Post by The Great Aztec Joe on Aug 21, 2010 6:25:32 GMT -8
America's Labor Laws-And It's Going To Get MUCH Worse
The Democrats are responsible for most of the positive social legislation in this country and for the employment protective legislation as well. In that regard, our GREATEST president was Lyndon Johnson. If you look at the fifty states in aggregate, there are really very few benefits outside of the few government mandated ones for employees.
Here's some details of the rampant unfairness in the American system:
1) Nope, your employer is NOT required to give you any notice, or any severance pay. Some do provide severance, but that is purely at their discretion and often accompanied with "sign or you don't get your money" waivers of corporate liability for your termination. So if you suspect you've been fired for an illegal reason, too bad, if you want to make your rent and car payments you'd better sign on the dotted line.
2) Employers in the U.S. are not required to provide ANY paid time off. No paid sick days, no paid vacation time, no paid maternity leave, no paid federal holidays. Many employers, even most, provide one or more of these things as a courtesy, but the number of employers offering none of them is rising as the unemployment rate rises and people become willing to take any job at all, even one that views its employees as chattel who don't deserve a paid day off once in a while.
3) Do you work for a company with fewer than 15 employees? Your company is allowed (in most states) to discriminate against employees on the basis of race, sex, national origin, pregnancy, etc. Title VII of the civil rights act, which prohibits such discrimination, exempts private businesses with fewer than 15 employees. In other words, if you employ only 14 total people, you can simply say "only white people allowed." By the way, that 15 number doesn't include independent contractors or partners, so you can have a fairly large employer that is still allowed to discriminate as long as most of the people working there are independent contractors. What's more, no one's agitating to change this.
4) If you receive tips as part of your normal employment, your direct wage is generally $2.13 per hour. Yes, $2.13 an hour. Hope your tips are real nice.
5) Many, MANY jobs are not required to pay any overtime wage regardless of how many hours you work. This doesn't just apply to executives and managers and creative types. Projectionists, carnies, cab drivers, and a host of other occupations are also exempted and require no overtime wage whatsoever.
6) Youth under age 20 in their first 90 days of employment are allowed to make $4.25 an hour.
7) Only 21 of 50 states require ANY meal or rest break time for adult employees (including both paid and unpaid breaks). Four more require breaks for minors but not adults. There is also no federal restriction on how long employers may keep employees at work or how many hours an employer can require of an employee per week. In other words, while most employers do not do this, it is 100% legal in many states to employ someone for a 16 hour shift with no breaks allowed.
