have a safe environment to work in it would not make sense because war is never safe. For this reason, we have amendments such as the NDAA.