Find out which employee rights that USA employees of under 2 years are entitled to.
Most employers in the USA labor market think that employees who have not worked for more than two years do not have employee rights. However, this is a misconception since the law is very clear on the employee rights under 2 years service. For example, all employees regardless of the time they have worked are entitled to statutory rights. Let’s familiarize ourselves with these rights.
Constitutional/statutory rights
All employees in the USA have a right to the following rights notwithstanding their years of service. Actually, employers should ensure that these rights are given to their employees, right when they start working in the organization
- Right to compensation for hours worked or tasks done - This is a constitutional right regardless of the time the employee has worked for the employer.
- Right to national minimum wage.
- Right to maternity leave - This is necessary for women employees.
- Right to health and safety at the workplace.
- Rights to disability packages.
- Right to privacy at the workplace.
- Right to join unions.
- Right to protection from discrimination - Employees should not be discriminated against based on their race, religion and gender among others.
Right to a notice of dismissal
No matter how long one has been employed in an organization, they need to be notified of a dismissal. Often, employees who have been employed for more than two years can claim unfair dismissal. However, employees with fewer than 2 years of service can also claim unfair dismissal in the event they had requested to leave to serve on a jury. An employee may also claim automatically unfair dismissal if pregnant or recently gave birth. Furthermore, an employee could challenge their dismissal if they were fighting for the enforcement of statutory rights such as the right to a national minimum age.
Right to employment benefits
Employees who work for a particular organization are entitled to certain benefits, which are outlined by the US labor law regardless of the time they work for the employer. First, they have a right to a holiday. In most states, employees have at least 28 days of holiday leave every year. They also have a right to sick leaves that are paid by the employer. Besides, they have a right to a health insurance plan paid by the employer depending on the nature of their work. The employees also have a right to any contributions to financial plans, in case they leave the company before their retirement.