Employees have a lot more rights and expectations in the workplace than they usually think they do.
There are employee labor law rules that cover almost every major aspect of a business’s operation when it comes to the treatment of employees, expectations of employees, and more.
As a business owner, it is your job to make much of this information available to them, but we’ll talk about that later. For now, we’re going to go over what employees should know about labor law and why it’s so important for you as a business owner.
Let’s dive right into it.
1: Standards of Pay and Employment Age
Primarily, every employee needs to understand the government-required pay standards and employment age regulations. This is covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and 3 core requirements are part of it.
First, employees are entitled to a minimum wage. With very few exceptions, such as bartending, waiting tables, or driving for delivery services, the minimum wage must be paid per every hour the employee works before taking out taxes and other required items.
Then, employees should understand that overtime pay is required for any employee who worked more than 40 hours in a week for every hour beyond the 40-hour mark. Overtime pay is a minimum of the base pay plus half of the base pay per hour.
Finally, the act covers the minimum age of employment and the various ways minors can become employed early; along with the rules employers must follow if they hire minors.
2: Harassment and Discrimination Standards
Several longstanding federal acts prevent the harassment or discrimination of employees based on traits such as religion, sex, race, disabilities, and more.
Also, the proper steps to take when an employee feels they are being harassed or discriminated against are highlighted to ensure employees have a safe way to report such issues.
This hopefully isn’t an issue in our workplace, but it’s still something employees should know just in case.
3: The Family and Medical Leave Act
The Family and Medical Leave Act is probably something you’ve heard mentioned even if you aren’t sure what it is. It’s “FMLA leave”.
Alt Tag: Family Medical Leave Act – An important source of information employees should know about labor law.
FMLA created standards that require employers to allow employees to leave their positions temporarily in a wide variety of situations without losing their jobs permanently.
Some common uses for it are pregnancies, adoption processes, caring for family members, debilitating injuries, and similar situations where there are simply other things to worry about than work, but the employee doesn’t want to give up on their job.
Thanks to FMLA, employees can leave to handle more important personal situations, and when they come back, the employer must either restore their position or give them a position that is equivalent to the one they had if their position had to be filled.
Of course, employees have strict obligations with this, too. They’re required to stay in touch and update the employer on the situation to maintain eligibility, and they have to have met FMLA requirements for time worked throughout the previous year.
4: The Legality of NDAs and When They’re Dismissible
Non-disclosure agreements are popular in several industries where they’re legal, and they do serve legitimate purposes. However, state labor laws determine whether they’re allowed, what situations allow employees to ignore them entirely, and more.
For example, in California, you should look up California labor law posters to educate yourself about relevant state law.
Lastly, it’s important that employees are aware of the limits of NDAs to prevent NDAs from being used maliciously or to cover up malicious behavior.
5: Standards for Contracts
The contracts employees enter into upon employment are also covered by labor laws, and it’s crucial that employees understand the standards that a contract has to meet.
Various requirements might vary from state to state, but in general, all contracts must include some crucial information.
That means, but isn’t limited to, their job title, job description, how much they’ll be paid, the benefits they can expect under specific conditions, clauses that might impact their employment or benefits, and termination provisions such as Employment-at-Will setups.
If a contract doesn’t meet the standards set by federal and state labor laws, it might not be one that employees have to abide by, or employees might be able to take action.
6: Termination Laws
Even in employment-at-will situations where employers or employees may end the relationship at any time, there are still strict termination guidelines that must be followed.
Alt Tag: A woman getting fired.
These include having a reason, not firing based on the various factors covered in discrimination acts, fulfilling severance obligations highlighted in employment contracts, and more.
If an employee is wrongfully terminated, they can take action to be compensated appropriately for the wages they’ve lost, and they might even be legally required to be reinstated to their former position.
Since being terminated is often a very impactful event for employees, it’s important that they not only know the regulations covering it, but also what they can do if those regulations are ignored.
However, it’s not entirely one-sided. Employees also have obligations that vary from state to state, and they must familiarize themselves with their obligations, as well.
In some cases, ending the relationship inappropriately might result in ineligibility for aid between jobs, or there might even be legal consequences in some states.
7: Retirement and Benefits Regulations
Finally, the last core bit of law we’re going to cover involves the rights employees have when it comes to their benefits.
Once employees meet certain standards, such as hours worked per week, working for the company for a certain number of years, and other things, companies are often required to offer benefits such as raises, health insurance, paid time off, vacation time, etc.
The way social security is taken from wages to prepare the employee for retirement is also outlined in labor law, and the employer must abide by all relevant regulations.
Ensure Your Employees Know Their Rights with Labor Law Posters
All of this information, as well as resources for employees to learn more in-depth information about each concept, can be found on labor law posters.
Not only is this information employees should know about labor law, but you’re legally required to post these notices in easily accessible areas where all employees will be exposed to them.
To get your labor law posters, visit Labor Law OSHA Posters today.