Employee Rights

/Employee Rights

Age Discrimination: It Can Be Hard to Spot. Here Are the Signs

By | 2023-12-13T12:12:02-06:00 December 13th, 2023|Age Discrimination, Employee Rights|

You might not be ready to hang up your cape just yet, but the people around you might think differently. Age discrimination is becoming a more significant issue as new generations are flocking to jobs and making up a higher percentage of workers in certain industries. Whether intentional or not, age discrimination can happen to anyone over 40 and can blindside anyone who is affected by it. Age is the one protected category that crosses all others – race/religion/national origin/ sex/disability/ethnicity. Everyone ages, and as we age, the likelihood of age discrimination grows increasingly likely. Couple that with a disability and/or stereotypes for certain industries, and an employee can suddenly find themselves in unfamiliar territory of struggling to hang on [...]

Comments Off on Age Discrimination: It Can Be Hard to Spot. Here Are the Signs

Can Your Workplace Legally Stop You From Praying?

By | 2023-11-15T07:29:39-06:00 November 15th, 2023|Employee Rights|

Today’s workplace is filled with people of all different backgrounds, which can lead to a melting pot of religions. Thankfully, we live in the United States of America, and our constitution has encouraged us to be welcoming to this for over 200 years. Because not everybody was welcoming, we started enacting laws more than 50 years ago to protect people from racism and discrimination in their place of work. No matter the religion or absence thereof, the United States and Missouri have laws employers must abide by to ensure employees (and employers) feel safe and accommodated. As noted, however, because workplaces have to be safe and welcoming for ALL religions and even those without a professed religion, employers have the [...]

Comments Off on Can Your Workplace Legally Stop You From Praying?

Workplace Myths: You Can’t Talk About Your Pay

By | 2023-08-15T21:44:41-05:00 August 15th, 2023|Employee Rights, Work Environment|

Whether they started from workplace stigmas or controlling employers, many myths revolving around the workplace keep employees from being comfortable and open with their team members and managers. Today, we are going to focus on one of the most talked about myths within Missouri and the nation– Can you talk about your pay? The topic of pay continues to be a controversial one, but as we are more than halfway through 2023, things need to change. Employees are learning their worth and standing up for themselves now more than ever, and that should extend to the conversation of pay. False: It Is Completely Legal to Talk About Pay This myth is false. Employees are entirely within their rights to talk [...]

Comments Off on Workplace Myths: You Can’t Talk About Your Pay

Break, Lunch, and Personal Time Laws in Missouri

By | 2023-08-07T10:06:12-05:00 August 7th, 2023|Employee Rights, Work Environment|

As you take on a new job in Missouri, walk in prepared with knowledge of your rights as an employee. An essential part of our day is recharging throughout it, and we can only do that through breaks and lunch to eat, drink, and get some quick rest from our workload. Breaks are one of the most significant ways to get the best efficiency and productivity from our workers. The last thing any employer wants is burnt-out employees. But what is required through the state of Missouri? Understand your rights as an employee regarding your breaks, lunchtime, and personal time in Missouri. Understanding Missouri Break Laws It may come as a surprise, but Missouri has no legal mandate regarding breaks [...]

Comments Off on Break, Lunch, and Personal Time Laws in Missouri

Are Twitter/Elon Musk’s Rapid Changes Breaking Employment Law?

By | 2023-03-06T05:15:42-06:00 March 6th, 2023|Employee Rights|

On October 27th, 2022, Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion. He became the owner and CEO and immediately enacted changes with the hope of making the company more profitable. However, in order to make Twitter profitable, in the upcoming month, Musk made drastic changes and announced what it meant to work at the new Twitter. Musk laid off over half its workers, from high-up executives to contractors. With this massive and quick change, Twitter was immediately sued and is now questioned about breaking employment law. However, was what Elon Musk did to steer Twitter into a profitable new year really breaking employment law? As changes are still happening within the company, it is essential to understand what it means [...]

Comments Off on Are Twitter/Elon Musk’s Rapid Changes Breaking Employment Law?

Frequently asked questions about FMLA

By | 2023-01-24T12:44:20-06:00 February 10th, 2022|Employee Rights|

Signed into law in 1993 by President Bill Clinton, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave a year, and requires group health benefits to be maintained during the leave as if employees continued to work instead of taking leave. Employees are also entitled to return to their same or an equivalent job at the end of their FMLA leave. The FMLA also provides certain military family leave entitlements. Eligible employees may take FMLA leave for specified reasons related to certain military deployments of their family members. Additionally, they may take up to 26 weeks of FMLA leave in a single 12-month period to care for a covered service member with [...]

Comments Off on Frequently asked questions about FMLA

What is the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and how does it apply to you?

By | 2023-01-24T16:07:11-06:00 February 24th, 2021|Age Discrimination, Employee Rights|

In 1967, three years after Congress put in place the Civil Rights Act which prevented workplace discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, or sex, Congress passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The ADEA of 1967 protected individuals over the age of 40, and put them on an even playing field when it comes to being hired, getting fired, and being subject to promotions, benefits, layoffs and trainings. In addition to the ADEA, most states have now passed laws making age discrimination in employment illegal. However, under the Missouri Human Rights Act, the state law only protects those between the ages of 40 and 70 -- allowing for employers to discriminate against employees over the age of [...]

Comments Off on What is the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and how does it apply to you?

Have workplace laws changed because of the pandemic?

By | 2020-12-09T17:38:37-06:00 December 9th, 2020|Employee Rights, Work Environment|

The pandemic has brought about many shifts in our daily lives and it has affected people in different ways. While there is no doubt that Covid-19 has made a huge impact on the world, it has not changed the laws in place to protect workers at their jobs. Here are just some examples of how the law remains firm. Discrimination can be virtual While much of the workforce shifted their office to their homes at the beginning of the pandemic, many still remain working remotely. For those that are working out of the office, you are still protected from harassment or discrimination that takes place virtually. Inappropriate email chains, text messages, online chats, video calls, and phone calls can all [...]

Comments Off on Have workplace laws changed because of the pandemic?

4 rights that you have as an older worker during the pandemic

By | 2020-08-27T19:32:07-05:00 August 27th, 2020|Age Discrimination, Employee Rights|

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has made it clear that discrimination and harassment remain unlawful and the agency has worked to guide companies and workers to navigate their rights during the pandemic. While the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), among other health organizations, has stated that individuals over the age of 65 are at a higher risk of complications resulting from a Covid-19 infection, this does not cancel out any rights that older workers have at the workplace. Here are 4 rights that older employees should know about as they work through this international health crisis. You have the right to go to work You cannot be banned from the workplace due to your age or excluded from [...]

Comments Off on 4 rights that you have as an older worker during the pandemic