Understanding Employment Law
Employment law accounts for the group of rules and laws that help in regulating relationships between employees and employers. The laws depict when an employer can hire their employees and when the employees can work. Employment laws cover what an employer is required to pay the employee for the work they do. Minimum requirements for working conditions are created for employees. Employers are required to hire the services of employment law firms to create a fair workplace by helping them in decisions of hiring, firing, lawsuits, compensations, disputes, etc.
Adhering to the employment law
There are certain things an employer is required to know when they need to hire someone. There are minimum wage laws that need the employer to pay a specific amount to their employees. There are certain laws that prohibit the employer from discriminating against employees or applicants depending on certain characteristics. Employers are required to provide a safe working environment. In certain cases, they also have to provide options of health insurance. They are needed to submit payroll taxes on their employees’ behalf.
Employers are required to comply with a range of regulations and this can make them feel overwhelmed. Thus, they are required to use the services of attorneys that help them follow the laws. Employees too want labor laws to be enforced. They might need assistance from an employment lawyer to help them enforce the law when their employer failed to follow it.
Chief employment laws in the United States
Overtime pay
Employees need to be paid for the extra hours they put in their work. While there is no limit on the maximum number of hours that an employee can work in a week, the employer is required to pay overtime for each hour that their employee works over forty hours in a week. There is no right to overtime for working on the weekend if the employee’s total number of do not exceed forty.
Minimum wage laws
A lot of states also have minimum wage laws. States cannot make a lower minimum wage but they have the liberty to make the minimum wage higher than what federal law requires. There can be special considerations for different types of employees. For instance, employers that have employees that earn trips might be able to depend on trips to make up some of the minimum pay of employees.
Safe working conditions
Employees have a right to safe working conditions. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act 1970) safeguards employees from any foreseeable hazards at work including noise, extreme temperatures, injurious conditions and sanitation problems. Employers cannot retaliate against an employee when they exercise their rights under OSHA.
Family and medical leave
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1963 states that big employers are required to offer up to 12 weeks of unpaid medical family leave. An employee can utilize family leave after the birth of their child or after an adoption. The leave can also be used for their personal health issues or to care for a spouse, parent or child who has serious health condition.
No discrimination based on protected characteristics
Employers need to be careful to avoid any kind of discrimination against their employees. They cannot discriminate on the basis of color, race, religion, national origin or sex. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes sure that the employer does not discriminate depending on these characteristics in both the hiring process and while forming a decision about dismissal. There are certain exceptions that attorneys need to take into consideration. For instance, casting directors can make decisions that stay consistent with their creative vision. Employers also cannot discriminate on the basis of age. Employment law firms like Shegerian Conniff make sure that the vital employment laws are adhered to in workplaces and a fair environment is established.
