Waive goodbye to your employment rights

An article from the Detroit Free press suggests that it is rather easy for an employer in the US to overcome statutory limitations on filing sexual harassment and other discrimination charges. While the EEOC allows up to 300 days, and other state laws allow up to 6 years for a statute of limitations, employers may simply build shorter limitations right into their employment contract. This is apparently what Chrysler (alone among the major US auto manaufacturers) is doing. Specifically, it is limiting employee claims to 6 months. Any occurances older than six months are disallowed under the employment contract - and this has been upheld by US courts.

Consider the situation - you are denied opportunities or benefits based upon your age, sex, or national origin etc. The first time this happens you are unaware of the issue, over several months or years the pattern becomes clear. Eventually you become so concerned that you wish to act. You file a complaint. Only the specific events that have occured within the six months of your complain may be considered as relevant. How would you feel? How would you feel when you realize that the intent of the labor law of your country was quite simply undermined by the fact that employers are allowed to ask employees to waive their legal rights in exchange for a job?

Now consider that unemployment is rising throughout the developing world. The pressure to accept a job when offered, no matter how unfair or unreasonable the terms, is rising. At a time when employees only defense - the labor union - is at it's all time weakest worldwide, who or how will employees redress the balance in this very unfair bargain.

It will be interesting to see how smart employers deal with this weakness in the labor union and the increased power that they have for doing bad (evil may be too strong a word here) as well as doing good. What happens when you build a reputation for such shenanigans and then the labor market gets tight once again as we expect it will? Who will want to work for you? Will you labor costs be higher than your competitors? Will you employees be less committed?