| Sexual Orientation Discrimination in the Workplace |
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| Historically, employers, both public and private, were free to discriminate against employees or applicants because of their sexual orientation, which includes homosexuality, heterosexuality, and bisexuality. It was not illegal to fire, refuse to hire, or to demote someone because he or she was a homosexual. Today, while sexual orientation is not afforded the same broad protection from discrimination as race, religion, or gender, it's protection from discrimination has been steadily increasing at the federal, state, and local levels. More... |
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| Fair Labor Standards Act Salaried Workers Exemptions |
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| The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) requires employers to pay a minimum wage and a premium hourly rate (time and one-half pay) for any hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a given week. Under the FLSA, however, certain salaried employees are exempted from the overtime pay guarantee. More... |
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| Federal Worker Protection |
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| American workers are protected by a number of antidiscrimination laws. The primary federal antidiscrimination laws include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. They do not, however, protect workers from discrimination based upon their marital status, sexual orientation, or status as a parent. More... |
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| Constructive Discharge |
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| Although in most states, at-will employees--those who work without an employment contract or collective bargaining agreement--can be fired by an employer for the slightest reason or in fact no reason at all, there are certain circumstances under which the termination of an at-will employee may be found to be wrongful under the law. One example of wrongful termination is a retaliatory firing after an employee reports an employer for a violation of state or federal law. Another type of wrongful termination is called constructive discharge. Constructive discharge occurs when an employer makes an employee's work conditions so intolerable that any reasonable employee in that situation would have no choice to quit and the employee does in fact resign his position. More... |
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| Differences Between the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute and the National Labor Relations Act |
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| Title VII of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, also known as the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (Statute), guarantees many employees of most federal executive agencies the right to form and join labor unions. This right, which was initially granted to federal employees through an executive order in 1962, is somewhat similar to the rights granted to private-sector employees under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (NLRA). Many important differences, however, exist. This article highlights several of the important differences between the two laws. More... |
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