You DO have the right to not be discriminated against based on race, age, sex, national origin, disability, pregnancy, religion, genetic information, color, objecting to discrimination, or association with a person in one of these categories.
You DO have the right to not be discriminated against based on race, age, sex, national origin, disability, pregnancy, religion, genetic information, color, objecting to discrimination, or association with a person in one of these categories. But this right only applies if your employer is large enough. In most cases, your employer has to have at least 15 employees (for age, 20 employees). However, some states and local governments protect employees of smaller employers.
You DON’T have the right to be of discrimination against you for being you. There are no protections for personality conflicts, weight, appearance, political beliefs (except if you work for government), non-religious beliefs, and other non-protected categories.
You MIGHT have the right to be free of discrimination based upon sexual orientation, marital status, or other categories if your state or local government provide additional protections.
You DO have the right not to be harassed due to your race, age, sex, national origin, disability, pregnancy, religion, genetic information, color, objecting to discrimination, or association with a person in one of these categories, if your employer is big enough (see above).
You DO have the right not to be harassed if you’re a covered whistleblower, took covered Family and Medical Leave, made a worker’s compensation claim, or took some other legally protected action.
You DON’T have the right to be free of a hostile work environment that isn’t based on one of the above categories.
You DON’T have the right to be free of bullying or general harassment in the workplace.
If you complain about harassment, you DON’T have the right to be free of retaliation unless what you complained about was legally-protected harassment in one of the categories above.
You DO have the right to be paid if you work through your lunch break or if your breaks last less than 20 minutes. This only applies if you are not exempt from the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
You DON’T have any federally-protected right to any rest or meal breaks. A few states do have some rest and meal break requirements, and the links are below. This is one of the most common misconceptions.
You PROBABLY have the right to take reasonable bathroom breaks. OSHA covers workplace safety and has requirements that restroom facilities be available. There’s no specific OSHA regulation about bathroom breaks, but if your employer won’t allow them, you might report them to OSHA.
· Right to Work
If you live in a “right to work” state, you probably think you have rights you don’t. Be careful about this.
If your state is “right to work” that means you DO have the right to work in most industries without joining a union.
You DON’T necessarily have the right to work for a competitor. If you’re being asked to sign a noncompete agreement, get legal advice from a lawyer in your state. Don’t believe anyone other than a lawyer who practices employment law in your state who claims you can go ahead and sign because they won’t be enforced. Right to work simply has no effect on noncompete agreements.
You DON’T have the right to be fired only for good cause. Most states are at-will, meaning you can be fired for any reason or no reason at all unless you have a contract saying otherwise.
You DO have the right to get a description of your health insurance, pension, and other benefit plans.
You DO have the right to enforce the duty of the people managing your benefit plans to administer them without fraud, self-dealing or kickbacks.
You DON’T have the right to any specific benefits from your employer. Your employer doesn’t have to provide health insurance, vacation pay, sick pay, severance pay, pension or other benefits unless they have an existing plan.
You DON’T have the right to keep your insurance if the company cancels the health insurance plan.
You DO have the right to understand contracts you’re being asked to sign before you sign. If you don’t understand, get advice from a lawyer before you sign.
In some states, you DON’T have the right to refuse to sign a contract. Some states allow an employer to require you to sign away your rights to work for a competitor, get a trial if you’re a discrimination victim, or get a jury trial, and they are allowed to fire you if you refuse.
You DON’T have the right to a jury trial, to try your case in court instead of arbitration, to work for a competitor, or to bring claims against your employer if you’ve signed away your rights, so make sure you understand wha