While your company is itself subject to legal protections, there is still no doubt that it must conscientiously navigate the rights of its employees and of those prospective hires that may soon be. So long as your business acknowledges those rights appropriately, it will have remained on the right side of important laws and be less likely to face potentially costly disputes down the road. Consultation with an attorney may be essential to clarifying your responsibilities with respect to employee rights.
Before establishing your own policies and practices (or remaining all too satisfied with the status quo thereof), you should take full advantage of resources pertaining to things like minimum wage laws, overtime exemptions, laws applying to hours worked, and stipulations involving leave (for vacation, sickness, holiday, jury duty, or voting). Ignorance is never an excuse in the event an employee files a lawsuit. It is your responsibility to perform due diligence with respect to the nature of your employees’ rights. The more basic the right, the more imperative it is that you enable conditions wherein it is respected and honored.
Rights Begin With the Hiring Phase
In addition to unique Nevada-based requirements like NRS 284.4068 and NRS 613.075 (appertaining to drug test confidentiality and use of references, respectively), there are a number of federal laws that impact your responsibilities during the hiring process. For example, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits hiring decisions from being made on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, and other related factors. The Age Discrimination Act of 1963 protects individuals over the age of 40 from being discriminated against, as well. There are also important protections extended by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Finally, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 prevents businesses from rejecting an applicant on the basis of genetic information.
Note that there are some questions you are by law prohibited from asking during the interview and hiring process, as well. If you are not a large corporation with in-house legal expertise establishing guidelines amid procedures like these, seeking the assistance of outside counsel may be essential.
Other Important Rights to Remember
It is obviously impossible to treat each of your employees in precisely the same way on account of their distinctive roles and responsibilities. Nevertheless, it is by precisely the same logic that you cannot discriminate against employees according to arbitrary characteristics. For example, the Fair Pay and Equal Pay Acts assure that protected categories like gender do not serve as grounds for different pay when employees in question enjoy the same degree of experience and skill. State laws describing these rights may be reviewed in NRS 608.017.
Given that employees may file claims of grievance in the event of insufficient wages, you should also be familiar with NRS 608.250-290. These sections outline your responsibilities as they accord with minimum wage requirements and various benefits that may be associated with them.
Need Help Navigating Your Employees’ Rights?
Employee rights are basic tenet of a successful business; they are effectually non-negotiable and require your utmost attention. Failure to acknowledge matters of such import may result in extreme legal consequences. When it comes to things like wage and overtime laws, HKM Employment Attorneys have the national pedigree and local expertise to assure you optimal advisement and representation. To set up an appointment, simply place a call to 1-702-625-3893 or fill out our online contact form located here.
