What does employment law cover?
Labor law or employment law covers the relationship that employers have with their employees. Obviously the laws, whether they be at the federal, state, or local level, begin when the offer for employment is made to a prospective employee.
Employment law covers employee rights, such as minimum wage, overtime violations, medical leave issues, pregnancy leave manners, discrimination, harassment and wrongful terminations. In addition, the employee is ensured an environment that is not hazardous to the employee's health or safety.
Employment law regulates the entire process, from the initial hiring phase through the job duties, wages, promotions, benefits offered by the company, reviews and termination of the employment relationship. Employment law also covers any litigation on the basis of discrimination or unfair practices.
Often, an employee must look to a company manual issued to them, which contains company policy and procedures. Employers can draft such a manual to specifically explain all the employees’ rights, duties and obligations as well as resignation and termination procedures and policies.
If you feel that your rights as an employee or employer have been violated, the best thing to do is to contact an employment lawyer to determine whether you have a case that is worthy of pursuit.
It is important to remember that any Human Resource department at your company will have the job of protecting the employer. They are not necessarily advocates for the employees. Their job is to try and ensure that the company complies with the law and they want to ensure that the company minimizes any losses as a result of violations of law.
What does employment law say about “at will” employment versus “for cause” employment?
An “at will” employment situation means that your employer can terminate or fire you at a moment’s notice for any reason, whether you feel its justified or not. Unless the termination violates some law, whether it is federal, state or even company policy, then really, there’s nothing that this employee can do. Almost every single one of the over 600 cases that our firm has handled for employees dealt with "at will" employees who sued their employer for wrongful termination, so the phrase "at will" does not mean much when the company violates a labor law.
A “for cause” employee is generally protected a little further under the employment laws. This means that the employer cannot fire an employee without a legitimate and documented reason. Labor unions often protect against situations where employees are fired or terminated at will and often government employees are also protected against such practice.
The employment contract should state clearly that an employee is an “at will” employee if this is the status the employee is being hired for. If you feel that you have been terminated for unjust cause in this type of situation, an employment lawyer, familiar with the employment laws in your area, will be able to assist you in making this determination.
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