The Workplace Along With the Pregnancy Discrimination Act - Essay Example

Five Economic Factors Tax Benefits for Married Couples Married couples often receive tax breaks because it is inevitably that they cannot work as much as a single person could. The purpose of this is to give them more tax credits and higher deductions. The government realizes that young families already struggle to put food on the table, so they want to decrease the amount of tax that they have to pay. This naturally encourages people to get married rather than to stay single their whole lives. Society relies on parents to be able to bring up their kids in a healthy manner so that they can one day contribute back to society in the form of taxes. Married couples are more able to invest their money because there are lower tax considerations to take into account. Married couples have a higher chance of keeping hold of their economic assets because they are on a different income tax schedule than everyone else. The higher a married couple’s income is, the less tax that they have to pay. The government has set this up this way so that more married couples are encouraged to work before they settle down to start a family. It may seem unfair for individuals that they don’t receive the same tax breaks as married couples, but they do not have to worry about any extra stresses that those who are married usually go through. Equal Pay for Women It used to be that the wife in a family would stay home and look after the kids while the husband went out and got an income, but this has changed considerably over the past few years. As a result, women still have to maintain all the household chores that they did before but they also have to go out to work too. It is proven that women earn considerably less than men do for the same work. In fact, mothers also earn less than single women. The main reason for this is that mothers can only work a set amount of hours and cannot be flexible with their time schedules. On the other hand, single women have the freedom to work whenever they want. Another reason why married women receive less pay than both their husbands and other single women is that they will inevitably have another baby and be lost to a company for a short period of time. Many business owners do not want to invest in an employee who could potentially leave at any moment and not return for some time. In today’s tough economic climate, the need for a married woman to work is great. Because they are so desperate to provide an extra income, this is another reason why maybe they don’t receive equal pay. Government Childcare policies In some countries the government will pay for employees to take time off work and care for their young children. In the United States, the Family & Medical Leave Act does allow employees to tend to their children but they do not receive any pay for doing so. There are many arguments for enforcing government sponsored childcare leave, but the main one is that children are the future of tomorrow, so they need to be taken care of. If the government can contribute at such a young age, they have the potential to receive something back on their investment in a few years down the road. The opposing argument says that people who choose to work long hours should have thought about their childcare needs first, but there are some occasions where accidents come up and a parent is needed at home to care for their children. Pregnancy Leave Women can be a valuable resource in the workplace but it should be expected that most women will eventually want to have a baby. However, this should not compromise their position within their company. Cases of pregnancy discrimination can be disguised as downsizing, but in reality the purpose is to move on without the women who temporarily left to give birth. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 ensures that women who happen to fall pregnant while they are working at a company must be treated the same as any other employee. This is important because it helps to protect the rights of women in the workplace. Over time, this should lead to more equal pay for women because it helps to reduce discrimination. Although the Pregnancy Discrimination Act only covers employers who have 15 or more workers, this act is still useful in protecting the careers of women. Employers must pay disability leave for pregnant workers the same as any other medical disability, although pregnancy should not be classed as a disability. Family Leave The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 is similar to the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, except it covers both male and female employees. This act can be used by women who choose to leave their workplace in order to give birth, and it strengthens their position in the workplace along with the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. However, the Family and Medical Leave Act covers much more than just pregnancy and so can be applied to male employees as well. Adopting or taking in a foster child or attending to an ill family member can have a detrimental effect on the working ability of an employee, so it is better to let them take care of their personal problems first and then return to work. The act allows workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave, but it only applies to companies with at least 50 workers. This would seem to rule out most small businesses, but it least it does cover a large percentage of the workforce. Read More