To uphold the rights of workers and protect them from discriminatory acts and unfair labor practices, the federal government enacted these five fundamental employment laws:
1. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
This law provides workers with basic rights including the right to have equal employment opportunity, the right to access federally-assisted programs and public education, and the right to use public facilities.
2. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)
This law prohibits employers and companies to commit wage discrimination based on gender.
According to this Act, a female and male worker who perform the same job, give the same effort and time, and have similar skills will have to receive the same amount of salaries.
3. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
According to this Act, no employer can discriminate a worker based on age, especially employees ages 40 and older who are vulnerable to illegal terminations.
4. The Americans with Disability Act of 1990
This law prohibits employers to discriminate any worker based on his physical or mental disability.
According to this law, employers should conduct a hiring process that will not screen out disabled workers and must not illegally terminate an employee with impairment.
5. The Civil Rights Act of 1991
This Act allows employment discrimination victims to recover damages caused by illegal termination, discrimination, retaliation, and harassment.
How to avoid employment litigation
Nowadays, many workers are well-aware of their employment rights and know the legal consequences when their employers commit discriminatory acts, unfair labor practices, and other unlawful workplace policies.
According lawyers, employers and company owners can avoid costly employment litigation by observing these following procedures:
• Make an employment manual which will state the company policies in termination and workers' expected behavior.
• Do not commit unlawful discrimination in all employment aspects such as hiring, work assignment, salaries and pays, fringe benefits, worker's leave, use of office facilities, promotion, and termination.
• Respect the privacy rights of employees. According to lawyers, there are laws that regulate employers on acquiring credit history and background information of their workers. Usually, employees have to give consent before their employers investigate some sensitive information and conduct drug and aptitude tests.
• When assigning workers in sensitive positions, employers should investigate the applicants' background before hiring them to avoid costly negligent hiring claims.
• Avoid promising job security and other benefits unless employers are willing to give these to workers.
• Do not hire undocumented immigrants as workers.
• When hiring minors, employers should only offer jobs which are safe and will not hinder with the workers' education.
• Follow the minimum wage. Usually, the federal minimum wage is either higher or lower than state law. If this is the case, employers should follow the one that will provide more benefits to workers.
• Employers should giver overtime pays to employees who work more than 40 hours a week.
• Employers should keep all employment records including the workers' names, pay rate, address, and other relevant information about them.
For your concerns regarding Employment Litigation, you can consult with our experienced employment attorneys. You can visit our website for legal consultation.
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น