What Are My Rights As An Employee/Worker

The majority of Americans don't know about the US employment law. This is because they are very focused on to save their job by following each and every order by their employer where if they understand about their rights which have been given by US employment law to them, then they did not need to work extra without extra salary to keep their boss happy. Our today post is all about the employee rights under US employment law and how you can use them to get more relaxation at the workplace without breaching your responsibilities and rules set by your employer.

What is the US employment law:

The US employment law concern about the rights and responsibilities of workers and their employer. The purpose of setting this law is to provide a healthy and safe place to work where no discrimination exists on the basis of sex, health, color, religion, age, nation and designation etc. This law applies to ever American whether you are living in Florida, Texas, California or any other part of the states because it is not just a states law but law designed by the fedral government. Different states have different employees right further, but the rights which have been given by government states in America applies to everyone.

Now the definition and summary of employment law could be different from the official wording of the law but this is what its mean by employment law in the US.

List of employee rights in the US at the workplace:

Before you go read the list of employee rights, you must understand that as an American citizen, you have been awarded the basic rights by the bill of rights but some of these rights could be restricted at the workplace. For example, under the amendment of gun control law, you have right to bear and own weapon but it does not mean that you are coming to your regular workplace with a loaded gun. So, you must know about the restrictions set by your employer before you know about your basic and permanent employee rights at the worker in the United States of America.

1. The employee has all basic rights in the workplace:

Under the constitution of America, all workers have been given equal and same basic rights in the workplace. The basic rights include to provide you a place to work which is free from the discrimination on the basis of sex, age, gender, race, nationality, and designation. There should be fair compensation when the employer is deciding your salary and should pay as per minimum wage law. These rights also apply when you have been invited for the job interview.

2. The employee has rights to privacy in the workplace:

A right related to privacy at the workplace is still in question because not all states of America has right to privacy at the moment. This is because of the nature of the job. You could not have the right of privacy in all type of jobs. But all states has the right to privacy which is limited to provide you locker or a place to leave your important things during work. The important things could include your handbags, briefcases or private emails received at employer's address. Under privacy right, you have right to attend your personal phone and talk but this does not apply on email and your activity on the internet because you are using the internet connection of your employer which is not your property.

3. Employee rights related to the background check in US:

Asking for a background check at the internet is becoming very common in America due to increase rate in crime but as an employee or a candidate for the job, it is up to you to whether allowing your employer to conduct a background check for you or not. An employer can not conduct the background check without the written permission of their worker. If he did so, then you have right to sue your employer because he has breached the law of employment which does not allow him to conduct the background or criminal check without your permission.

4. Women rights and pregnancy discrimination in the workplace:

Any kind of discrimination including pregnancy discrimination comes under basic rights on the worker. But we have to mention this in a separate heading due to its importance. Under the discrimination law of US, an employer can not fire, promote, hire or limit the rights of their worker on the basis of their pregnancy status. Now, there are some jobs where pregnancy discrimination does exist due to the nature of the job but the employer has to tell about this in advance under job contract. For example, a woman surviving in the military has different pregnancy discrimination rights as compared to a woman doing 9 to 5 job in an office. But overall, the rule apply in the same way like other discrimination related issues.

5. Employee rights poster:

The above rights are those which are not very common and you must know about them especially in case if you are seeking an employee rights attorney or lawyer to sue to your employee who has fired you from the job on the basis of any discrimination or conduct a background check without your permission. But following is the list of those workplace rights which are very common and also known are poster rights in the workplace because they are usually mentioned somewhere in the workplace. These rights which have been mentioned of worker rights posters are:

• Employer need to provide a safe and healthy workplace to their workers
• Employer should provide a place free from harassment and discrimination
• The workers should be paid fair wages as per minimum wage law
• Employee has right to take 12-week leave for medical purpose
• Workers should have access to their employment agreements
• Employee can refuse to conduct background and criminal check
• Right to get public holidays and four weeks paid annual holidays
• Right to have take break during working hour for lunch and other necessities
• Workers has right to refuse work in case of overtime
• Workers have right for a trial period in case of legal issues.

Did we missed an important point which should be mentioned in this article? Share with us to help other to get informed about their rights.