Your Employees Have Basic Rights

No matter where employees work or what their profession may be, all employees have some basic rights.

Safety:

As an employer, your employees have the right to work in a safe environment. Here are two of the most basic safety related rights an employee has:
1: The right to refuse to do unsafe work. If your employer asks you to do something that could cause you harm or put you in danger, you have the right to say no.
“No, I will not climb that telephone pole to fix the phone line! I’m a receptionist, not a lineman.”
It’s your right to refuse a task like this.

2: The right to be informed about actual and potential dangers that are or could be happening in the workplace. If a workplace has hazardous materials or unsafe equipment, employees must be informed of the dangers involved.

Privacy:

In most states, your employee will have a right to privacy regarding personal possessions. Employers are not allowed to look into the contents of their employee’s personal items such as: purses, briefcases, lockers, or anything that the employee would use to hold personal effects.

Cell phones may not be allowed to be in use while at work, but they are personal, and employees should enjoy privacy regarding voicemail, texts etc. However, employees generally have very limited rights to privacy regarding phone message, e-mail messages, and internet messages and usage while using the employer’s computer and phone systems.

Discrimination:

Employers are not allowed to discriminate against employees or even prospective employees.

While not all of these are actually law 1, employers should proceed with caution in any discussions involving any of the following topics:

  • Age
  • Race
  • National origin
  • Religion
  • Gender
  • Disabilities
  • Familial status
  • Sexual orientation.

An employer may not conduct a credit or background check of an employee or prospective employee without notifying the person in writing and getting their permission to do so.

Some other important employee rights an employer must respect:

  • The right to be free from harassment of all types. Harassment includes more than sexual harassment, though that is a common complaint. If an employer, supervisor, or fellow employee is causing distress in the workplace, an employee should raise a complaint with HR or the designated specialist. With smaller companies, this is not always possible and may even lead to a law suit if the situation is dire.
  • The right to file a claim or complaint against an employer without retaliation. Again, this is a case to take to human resources or the courts if things escalate.
  • The right to fair wages for work performed. Wages vary from state to state and there are many people arguing over what constitutes fair wages, regardless, you have a right to be paid for the hours you work at least at minimum wage and receive extra compensation for overtime hours.
  • Regulation as to the duration of work days and breaks an employer must provide. Employees are entitled to breaks during the workday and to set a reasonable amount of work hours in day, work days and hours per a given week.

Employees have many state and federal government enabled rights and a great way to reduce risk from an employer’s perspective is to take pre-emptive action. Setting expectations for employees with procedures, handbooks, guidelines and HR contact points can help prevent costly future lawsuits and compliance issues.

1 Florida Legislature Paragraph 760 Purposes; construction; title.—
(1) Sections 760.01-760.11 and 509.092 shall be cited as the “Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992.”
(2) The general purposes of the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 are to secure for all individuals within the state freedom from discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status and thereby to protect their interest in personal dignity, to make available to the state their full productive capacities, to secure the state against domestic strife and unrest, to preserve the public safety, health, and general welfare, and to promote the interests, rights, and privileges of individuals within the state.