7 Important Employment Laws You Need To Know About

1. Paying Overtime To Nonexempt Employees

(Check Pay Stubs Are Correct)

Not only does the Fair Labor Standards Act ensure American employees receive a fixed minimum wage. It also legally makes sure that nonexempt employees receive time-and-a-half pay for any overtime they do above a standard forty-hour week. Employers must pay the correct overtime. Therefore, employers must check non-exempt employees’ pay stubs are correct for the number of hours worked each week and the pay received for that work. If an employee does overtime and does not get paid for it, the employer is sure to have a disgruntled worker on their hands. Thankfully, it is easy to always make sure hours are recorded correctly and the right amount of money is paid by using a pay stub maker. It is quick and simple to use an online service for generating pay stubs that include information like taxes paid in addition to salary information and overtime paid.

2. Workplace Discrimination Laws

 Discrimination in the workplace should not be tolerated, so employers and employees have welcomed numerous laws over the years that help to create an anti-discrimination environment. Equal Employment Opportunity laws protect workers against discrimination based on things like gender, race, national origin, disability, religion, and age. Other laws that help to prevent discrimination at work include those under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Equal Pay Act, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.

3. Health Coverage

 Since the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, all employers in the United States that have fifty or more full-time workers, which is classified as employees who work thirty or more hours per week, must offer a minimal level of health insurance. If the employers do not, they can face substantial penalties.

4. Workplace Safety

 Working conditions have been much safer since the Occupational Safety and Health Act was introduced in 1970. All employers must comply with the rules outlined in the act. The regulation is overseen by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. There are also compensation laws for employees who are injured while at work.

5. Immigration Laws

 The Immigration and Nationality Act and other immigration-related laws make sure employers only hire workers who are eligible to work in the United States. That includes citizens, lawful permanent residents, non-citizen nationals, and aliens who are authorised to work in the country. Employers should be aware of precisely who does and does not qualify for work positions.

6. Family Leave

 Since 1993, when the Family and Medical Leave Act was passed, any employee who decides to stay home after their child’s birth or adoption, or needs to take time off because of a serious illness in the family, is eligible to take up to twelve weeks unpaid leave. As long as the worker’s reasons are legitimate, employers must grant him or her that time off. However, the employee must have worked for the company for at least one year and worked a minimum of 1,250 hours. Furthermore, the legal obligation only applies to businesses that employ fifty or more workers within a seventy-five-mile radius.

7. The Right to Strike

 Employers should be aware that their workers have the right to strike. The Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932, which was passed at a time when workers basically had no rights, protects employees’ rights to strike, peacefully picket, and organise a union. Before 1932, workers who did strike could be fined and jailed without trial.