What Is Employment

Law?

Employment law is the section of

laws that govern the relationship
between an employee and their
employer, including the rights
and responsibilities of both
parties. It helps to ensure that a
workplace is safe and
appropriate to work in, govern
the hours that an employee can
work and determine the wages
that an employee can receive.
Included in employment law are
many regulations from all levels
of government. Due to how
extensive employment law is, it's
often divided into different areas,
such as workplace safety,
wages, benefits, family and
medical leave, unemployment
and workplace conduct.

Why is knowing
about
employment law
important?
Employment law is designed to
ensure that all parties in a
business get treated fairly and
ethically, which can help to keep
a business running efficiently. If
both an employer and employee
understand what their rights and
obligations are, they can be more
prepared in certain situations,
such as in a case of salary
misclassification. Employment
law can also help to prevent work
disruptions between employees
and management by setting
standards to govern the
workplace. Employment law can
mitigate issues that may arise in
the workplace. For example, Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
prohibits discrimination.

Key terms related to

employment law
Most businesses have some type
of employment law they follow.
There is a wide range of subject
areas related to employment law,
and each often has its own set of
standards and associated terms.
Here are some aspects of
employment law and the key
terms that relate to them:

Employment
discrimination
Discrimination in the workplace
occurs when a member of a
protected class experiences
different treatment than their
peers. While discrimination can
take many forms, it's prohibited
by law. Here are a few terms
associated with employment law
regarding discrimination:
Ÿ Title VII: Title VII prohibits
employment discrimination
based on characteristics such as
race, color, religion, sex or
national origin.

Ÿ Age Discrimination in
Employment Act: This law
prevents employers from
discriminating on the basis of
age.

Ÿ The Equal Pay Act: This law

protects men and women from
wage and benefit discrimination
based on gender.

Ÿ Americans with Disabilities Act

(ADA): This law prohibits
discrimination based on
disabilities, requiring employers
to provide reasonable
accommodations for employees
with disabilities.
Ÿ The Pregnancy Discrimination
Act: This act amended Title VII to
prohibit employers from
discriminating due to pregnancy
or a condition related to
pregnancy or childbirth.

Ÿ Genetic Information
Nondiscrimination Act
(GINA): This act prohibits
discrimination on the basis of
genetic information.

Wages and benefits

In addition to paying employees
hourly wages or annual salaries,
many employers offer their
employees access to benefits
such as health and dental
insurance, paid time off and
retirement plans. Employment
law covers most aspects of an
employee's compensation and
benefits. Here are a few key
terms associated with this
section
 of employment law:

Ÿ Fair Labor Standards Act

(FLSA): This act sets the
standard for minimum hourly
wages, establishes overtime pay
and defines what can be
considered work.

Ÿ Minimum wage: The minimum

wage represents the lowest
amount that an employer can
pay their employees and often
varies, depending on the area.

Ÿ Overtime compensation: This
represents the amount that the
government requires an
employer to pay an employee for
 working over 40 hours a week,
typically at a higher rate of pay
than their regular rate.

Ÿ Wage garnishment: This occurs

when
 an employer withholds part of an
employee's earnings to pay off a
creditor.

Ÿ Consolidated Omnibus Budget

Reconciliation Act
(COBRA): This law allows
employees and their families to
continue to access their group
health benefits at the same rate,
even after leaving their job.

Ÿ Employee Retirement Income

Security Act (ERISA): This law
governs how companies
administer healthcare benefits
and pension plans, requiring
employers to manage plans
according to a certain set of
 standards.

Ÿ Tuition reimbursement: In some

situations, employers may offer
to pay all or part of an
employee's tuition for
 training as a condition of the
position.

Ÿ Stock options: With stock

options, employees can
purchase stock in their company.

Ÿ Cafeteria plan: With this type of

benefits plan, employees can
select certain benefits from a list
up to a specified .

Health and safety

All employees have the right to a
safe workplace free of certain
hazards. Under employment law,
the government can hold
employers responsible for
medical costs if an employee
becomes injured on the job. Here
are a few key terms associated
with employment law regarding
the health and safety of a
workplace:
Ÿ Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA): OSHA is
the regulatory agency that's
responsible for creating health
and workplace safety standards,
in addition to enforcing those
standards.

Ÿ Occupational Safety and Health

Act: This act helps to minimize
dangers in the workplace by
establishing certain standards,
including provisions for specific
industries, such as the
construction industry.

Ÿ Occupational disease: This is
any illness that's associated with
 a particular work environment.

Ÿ Environmental
hazard: Environmental hazards
in the workplace include any
 substance that can adversely
affect an individual's health or the
surrounding environment.

Ÿ Emergency Action Plan: This is a

plan that's put into place during
certain emergencies, typically
due to the risk involved in certain
work sites.

Additional aspects of
employment law
Besides health and safety,
wages and benefits and
discrimination, employment law
also often focuses on labor
relations, unemployment
compensation, family and
medical leave, employee
contracts, immigration and even
the hiring process. Certain
industries may have additional
considerations for some aspects
of
 employment law. Here are a few
additional terms relating to
employment law:

Ÿ At-will employment: With this

form of employment, both the
employer and employee aren't
under a contractual agreement
and either can leave the
relationship at any time and for
any reason.

Ÿ Wrongful termination: A wrongful

termination occurs when an
employee has their employment
illegally terminated by the
employer.

Ÿ Noncompetition agreement: This
is an agreement in which an
employee makes a promise to an
employer that they won't work for
a competing employer, typically
for a certain amount of time.
Ÿ Unemployment: This is a
financial benefit paid to an
individual who no longer has a
job, typically comprising a certain
percentage of their former
earnings.

Ÿ Whistleblower: Whistleblowers
are individuals who gain access
to certain legal protections after
they report their employers to the
authorities for illegal actions.