Employment law is the set of rules and laws that govern the employer-employee relationship.  When an employer can hire employees and when employees can work are both governed by employment laws. The laws regulate how much an employer must pay an employee for their services. They provide basic standards for employee working conditions.  

In the name of increased profits, some businesses have been pushing to undermine the legal safeguards provided to workers. Employment laws were enacted to safeguard employees from their employer’s wrongdoing. Workers would be subject to a variety of hazards if those statutes did not exist. Discrimination, minimum wage, workplace safety, and health legislation, as well as workers’ compensation and child labor laws, are among the most important employment laws.

Here, employment lawyers are needed by employers, employees, and the government. For this private companies and the government all take services from an employment lawyer Toronto. Employers use employment lawyers to assist them to comply with the myriad of laws that govern their employment status. 

The significance of employment laws

Employment law protects against discrimination

Discrimination can take many different forms. Discrimination might occur if a corporation refuses to hire someone because they are over 40 years old, or a corporation refuses to promote someone because they belong to a certain race a particular religion. Employment laws presently protect workers from a variety of forms of discrimination. Employers are prohibited from intentionally discriminating against specific employees under discrimination legislation.

Laws about minimum wage 

Before the establishment of minimum wage employment legislation, companies had unlimited control over how much an employee was paid. Many companies during the Great Depression paid salaries that were insufficient to support a working man, let alone his family. The first federal minimum wage was enacted in response to low wages and gave workers a sigh of relief. 

Workplace safety and employment law protection

Unsafe working conditions, machinery, noise levels, temperature extremes, electrical risks, and excessive vibrations are all covered by workplace safety and health laws. Repetitive job injuries, biological risks, chemical dangers, and excessive work hours are all covered by workplace safety and health rules. 

Employment laws about child labor

No rules were prohibiting the use of children in dangerous jobs before the Great Depression. During hard financial times, children as young as five or six years old were exploited in extremely hazardous jobs that adults were unqualified to perform. As a result of the work, many children were wounded or harmed. The Fair Labor Standards Act was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938. Child labor rules establish minimal working requirements for minors in most industries outside of agriculture, in addition to determining the national minimum wage.

When and why an employment lawyer is called?

Employees and employers are represented by employment lawyers in matters concerning state and federal employment law. Employment lawyers ensure that all employees are treated justly and that employers follow all of the various local, state, and federal rules that apply in today’s work environment. An employment lawyer can assist you in cases such as

• contract violations
• workplace discrimination
• Wrongful termination
• sexual harassment

When should an employee hire an employment lawyer?

We all know that an employer may seek the help of an employment lawyer in wake of a contract violation. But how do these regulations are helpful for an employee? Employers can involve a variety of illegal activities that disadvantage employees or infringe on their rights. In any of the following situations, a person should contact an employment attorney:

• At work, the person has been harassed
• Because of a protected characteristic, such as pregnancy, the person has been treated unfairly.
• The person was subjected to retaliation by their employer because they exercised a legal right, such as requesting overtime pay.
• When the employer is not performing his duties, which he is entitled to perform under an employment contract.