Employee Rights & Responsibilities
- All employees have a right to be treated fairly. Federal discrimination laws forbid employee discrimination based on gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, race, and disability. Laws such as the Equal Pay Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibit discriminatory selection and employment practices within the United States. These laws provide employees not only with the right to be treated equally and fairly, they grant employees the right to legal action without fear of workplace retaliation.
- Workplace retaliation involves punishing an employee after the employee has engaged in "legally protected activity." This activity may involve providing derogatory information to legal authorities or assisting officials in investigations that involve your place of employment. When these activities result in "punishing" activities, workplace retaliation has occurred. Retaliation can include demotions, loss of pay, change of work shift, termination, discipline, and other actions. Federal laws prohibit workplace retaliation and entitle employees to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission when they suspect that they have suffered workplace retaliation.
- Employees that have been with their employer for at least 12 months, have worked at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months, and whose employer has at least 50 employees are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave under certain situations. The Family and Medical Leave Act protects an employee's job when she takes an authorized leave of absence. Authorized absences include those that are initiated due to an employee's (or spouse's) pregnancy and child birth, adoption and foster care, serious health conditions that prevent the employee from performing his job, and to care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition. Although an employee may be entitled to the absence, she must follow her employer's notification and application process to qualify. She may be required to provide supporting documentation for approval.
- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety & Health Administration requires that all employers meet or exceed the minimum safety requirements that it has set forth for its industry. Employees are required to adhere to all lawful employer-issued safety and health rules, regulations, and guidelines. It is the employee's responsibility to report hazardous conditions and job-related injuries and illnesses in a timely fashion, and seek applicable treatment immediately.
- Employees have the right to continue health insurance coverage when they leave their employer, whether voluntarily or otherwise. Under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), employees are allowed to maintain their health insurance coverage as long as they pay for the cost of the coverage. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, employees may be able to qualify for subsidized COBRA coverage which, upon approval, pays 65 percent of the insurance cost.