About Labor Laws

You might be surprised to learn that there are virtually no U.S. labor laws (also called employment laws) that specifically mandate how your employer must treat you as a human being. For example, there are no "anti-jerk" labor laws per se, that'll keep a bad boss from making your life miserable. After all, we live in a democracy in which government regulation is discouraged, employment is at will, and even jerky bosses are entitled to their rights and freedoms.

Beyond overtime and equal pay rules, and a mere pittance in minimum wage, there are no labor laws that dictate how much your employer must pay you either. Additionally, most benefits are not mandated by labor laws, including severance, sick-leave and vacation pay. Your employer can even spy on you without your knowledge, make you drop your drawers for drug testing just because, unfairly terminate your employment, and more. So, what you might personally consider a "raw deal" on the job may not be illegal for your employer, regardless of how much it breaches your sense of fair play.

The good news is, there are a handful of labor laws that do generally protect U.S. workers. It's probably fair to say that most employers adhere to these basic laws, because they'd be darned foolish not to if they want to stay out of court. But, that's typically at the HR and legal-department levels, where the employees are properly trained in such matters. Companies are also made up of other employees, who might never have heard of labor laws or fully understand their significance. That's one way problems occur, especially if HR and legal departments don't bother to properly train those in control, like jerky bosses. Another way problems occur is that, for obvious legal reasons, HR and legal departments are unlikely to openly admit that employee complaints and accusations have merit, and the company is liable. Worse, they might even protect the perpetrators more than the victims.

So, if you think you are getting a raw deal, just shoving the appropriate labor law—if there even is one—under your employer's nose might not get you anywhere. You might have to prove in court or through arbitration that it's a raw deal, but more importantly, that your employer violated your rights by breaking a specific labor law.

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