Did you know that you could be entitled to back compensation up to $1 million for being unjustly fired from your job? Were you aware that you could be owed up to $300,000 for sexual harassment violations at work?
No matter what your race, age, or gender, everyone deserves to be treated equally in the workplace. To ensure you receive proper treatment at your job, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) devised workplace rules that every business must follow. While different U.S. states have slightly different regulations on things like minimum wage, basic workers’ rights are the same across the country.
Even though the United States affords more opportunities than other regions of the world, people still suffer from worker’s rights abuses on a daily basis. Whether it be sexual harassment or wage violations, such infractions can be detrimental to your mental health and productivity. In any case, discrimination on the job is also a direct threat to your livelihood.
If you aren’t sure whether you’ve had your employee rights violated, or you are simply curious about the topic, Casa de la Justicia put together this brief exploration.
What are Employee Rights?
Employee rights are benefits and safeguards set forth by state and federal law to protect workers. According to the EEOC website, all employees within the United States have the right “not [to] be harassed or discriminated against” for traits such as gender, age, race, religion, and nationality.
Beyond protecting your genetic and cultural differences, employment law also ensures that you are rewarded appropriately for your efforts on the job. Not only do they ensure that you “receive equal pay for equal work,” but certain states like California also regulate which people are entitled to medical benefits.
Employee rights also protect sensitive medical information for team members, as well as ensure that people have the right to unionize if they see fit.
Casa de la Justicia is here to help defend you against violations in the workplace! Call us at 1-800-840-4040.
1. Workplace Discrimination
Workplace discrimination is one of the most common violations of employee rights. Discrimination in the workplace occurs when you are treated differently than other employees because of age, gender, race, or religion. If you are experiencing disciplinary actions for things unrelated to your performance, you could be the victim of workplace discrimination.
2. Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is a widespread problem experienced by both men and women on the job. There are many forms of sexual harassment, but the most common types are physical advances and sexual language. In the worst cases, employers actually insinuate that sexual favors are a part of people’s jobs.
3. Wage Violations
Each U.S. state has its own wage laws by which businesses must abide. That being said, before taking a new job, it’s important to educate yourself on local wage laws for part-time, full-time, and contract jobs. To illustrate, the minimum wage in California is between $14 and $15 per hour. If you work in California and are getting paid less than minimum wage, you are likely entitled to payments on wage violations.
4. Unequal Treatment
Unequal treatment is an umbrella term that touches on many workplace issues, including both discrimination and sexual harassment. Unequal treatment can take on many forms on the job, including paying different salaries to different people for the same job. When infractions occur, employers use “protected characteristics” like race, age, religion, gender, nationality, and sexual orientation to justify paying one party less than another.
5. Employee Misclassification
Employee misclassification is a violation that has gained a good deal of attention with contractor jobs over the past few years. To this end, companies sometimes classify full-time employees as “contractors” so they don’t have to provide certain benefits like Worker’s Compensation Insurance. Especially in California, employee misclassification violations have grown quite common with popular contractor jobs as seen with Uber and Lyft.
What Can You Do if You’ve Experienced Workplace Violations?
The best thing that you can do if your employee rights have been violated is to contact a labor rights attorney. Working with an attorney like those at Casa de la Justicia will help you better understand your rights under employment law, while also advising you on the best course of action if you’ve experienced violations.
If you find that your rights have been violated, there are several courses of action that you can take with a labor rights attorney. For smaller infractions and misunderstandings, you might simply just want to talk to your boss about what happened. With more severe instances like sexual harassment, quitting your job might be necessary for your safety. The most serious cases of employee rights violations often warrant a lawsuit.
Talk to Casa de la Justicia About Employment Law
Employee rights violations happen every day in the United States. Contact Casa de la Justicia at 1-800-840-4040 to protect yourself and your livelihood.
