Laws regarding compensation are created in a way they discourage nondiscrimination for the staff in an organization so that they are not discriminated. The paper will attempt to explain laws and regulations and various similarities and differences that influence compensation for an organization that deals with biotechnology and other organizations in the same market.
The laws that deal with compensation of employees are almost similar across all industries. For organizations that are involved in the biotechnology industry, more is needed in the compensation plan and therefore more is required in the compensation plan. Biotechnology industry in most cases is involved in handling of many hazardous products to both health and security. The products also have moral, ethical and security issues that imply the individuals and society.
Some of the laws that relate to compensation plan that affect the biotechnology industry and are set to determine various issues that relate to pay include The Fair Labor Standards Act (Freedman, 1991). The Act is crucial as it addresses compensation in regards to small businesses, their shareholders, and organization. The Act addresses 5 compensation aspects; the minimum wage an organization can administer, regarding equality in pay, issues regarding overtime pay, addressing the menace of child labor, and the requirement that should be met by organization for record keeping. The Equal Pay Act is an act that abolishes denying women equal opportunities and pay due to their gender (Wellons & Ewing, 2007). Women doing the same work as men are entitled to equal pay.
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (1974) is a law that is meant to regulate pension schemes and other issues such as survivors, disability, and other aspects such as any program that would address health insurance (Wellons & Ewing, 2007). It is a law that lays the ground for various benefit programs that affect the unemployed, equal employment and Medicare amongst others. Consumer Credit Protection Act of 1968 also is an act that focuses on information that relates to employees wages and loans.
For an organization dealing with biotechnology, they are involved in handling substances that have bacteria’s and other microorganisms (Freedman, 1991). The organizations involved in biotechnology industry are involved in the production of products such as genetically modified organism, antibiotics, and insulin among other products that are produced using advances in science. An error on the products has serious adverse effects on the individuals, the society, and the environment near the organization. This demonstrates the industry as one that poses high-risk individuals working in the organization in comparison to other industries.
For biotechnology industry, the compensation plan in the organizations in this industry emphasizes on according monetary compensation to the people affected. The monetary compensations that are awarded to employees who have been affected by injury in their line of work are dependent on a number of issues such as the intensity of the injury (Freedman, 1991). For the employee to be compensated they need to have been injured while at the time been working in the organization. The affected employee will receive the award and also in some cases there is provision of special benefit for the family members or the dependants of the employee who while working for this organizations either received an injury or died. Apart from these laws, organizations dealing with biotechnology have almost the same compensation laws like other industries.
References
Freedman, W. (1991). Legal issues in biotechnology and human reproduction : artificial conception and modern genetics. New York: Quorum Books.
Wellons, H. & Ewing, E. (2007). Biotechnology and the law. Chicago, Ill: American Bar Association.