Small Business Law 101 This informational video reviews basic government regulations to consider when starting a business, including employee and product regulations.
Policies enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission make it illegal to discriminate against someone (applicant or employee) because of that person's race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. This EEOC article reviews prohibited employment practices & policies.
Title VII of The Civil Rights Act of 1964 & Its Impact Today
What is sex-based discrimination, and who exactly is protected?
Fair Labor Standards Act
The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor standards affecting most full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in federal, state, and local governments. The FLSA website offers extensive information for established minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards.
Minimum Wage Standards
The federal minimum wage provisions are contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. Many states also have minimum wage laws. Some state laws provide greater employee protections; employers must comply with both.
The federal overtime provisions are contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Unless exempt, employees covered by the Act must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rates of pay.
The federal child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) were enacted to ensure that when young people work, the work is safe and does not jeopardize their health, well-being or educational opportunities. These provisions also provide limited exemptions.
Employees are required to display a FLSA poster in the workspace. The FLSA website provides the poster in a variety of printer-friendly language options.
