Here are the laws that govern the workplace

 
 

Workers who believe they were treated illegally or unfairly on the job often have questions.

What laws address their complaint? What government agency has regulatory oversight? Is their employer covered by the law?

Here’s a synopsis of some relevant statutes:

 

  • The Fair Labor Standards Act (www.dol.gov/esa/whd/flsa/) sets minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor standards affecting full-time and part-time nonexempt workers, as defined by the regulations.

    Complaints are filed with and investigated by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (www.dol.gov/esa/whd/).

    Complaints should be filed within 18 months of the perceived violation to allow Wage and Hour to complete investigations before the two-year statute of limitations to collect back wage claims expires (the limit is three years for "willful" violations.

     

  • Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act (www.dol.gov/oasam/regs/statutes/2000e-16.htm) prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender, color, national origin, religion and retaliation.

    Complaints about Title VII violations are filed with and investigated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (www.eeoc.gov/). Employers with 15 or more employees are covered by the act.

     

  • The U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act (www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm) prohibits discrimination against individuals who qualify as having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

    The EEOC (www.eeoc.gov/) enforces the ADA. It applies to employers that have 15 or more employees.

     

  • The U.S. Age Discrimination in Employment Act (www.eeoc.gov/types/age.html) prohibits discriminating against individuals who are age 40 or older with respect to compensation, terms or conditions of employment, or privileges.

    The EEOC enforces the ADEA, which applies to employers that have 20 or more employees.

     

  • The U.S. Pregnancy Discrimination Act (www.eeoc.gov/types/pregnancy.html) prohibits employment discrimination based on pregnancy.

    This also is an EEOC responsibility. The act applies to employers with 15 or more employees.

     

  • The U.S. Family and Medical Leave Act (www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/) allows up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job- and benefits-protected leave for the birth, adoption or fostering of a child, for the care of a qualified “serious health condition” of the employee or of the employee’s parent, spouse or child.

     

    The U.S. Department of Labor (http://www.dol.gov/) administers the FMLA. It applies to employers with 50 or more employees. Eligible employees must have worked for 12 months or 1,250 hours to be eligible for FMLA leave and must meet the “serious health condition” definition which, given individual circumstances, may be complicated and open to interpretation.

     

  • The U.S. Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (www.osc.gov/userra.htm) provides job and benefits protections for employees who serve active duty in the military.

    The U.S. Labor Department administers USERRA, which applies to all employers that have as few as one employee.

     

  • The National Labor Relations Act (www.nlrb.gov/nlrb/legal/manuals/rules/act.asp) governs relations between unions and employers in the private sector, giving nonsupervisory employees the right to organize and to bargain collectively with their employers.

     

  • The National Labor Relations Board (www.nlrb.gov/nlrb/home/default.asp), a federal agency, investigates complaints, with some decisions adjudicated by a five-member board appointed by the President.

    • With the exception of USERRA and FMLA, all of the above acts have deadlines to file complaints with the appropriate agencies. Generally, complaints must be filed within 180 days, but, in some cases, the deadlines may be extended to 300 days.

    FMLA-related lawsuits must be filed within two years of the violation, or up to three years if the violation was deemed “willful.”