Laws/Consumer Issues and Agencies

Laws/Consumer Issues and Agencies

1. FMLA: provides eligible employees with unpaid job protected leave to take care of family and medical situations

   • applies to private sector employeers with 50+ employees for 20 or more weeks, public agencies, private and public elementary and secondary schools
     • employer must display an FMLA poster and respond to the request within 5 business days
   • to be eligible, employees must have worked for a covered employer for at least 12 months + 1250 hours prior to the start of the 12 months, must have worked at a location with at least 50 employees there or within 75 miles of the location
     • employee must be restored to his/her job or equivalent
   • FMLA requires employers to pay employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12 month period

2. EPA: ensures that all of the above is taken care of

   • Americans have clean air, land and water;
   • National efforts to reduce environmental risks are based on the best available scientific information;
   • Federal laws protecting human health and the environment are administered and enforced fairly, effectively and as Congress intended
   • All parts of society--communities, individuals, businesses, and state, local and tribal governments--have access to accurate information sufficient to effectively participate in managing human health and environmental risks

3. Contaminated lands and toxic sites are cleaned up by potentially responsible parties and revitalized; and Chemicals in the marketplace are reviewed for safety

4. OSHA: ensures that All employees have a right to a safe workplace

   • ƒ Receive information and training on job hazards, including all hazardous substances in your workplace.
   • ƒ Receive information and training on job hazards, including all hazardous substances in your workplace

5. Poison Control

   • Poison control centers provide free, confidential, and expert medical advice via the Poison Help hotline:
   • Poison control centers educate the public on poison safety and promote the use of the Poison Help hotline
   • Poison control centers also provide education to current and future health professionals in the areas of emergency medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and more

6. ADA: Prohibits discrimination of people with disabilities

   • includes: physical impairments, cognatitve impairments, psychological impairments, sensory impairments, ADHD, Chemical dependency, speech impediments, cardiac conditions, etc.
     • covers employment, public transportation,commercial facilities, telecommunication relay services, and title V- misc.
       • make reasonable accomadations
       • transportation must be accessible to people with disabilities
       • telecommunication relay services should be provided for all who are hard of hearing/ have visual impairments
   • Additional legislation: Telecommunication Act, Fair Housing Act, Air carrier Act,National Voter registration

7. A safety data sheet (SDS),[1] material safety data sheet (MSDS), or product safety data sheet (PSDS) is a document that lists information relating to occupational safety and health for the use of various substances and products

   • SDS information may include instructions for the safe use and potential hazards associated with a particular material or product, along with spill-handling procedures.