Labor law is also known as employment law in some parts of the world. These terms can be used interchangeably as they are used to refer to the same thing. Labor law is a broad category that encompasses all area of employer/employee relations. Labor law also includes the negotiation processes and collective bargaining. The purpose of labor law is to protect the employer and the employee in the case of a wrongdoing.

The present day labor law dates back to the 1930's. The 1930's have been called the New Deal era. It was during this time that Congress acted to raise minimum wage there was reconsideration of the labor laws that were affecting both private and public sector employees. There have been no major new laws that have been passed over the last few decades.

Early Labor Laws

Some of the early labor laws included the following:

The Clayton Act:

The Act stated, "The labor of a human being is not commodity or article of commerce," and provided further that nothing contained in

The Federal antitrust laws: shall be construed to forbid the existence and operation of labor... organizations... nor shall such organizations, or the Members thereof, be held or construed to be illegal combinations or Conspiracies in restraint of trade under the anti-trust laws.

The Railway Act:

This Act was passed in 1926. It required those employers to bargain collectively and prohibiting discrimination against unions. It applied originally to interstate railroads and their related undertakings. It was amended in 1936 to include airlines.

Acts forbidden under the labor law

1) Dominating or otherwise interfering with formation of a labor union, including the provision of any financial or other support.

2) Interfering with or restraining employees engaged in the exercise of their rights to organize and bargain collectively.

3) Imposing any special conditions of employment, which tended either to encourage or discourage union membership. The law stated, however, that this provision should be construed to prohibit union contracts requiring union membership as a condition of employment in a company -- a provision that, in effect, permitted the closed and union shops. (In the former, only pre-existing members of the union could be hired, in the latter. new employees were required to join the union.)

4) Discharging or discriminating against an employee because he had given testimony or filed charges under the Act.

5) Refusing to bargain collectively with unions representing a Company's employees