If you’ve been working for a while, then you might have felt the very common imbalance in power that exists between employees and employers. When you have a bad boss, it can feel like there’s very much that you can do to advocate for yourself. But that’s not true. The rights of the workers are tools that can allow you to even the playing field and protect you from some of the most common forms of mistreatment and risk where you work. Here are some you should know about and how to protect them.
Your right to pay
Every employee is entitled to fair pay for honest work. What counts as fair pay can differ depending on the minimum wage laws as set by the state, and some occupations, such as working in restaurants and other hospitality settings can have lower minimum wages due to how tips contribute to them. However, if you have an agreed-upon rate, any step taken to reduce that pay without your knowledge, or withholding pay, even late pay, counts as a violation of this right. Talking to your employer about why you haven’t been paid yet is usually the best step, but legal action is there if you need it.
Your right to a healthy and safe work environment
The employer is supposed to guarantee that the work you do and the environment you work in will not cause any undue risk to your health. This is true regardless of whether you’re working in a factory, a construction site, driving on the road, or sitting in an office. Employees should be training their staff in health and safety and providing what equipment is needed to avoid risks. If they fail to do that and do not take responsibility, or help with worker’s compensation claims, you should get in touch with a personal injury lawyer to make sure that responsibility is correctly placed. Otherwise, you can end up paying for your own recovery yourself.
Your right to be free from discrimination
Workplace bias, discrimination, and forms of supremacist thinking and behavior can take root in any relationship, in any team, and in any workplace. Age, gender, race, and disability are all examples of protected characteristics that you cannot be discriminated against. This includes discrimination-based harassment in the workplace, as well as being held back from employment, training, promotion, and other opportunities or losing work because of these factors.
Your right to not be harassed
Discrimination is one of the most common forms of harassment in the workplace, but it is far from the only type. If you are facing harassment of any kind in your work, taking a record of any events that have happened, as well as internal inquiries you have made, like talking to your manager and HR, and what actions resulted from it can help you build a body of evidence that you can take to a lawyer if your employer fails to act satisfactorily.
Your worker’s rights are only as valuable if you’re willing to stand up for them. Know when yours are being broken and how to fight for them.
