Labor Laws

Could you or your boss be breaking a labor law? It's important to know what laws are to protect yourself as an employee. Here are some of the top legal rights you are entitled to as a worker:

Family and medical leave: This law requires some employers with 50 or more employees to give 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected sick leave for reasons like having a serious illness, caring for a sick family member, or becoming a new parent. You'll be guaranteed the same or an equivalent position when you return to work, and health insurance coverage (with monthly payments) will continue as usual.

COBRA: Although you might lose your health benefits through incidences such as being laid off or quitting, seeing a reduction in your work hours or transitioning to jobs because of death, divorce and other life events, you can still choose to participate in group health benefits (if you qualify) for a limited period of time.

Minimum wage: Basically, this provision is under the Fair Labor Standards Act and it prevents employers from hiring people for less than the minimum wage. Most states have enacted minimum wage laws except Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee. However, there is a federal minimum wage law of $7.25 per hour. Be aware of the fact that there are also a couple of exceptions to this law.

Read on for more.

Although most people accept that pouring coffee and other menial tasks are part and parcel of an unpaid internship, there is such a thing as an employer crossing the line and taking advantage of you.

To those of you who are considering or who are already doing unpaid internships, you need to make sure you know your rights. Here is a list of them according to the Department of Labor website:

• The internship should be an educational experience.
• It's the intern who benefits from the experience.
• The intern shouldn't replace a paid worker but will work under the close supervision of the regular staff.
• The intern's activities will provide no immediate advantages for the employer and may occasionally impede operations.
• The intern won't be entitled to a job when the internship ends.
• There is a mutual understanding between the employer and the intern that the intern will not be paid for the time spent on the internship.

Have you ever worked for free, and if so, how were you treated?

This reader posted in our anonymous Savvy Confessions group, wondering if she should report her company to the labor board for denying her sick pay. Do you have any advice for her?

So I work for an airline and we have this policy that flight attendants can take unlimited sick days due to the nature of our environment. Well I, unlike a lot of other flight attendants, haven't taken advantage of this easy-to-screw-with system. I have been employed for six years and have only called in twice,  never been late or reported for anything. I pick up an extra 30 (flying) hours a month, and not once have I ever complained. BUT recently I was sick with a cold, had a cold sore, and was extremely exhausted . . . legitimately sick, so I decided to ask my team leaders if I would still in fact get my sick pay. "Ummm no," was the answer I received because apparently they only have to pay me for my base salary, not the extra hours I had picked up and unable to work. I can understand if I was doing this on a consecutive monthly basis but I haven't taken a sick day in years. So my question is, does anyone know if I should go to the labor board or is my company in the right by never owing me sick pay?

Pose your own anonymous questions or off-load your work confessions by posting in the Savvy Confessions group, and I'll find the right expert to help you out.