In this video, we'll mostly be talking about US employment laws. Most nations have similar laws and the United Nations has also passed several resolutions on worker rights. So even if you don't live in the US, we think you'll find the information relevant and encourage you to research similar laws in your own country. In the US, Equal Employment Opportunity or EEO is the idea that everyone should be treated fairly when it comes to employment. That means decisions like hiring, promotion, termination and compensation. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces federal laws regarding discrimination or harassment against the job applicant or employee in the United States. These laws make it illegal to discriminate against someone because of their race, color, religion, sex, including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy, national origin, age 40 or older, disability or genetic information. Affirmative action policies support members of groups who have been previously discriminated against in areas like education, employment, and housing. The goal of these policies is to ensure nondiscriminatory treatment of all protected groups and give equal opportunities to all individuals with equal or comparable abilities. In the United States, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or the ADA prohibits discrimination in all employment practices against individuals with disabilities. The ADA defines an individual with a disability as a person with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, or has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairement. It applies to all employment related activities. If a person with a disability meets the requirements of a job and can perform the essential functions with a reasonable accommodation, the ADA says they should be accepted as candidates for employment. A reasonable accommodation is assistance or changes to a position or workplace that will enable an employee to do their job despite having a disability. Some examples of reasonable accommodations are building ramps, installing automatic doors, job reconstructing and modifying equipment. Employees are required to provide reasonable accommodations unless doing so would pose an undue hardship on your business. The Family and Medical Leave Act or FMLA of 1993 requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide their employees with job protection and unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons. The act is designed to help employees balance work and family responsibilities. To be eligible for leave, an employee must have worked for their employer at least 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours. Part-time employees counted if they're on the payroll every day of the week. Unfortunately, the FMLA is less comprehensive than similar laws internationally. For instance, all Western European nations have paid maternity leave and over half have paid paternity and sick child leave. The United States has no federally mandated paid leave. As several states have passed laws providing additional family and medical leave protections for workers and some union contracts also provide additional protection for union members. Under the provisions of the FMLA, eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per 12 month period for one or more of these reasons. Inability to work because of a serious health condition. Care of an immediate family member with a serious health condition. Birth and care of the employee's child. Placement and care of an adopted or foster child. The employee's spouse, son, daughter or parent is on active duty or has been notified of an impending call to active duty in the National Guard or Reserves. After completing the leave, employees must be restored to their former position or an equivalent position. Now look, employers are allowed to monitor work to ensure efficiency and productivity, but surveillance sometimes goes beyond legitimate business concerns. Invasion of privacy occurs when an employer obtains and or discloses information gained from a source in which the employee had a reasonable expectation of privacy. An employee's rights to privacy can be threatened in a number of ways. Physical searches which are intrusive but lawful under certain circumstances, like if an employee is observed stealing. Video surveillance, which is legal only in open and public areas and employees must be given notice there being recorded. Background checks, employers must obtain an applicant's consent when a third party conducts a background investigation. Internet, email and social media, federal law prohibits the unlawful, intentional interception of any electronic communication. Employers also may not use social media to gather information they can't legally ask about like race, age, religion and sexual orientation. Medical information, federal law created national standards to protect individuals' personal health information and give them more control over their health information. Alcohol and drug testing, state and federal laws may regulate an employer's ability to test and require them to maintain the privacy of results. The big one is legal activities outside of work. Many states have laws protecting employees from adverse employment action based on their lawful conduct outside the workplace, for instance an employers shouldn't be able to fire you for attending a political rally. And last, social security numbers. Several states have passed legislation covering the manner in which employers handle SSNs in an effort to thwart identity and credit theft.
