Frequently Asked Questions about Employment Law, Employee

Q: What laws must employers follow when hiring new employees?

A: A prospective employer must be careful to avoid any illegal discrimination based on race, national origin, gender, pregnancy, age, disability, or religion during the hiring process. Employers should also be sure to protect the privacy rights of any potential employee by protecting any confidential or private information provided to the applicant, and by disclosing to the applicant any background or credit checks that will be performed. Employers are required to follow all applicable documentation rules regarding immigration and age restrictions set out by law.

Q: Can employers monitor their employees' Internet usage or read their e-mail?

A: The Supreme Court has found that employees have very little right to privacy in their employer's computer system. Employers may monitor websites visited by their employees and may block their employees from visiting certain Web sites. They can also limit their Internet usage to business-related websites. If the employer has a policy that its computer systems are to be used only for work-related activities, it may reprimand or punish an employee who used its equipment for personal purposes. E-mails are considered to be company property if sent using company equipment, and many employers read or archive all e-mails sent through its system, both incoming and outgoing.

Q: Can employers listen in on their employees' phone conversations at work or to their voicemail messages in the company voicemail system?

A: Under the Electronics Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), an employer may monitor its employees' telephone usage at work if it is a business-related call. Under the ECPA, an employer may not monitor an employee's personal phone calls, even those made from telephones on work premises. An employer may monitor a personal call only if an employee knows the particular call is being monitored and consents to it. The ECPA also provides that an employer may be liable for obtaining, reading, disclosing, deleting, or preventing access to an employee's voicemail messages that are in "electronic storage."

Q: What laws govern the wages and hours in my workplace?

A: The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the main federal law governing wages and hours. The FLSA regulates how much workers should be paid and how many hours they may work. The Act covers such issues as minimum wages, overtime pay, and child labor. It applies to most employers including the federal government, state and local governments, and most private employers.

Q: How can I tell if I am an independent contractor?

A: Independent contractors usually work with an employer on a project basis pursuant to a written contract. Employers do not deduct federal or state taxes, social security taxes, or unemployment compensation taxes from its payment to independent contractors. As an independent contractor, companies are not your employers, they are your clients. As clients they are not entitled to direct your work but such right to set our specifications for performance or approval may be provided for in the independent contractor agreement. Independent contractors have the right to decide when, where, and how the project should be completed.

Q: Is it ever acceptable to consider someone's disability during the hiring process?

A: An employer may describe the qualifications necessary to perform the position and then ask the employee whether they would be able to perform the job considering the necessary qualifications. If the employee indicates they have a disability which may prevent them from adequately performing the job, the employer may consider the disability if it will make the applicant unable to perform an essential function of the job.

Q: How do workers go about attempting to receive union representation?

A: Qualified workers may petition the regional office of the National Labor Relations Board for their area to conduct a secret ballot election in the workplace to determine if union representation is desired. If the election conducted by the NLRB indicates the workers have a desire to be represented by a qualified labor representative in negotiations with their employers, union representatives may conduct a meeting to discuss organizing. An employer cannot interfere with any part of the union organization process.

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