4 Laws That Protect You as an Employee
As an employee, awareness of the legal protections to safeguard your rights and ensure fair treatment in the workplace is in your best interest. Employment laws exist to establish standards, provide recourse for unjust practices, and promote a healthy and equitable work environment. Understanding these laws empowers you to assert your rights, seek appropriate remedies, and foster a harmonious relationship with your employer. Learn about four crucial laws that protect you as an employee.
1. The Fair Labor Standards Act
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 is widely regarded as one of the most consequential laws in U.S. history. The law mandated that workers must be at least 16 years old to be hired. The FLSA also set a national floor for the minimum wage. Over the years, lawmakers have tried to raise this wage to catch up with the increasing living costs. The FLSA needs an update to the minimum wage and all employees need to write their Congressman and Senators on a regular basis about this dire need.
The FLSA also protects workers' entitlements to overtime pay. Work that exceeds forty hours per week qualifies an employee for overtime compensation at one and a half times the usual pay rates. In certain circumstances, work that exceeds eight hours per day qualifies an employee for overtime compensation at one and a half times the usual pay rates.
The FLSA also has provisions designed to safeguard the employment of children. There are restrictions on the number of hours minors under 16 can work in non-farming fields. The law also prohibits the employment of minors in hazardous occupations.
The Wage and Hour Division ensures that businesses comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act and provide their workers with the protections and benefits to which they are entitled. This division also safeguards the legal status of workers who are not American citizens and are in the United States under specific visa schemes.
2. The Occupational Safety and Health Act
In 1970, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), which mandates that businesses ensure their facilities are safe for their employees. The Act protects employees in private companies in the United States with two or more workers by guaranteeing them access to information about workplace hazards, the ability to voice concerns about those hazards, and protection from retaliation if they do so.
The General Duty Clause of the Act makes it illegal for employers to subject their employees to unsafe working circumstances, and the Act itself sets and imposes particular safety requirements for construction, maritime, and agricultural operations.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is primarily responsible for enforcing the Act. However, individual states may also do so. However, these statutes do not safeguard those who work for themselves or on family farms.
3. The Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a pivotal piece of federal law prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, national origin, or sex. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited using these factors in making decisions about employment, including remuneration and other benefits. The revolutionary act completely changed the landscape of workplace rights and equality in the United States, making it possible for people from all walks of life to have equal access to the job market.
In 2009, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act made the Civil Rights Act fixed a loophole in Title VII that was exploited by employers. Because of Lilly Ledbetter, employees may recover up to two years of back wages in discriminatory pay cases.
In a landmark decision from 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that LGBTQ+ people are also protected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and are due to be from job discrimination because of their sexuality or gender identity.
4. The Affordable Care Act
More Americans now have coverage by health insurance thanks to the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. To avoid a hefty fine, businesses with over 50 permanent staff members must provide them with health insurance. Employees who consistently put in at least 30 hours per week qualify as full-time.
More people have access to affordable, high-quality health care thanks to the Act's provisions encouraging employers to invest in their employees' well-being. The goals of the Act are to lower health care costs and to make health insurance available to people who might not have it otherwise.
Contact Allen D. Arnold Attorney at Law if you need employee representation in employee-employer disputes and lawsuits in Alabama.
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