Workers' Rights
Federal and state protections for employees covering wages, safety, discrimination, and more.
Overtime Pay
If you work more than 40 hours in a week, your employer must pay you at least 1.5 times your regular hourly rate for every extra hour. This is federal law under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).Thi...
Minimum Wage
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Your employer must pay you at least this amount for every hour you work. Many states and cities have higher minimum wages — you're entitled to whichever is...
Workplace Safety (OSHA)
You have the right to a safe workplace. Your employer must provide working conditions free of known dangers — toxic chemicals, unguarded machines, excessive heat, fall hazards, and more.The Occupation...
Workplace Discrimination
Federal law prohibits your employer from treating you differently because of your race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40+), disability, or genetic information. This protection covers hir...
Wrongful Termination
Most U.S. workers are employed "at-will," meaning an employer can fire you for almost any reason — or no reason at all. But there are important exceptions. You cannot be legally fired for a discrimina...
Family and Medical Leave (FMLA)
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) gives eligible employees the right to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for qualifying reasons — including a serious health condition,...
Whistleblower Protections
If you report illegal activity, safety violations, fraud, or other wrongdoing at your workplace, federal law protects you from retaliation. Your employer cannot fire, demote, harass, or otherwise puni...
Workplace Harassment
Federal law prohibits harassment at work based on race, color, religion, sex (including sexual harassment), national origin, age, disability, or genetic information. Harassment becomes illegal when it...
Equal Pay Rights
Federal law requires that men and women performing substantially equal work at the same employer receive equal pay. You cannot be paid less than a colleague of the opposite sex who does the same job u...
Workers' Compensation
If you are injured on the job or develop an illness because of your work, you are generally entitled to workers' compensation benefits — regardless of who was at fault. Workers' comp covers your medic...
Right to Organize and Union Rights
Federal law gives most private-sector employees the right to form or join a union, organize coworkers, and engage in collective bargaining with their employer. Your employer cannot fire, discipline, o...
Unemployment Insurance
If you lose your job through no fault of your own, you are generally entitled to unemployment insurance (UI) benefits — weekly payments to help replace a portion of your wages while you look for new w...
Meal and Rest Break Rights
Federal law (the FLSA) does not require employers to provide meal or rest breaks — but it does regulate when breaks must be paid. Short breaks (20 minutes or less) must be counted as paid work time. L...
Retaliation Protections
It is illegal for your employer to punish you for exercising a legal right or reporting a violation of law. Retaliation can take many forms — termination, demotion, pay cuts, schedule changes, negativ...
At-Will Employment and Its Limits
Most U.S. employees are employed "at-will" — meaning either you or your employer can end the employment relationship at any time, for any reason, with no notice required. This sounds harsh, but at-wil...