Be Informed.

In the United States, employees are protected in the workplace by a variety of local, state, and federal laws against discriminatory and fair, and unsafe, employment practices. If you are a Pennsylvania worker you should have at least a basic understanding of the employment law regulations that govern you and your workplace. 

Workers in the United States are fortunate enough to be protected by a number of state and federal laws that provide them with workplace rights and prohibit discriminatory and unfair employment practices. As you probably already know, most employers are required to pay most employees at least a minimum hourly wage in the U.S. You may, however, be unsure whether or not you are entitled to overtime wages.

According to the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor, many employees are guaranteed overtime in certain conditions by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). FLSA is a federal law applicable throughout the United States, including in Pennsylvania. PA also has its own rules on overtime. According to the FLSA, employees are entitled to overtime once they have worked at least 40 hours during the course of a standard work week. A workweek is defined as a "fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours — seven consecutive 24-hour periods."

An employment lawyer provides legal representation to individual workers, to groups of workers who form a class, and to employers.  There are many laws governing the relationship between employers and employees. When there is an accusation that these laws are broken, an attorney should become involved to represent the interests of those whose rights were violated.

The employer and employee relationship should be a rewarding one, but it is also fraught with potential problems.  There are many different regulations designed to ensure that employees are treated fairly.  You can make complaints to various government agencies and/or pursue a civil claim to recover damages if your employer violates any of these regulations.  Knowing when you have a legal claim can be complicated, so it is a good idea to speak with an attorney if you suspect something wrong.

Most employment in Pennsylvania and throughout the United States is at will. This means your employer can fire you any time he wants to, for any reason or for no reason at all.  As a result, you cannot always take legal action when you are let go.  There are, however, some rules regarding things an employer cannot fire you for. If you were let go for a reason which was in violation of public policy or in violation of worker protection laws, you should have a case against your employer.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act are all federal laws aimed at protecting workers. There are also state anti-discrimination laws applicable to businesses throughout PA.  These laws prohibit employers from discriminating in hiring, firing, and terms and conditions of employment based on protected status (which includes things like race, age, gender, religion, and national origin).

Harassment is prohibited by state law as well as by federal civil rights laws including Title VII of the Americans with Disabilities Act. There are different kinds of unlawful discrimination in the workplace and victims of discrimination can file claims based on sexual harassment, as well as based on harassment due to their religion, national origin, age, disability status, or other protected status. Sexual harassment cases generally originate under provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act which prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender.

Workers are protected from many different kinds of wrongful behavior in the workplace. For example, it is unlawful for an employer to overtly discriminate but it is also unlawful for an employer to engage in disparate impact discrimination. If a test or a job qualification affects a protected class (like a particular race or religion of people), this can be a form of unlawful discrimination that can lead to legal action. Likewise, if a hostile work environment is created by co-workers or peers, this can be considered an actionable violation of civil rights laws.

When an employee is an at will employee, this means that the employee works as long as the employee wants to, for as long as the company decides to keep him employed. A worker can quit at any time, and a company can fire the worker at any time and for any reason.  There does not have to be a specific stated reason for either an employee quitting a job or an employer terminating the worker.

Reasonable accommodation is required under two primary circumstances. As the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission explains: “Title I of the ADA requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities who are employees or applicants for employment, except when such accommodation would cause an undue hardship.”