Find an Employment Law / Employer Lawyer

The discipline of employment law covers nearly all of the issues that arise between employers and employees. The noted exceptions that employment law firms do not handle are issues pertaining to employment-related negotiation and collective bargaining; these specialties are covered by the specialty of labor law. The laws governing the workplace and employment extend outside of factories and offices to include agricultural workers, miners and anyone in an employee-employer relationship. In the United States, much legislation guiding employment law is federally controlled, but additional laws are state-based. Employment discrimination Many employment lawyers handle cases having to do with employment discrimination in hiring, pay rates, promotion and termination. Employment discrimination legislation attempts to provide equality in the workplace and prevent any discrimination against people based on sex, race, age, a physical disability, national origin or religion. The U.S. constitution requires federal and state governments to treat employees fairly and equally in their employment practices; while these do not apply specifically to the private sector, there are a number of federal and state statutes that offer similar and more extensive protections. In recent years, workplace sexual harassment has been in the limelight and this has become a legal subspecialty of employment discrimination. Continued... By Ann MacDonald