What is employment law?

The federal floor

• FLSA — minimum wage, overtime at time and a half beyond 40 hours, child labour rules.
• Title VII, ADA, ADEA — discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, disability and age.
• FMLA — up to 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave at employers with 50 or more employees.
• OSHA — workplace safety and the right to report hazards without retaliation.
• NLRA — the right to act together over working conditions, which covers non-union workplaces too.

Employment at will, and its limits

In every state except Montana, employment is presumed at will: either side can end it at any time for any reason, or none. The exceptions are what most cases are about — dismissal for a protected characteristic, for taking protected leave, for reporting illegality or safety problems, for filing a workers' compensation claim, or in breach of an express contract or a policy that created one.

Deadlines

Discrimination claims start with an administrative charge — 180 days to the EEOC, or 300 where a state agency exists. Wage claims usually allow two or three years. Whistleblower statutes can be far shorter, some as little as 30 days. These deadlines end more claims than any defence does.

Practical first steps

Keep copies of your contract, handbook, pay records and performance reviews — obtained before a dispute, not after. Put complaints in writing, and keep them factual and dated. Read any severance agreement before signing: most contain a release of claims, and federal law gives workers over 40 at least 21 days to consider one and 7 days to revoke.