www.loeab.com<\/a> to find an attorney.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHere are the employee protection laws you should know:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Minimum Wage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
You need to check your state’s minimum wage amount and ensure that you get paid at least this amount. When you get hired, you can negotiate your wage with your employer. However, you must make sure that they offer you at least the minimum wage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If they state that they will pay you a lower amount, you should remind them what the minimum wage is in your state. If they state that they cannot pay you this amount, then you should look elsewhere for employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Healthcare Coverage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Since 2010, the Affordable Care Act has required mid-size and large companies to provide healthcare coverage for their employees. You want to make sure that you get your healthcare coverage if you are entitled to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You get healthcare coverage if your company has at least 50 full-time employees. To be considered full-time, you must work an average of at least 30 hours per week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are more rules than this that determine if a company must provide healthcare coverage. Make sure you research if your company falls into this category before confronting your employer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Unemployment Benefits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you have been applying for jobs for sometime and not finding anything, you might qualify for unemployment benefits. The benefits and eligibility vary from each state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, as a general rule there are certain federal guidelines to meet in order to be compensated with unemployment benefits. For example, were you unemployed for reasons that you couldn’t control? If you were fired or laid off, these are reasons beyond your control – as opposed to voluntary quitting your job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a general rule, you might be entitled to compensation for up to 26 weeks. In times of economic turmoil, this period might be extended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Whistleblower Protection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A whistleblower is someone who anonymously reports their employer for violating the law. As an employee, you are entitled to legal protection if you ever “blow the whistle” on your employer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many employees keep their mouths shut when they see an illegal or unethical practice because they fear reprisal or losing their job. OSHA has a Whistleblower Protection Program that protects whistleblowers from harsh ramifications if they report a violation of the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Family Leave<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you want to take time off from work to be with your family, you worry about losing your job or not being paid. However, since 1993 the U.S. has had the Family and Medical Leave Act that protects against this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An eligible employee can leave work for up to 12 weeks and still receive their compensation. Eligibilty is determined by such factors such as the birth of a child or a serious family illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This only works if the company has at least 50 employees. In order for you to be eligible, you also have to have worked with the company for at least 12 months and for at least 1,250 hours within the 12-month period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. Discrimination<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects against discrimination based on race, sex, religion, national origin, or skin color. If you find that you are being discriminated against based on any of these factors, you can use the Civil Rights Act as a form of protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you don’t get hired because of any of the aforementioned factors, this is a form of discrimination. The same goes if you get fired because of any of these factors. It can also extend to not receiving a promotion, not receiving a raise, or are being harassed at work due to any of these factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What to Do<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
So what do you do if you face any sort of violation of your employee rights? The first thing to do is to properly research employee protection laws. You want to make sure that you understand the law properly before you confront or make an accusation of a violation of your laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The best solution is to try to settle these matters on your own. For example, if you feel you are being passed up for a promotion because of any factor mentioned in the Civil Rights Act you want to speak to your employer first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You need to ensure that if you don’t receive the promotion it is because of discrimination. If it is, and your employer isn’t willing to budge, then the next step is to seek legal counsel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When it comes to minimum wage laws for example, you might not have eligibility for the minimum wage if you work in certain professions such as on a small family farm or if you work as an independent contractor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When researching the credibility of a company you apply for, you must research if they have violated any employee protection laws in the past. Familiarize yourself with the laws and acts we discussed in this guide so that you understand them before filing a case or seeking legal counsel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Know Your Rights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Now that you know the employee protection laws, you know your rights and can ensure they aren’t violated. Be sure to share this article with others so that they are also educated on their rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read more great content on business, entrepreneurship, and laws on our website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When working for an employer, you want to make sure that you aren’t exploited. As an employee, you have several rights. These rights receive protection under employee protection laws. But what are these laws? Unfortunately, many employees across a variety of industries get exploited and aren’t provided with their guaranteed and legally protected rights. We’ve prepared this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,17],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7736"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7736"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7736\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7739,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7736\/revisions\/7739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}