Employment law covers a wide range of issues that affect employees and employers. It includes everything from equal pay laws to workplace safety regulations and anti-discrimination rules. It also sets out worker rights relating to maternity, paternity, and family leave as well as workplace rights relating to rest breaks and working time. In the UK, there have been significant changes to employment law in recent years, including increased maternity and paternity leave, a national minimum wage, rights to paid annual leave, and protection from discrimination on the grounds of age, religion or belief, sex, gender, and sexual orientation.
Labor laws set minimum wage and overtime standards, establish child labor standards, protect workers who have been injured on the job, and establish retaliation provisions. They also regulate worker pensions and benefits, layoff procedures, employee performance review processes, and employee polygraph testing. These laws are designed to ensure fair treatment of all employees and provide a level playing field for all business entities.
In the United States, employment laws are overseen by overarching federal laws as well as state-level guidelines, which can vary from one region to the next. New York, for example, has a number of progressive laws that protect workers from discrimination and safeguard their wages, working conditions, and more.
If a company violates an employment-related law, it could face fines or even criminal charges. The laws also help both businesses and employees function as efficiently as possible. Employees who feel they have their basic rights protected perform better on the job, while employers can work without having to worry about employees filing lawsuits if they are not treated fairly.
Most of the major employment-related laws are enacted to protect workers from discrimination in the workplace. They can be as broad as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or as specific as the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. The Equal Pay Act makes it unlawful to pay men and women different wages for performing the same work, while the Family Medical Leave Act allows employees to take time off from their jobs to care for a sick relative.
If you are considering taking legal action against your employer, it is important to consult with a qualified employment law attorney immediately. There are statutes of limitations in place for most employment-related lawsuits, and these may expire if you fail to file within the allotted period of time. Our attorneys have years of experience representing clients in a variety of employment-related lawsuits, and they can help you determine the best course of action for your situation.