What is meant by employment law is one of the commonly asked questions, especially by employees, who are planning to file a lawsuit. Whether you are one of these employees or a regular citizen trying to learn more, this guide can be quite helpful for you.

In the following, you will find more about what is meant by employment law and other related topics that you need to know. To put it simply, employment law consists of various law sets and they ensure the protection of the rights of both employees and employers.

However, as you might guess, the details are a bit more complex than this description.

What Is Meant by Employment Law?

Well, let’s start with the question of what is meant by employment law. As we noted previously, it is a set of laws that ensure the protection of the rights of both employees and employers.

They are the reference rules and regulations that ensure the right and accurate practice of certain predetermined actions and events. It ensures that every employee is working under the same conditions without any wrongful termination or discrimination.

Moreover, it also covers equal wage topics, which ensures each employee working in the same position is paid equally without being subject to any biases or discrimination. However, you also need to know the definition of employment to discuss employment laws.

What Is Meant by Employment?

Before going into detail about what is meant by employment law questions, it will be better to clarify the employment concept. Believe it or not but most people believe they are employed while they are not officially or legally employed.

Employment can be stated as a person hired by another real person or entity to perform a predefined set of actions in exchange for regular income acquisition. Basically, the person sells his time and efforts in exchange for a predetermined balance.

Also, the employer must officially notify the government and pay relevant taxes so that the person hired can be legally considered an employee. This lets him or her be covered by employment law.

Common Terms Used in Employment Law

If you wonder what is meant by employment law, then you may want to learn more about some of the common terms used in these laws. Although it is not a must, knowing them can provide you with a better insight into the topic.

Hostile working environment: This refers to a working environment, in which the employee is harassed or discriminated against and not able to perform his or her duties.

Age discrimination: It refers to being exposed to discrimination because of the age of the person. In general, the upper limit is considered 40 years old.

Back pay: It is a kind of compensation paid to the employee when he or she is fired or his or her promotion denied illegally.

Common Lawsuit Topics in Employment Law

Well, if you wonder what is meant by employment law, then you might wonder about the common lawsuit topics in employment law as well. Keep in mind that the following topics are the most common ones in the United States.

Wrongful Termination: You can sue your employee for this reason when you are fired because of your characteristics such as your gender, religion, age, or race.

Wage & Hour: You can sue your employee for this reason when your employees pay you less than minimum wage or do not pay for your extra hours, which exceeds 40 hours per week.

Sexual Harassment: It refers to all kinds of inappropriate sexual behavior that takes place in the workplace or work-related areas without the consent of the person.

Major Employment Laws in the United States

Another consideration you may want to know if you wonder what is meant by employment law is the major employment laws. These laws constitute employment laws and each covers a different aspect.

They are all designed to protect the rights of employees as well as employers. Keep in mind that although employment law is a general term used country-wide, the minor laws making up the employment law may vary depending on your state.

Thus, it is always a good idea to work with a professional when you are going to file a lawsuit. Besides these written laws, there are also common laws that can change the course of the trial.

Safe Working Conditions Laws

The first topic, those who want to know more about what is meant by employment law, should not is all employees have the right to work in safe conditions. This law is also known as the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

OSHA protects all employees against all kinds of foreseeable hazards, which can lead to injury or death. Some of these hazards include sanitation conditions and problems, extreme noise, extreme temperatures, and chemicals.

If your employer cannot provide the required safety conditions, then you have the right to seek the protection of your rights under OSHA by filing a lawsuit.

Collective Bargaining Laws

Another important topic to know together with what is meant by employment law is the collective bargaining right of employees. Employees can gather and organize collective bargaining with their employers.

This right is covered by the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 and the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. However, the numbers and ratios matter a lot in this regard.

The employees gathered for collective bargaining must be equal to at least fifty percent of all workforce. Any negotiation must be carried out in a good faith by the company or employer as well. Also, all employees will benefit from the negotiations whether they join the collective bargaining or not.

Family and Medical Leave Laws

If you wonder what is meant by employment law because of paid medical leave, unfortunately, this is not possible in the United States. On the other hand, employers employing large numbers of employees must provide unpaid family leave for up to 12 weeks.

This is covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1963. Employees that are undergoing certain life events can use their rights to benefit from 12 weeks of unpaid leave and protect their jobs during this time.

Some of these events are the birth of their child or adoption. Moreover, employees can also use their medical leave for their health problems or to take care of their relatives.

Overtime Pay Laws

This is one of the most commonly practiced laws. Most of the time, people who wonder what is meant by employment law also look for the answer because of this. Any employee working overtime has the right to request overtime pay.

This is covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. According to this law, an employee can work for up to 40 hours per week. Any additional hour they are going to work after 40 hours must be rewarded with overtime pay per hour.

If the employee did not work for 40 hours during the weekdays, the employer cannot request the employee to overtime on weekends.

Minimum Wage Laws

Another important law that those who wonder what is meant by employment law should know is minimum wage laws. These laws vary from state to state and they set a minimum price for the efforts and time of employees to get paid for.

This law is covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 as well as the federal laws. Although states can increase the minimum wage, they cannot decrease it to a balance lower than stated in the federal laws.

This prevents employers to hire employees to work under a certain income threshold. As it keeps the competition fair, it also ensures the optimum living standard for many people.

Civil Rights Considerations

This can be one of the trickiest considerations that anyone wondering what is meant by employment law question must know. Employees believe that they have full privacy right as a part of their First Amendment rights.

Although employees have First Amendment rights, this right only covers their privacy in devices that are hundred percent belong to them. If the employee is using an employer-owned electronic device, then they waive all their privacy rights and claims.

In other words, your employer cannot intervene anything on your personal devices but have the right to intervene in everything going on on devices or platforms, on which he or she is the owner.

Should You Hire an Employment Lawyer?

If you are planning to sue your employer because he or she is violating your rights, you may be wondering what is meant by employment law. We have tried to cover all the aspects of this law in this guide.

We hope it will be helpful for you. However, keep in mind that reading these laws and practicing them are completely separate things. This is why, if you are planning to file a complaint or lawsuit, you need to consider working with professionals.

Besides these laws, common laws are also very important and they can easily change the outcome of your efforts. If you would like to work with a professional, all you need to do is type an employment lawyer near me to find professionals in your state.