Bosses are leaders and we need to listen to them. However, this doesn’t imply that they can do anything. They are responsible for setting the tone for workplace culture and shaping succeeding leaders within their company, but this ground of power comes with the crucial role of acting ethically and legally.
Every country has their own employment law that protects the rights of every employee and forbids employees and employers from acting above the law because no one is above the law. If you’re here because you’re asking yourself, “Can my superior do that?” or you’re an employer who wants to get informed about employee rights in the workplace, then keep reading to learn more.
Here are the top things your boss can’t legally do:
1. Your boss neglects or refuses to pay for overtime
Everybody deserves to be paid properly for the number of hours they work every week. If you’re entitled to overtime pay, your paycheck must reflect that. However, this issue is not uncommon for bosses or managers to neglect or refuse to pay you overtime.
In the United States of America, for instance, their state laws and the Fair Labor and Standards Act (FLSA), offers minimum wage and overtime pay, which protects more than 130 million workers, given that employers must provide their workers with “premium pay” when they work more than 40 hours per week. So, you might want to check your pay stubs carefully and the respective law in your state.
2. Your boss fires you after ‘papering’ your personnel file
This happens when an employer all of a sudden files a number of accusations against an employee immediately prior to terminating them. Although papering a file isn’t considered illegal, but if an employee claims that they were illegally terminated, a current convergence of complaints can reflect negatively on an employer.
Even if it’s true and correct, credibility is not enough. Most employment attorneys commonly prefer to see a thick file of documentation from their clients. It can be an issue if managers haven’t been frequently documenting their juniors’ work.
3. Your boss doesn’t want to promote you because of your gender
Nowadays, gender equality is well-recognized which is why sex discrimination is prohibited by law. In the US, the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, is an act that protects workers from getting treated differently just because of their biological sex, most of the time, this happens frequently in women.
If you’re experiencing gender discrimination in your workplace, you can check with your HR solutions about the workplace rights legislation that secures employees from gender and sex discrimination. If you’re not comfortable talking to the company’s HR department, you may want to ask help from an employment labour law attorney since they fully understand the
An employment and labour law attorney understands the complexity of sex discrimination and can consult with you to determine your best legal options moving forward.
4. Your boss illegally terminates a whistleblower
Whistleblowers are covered under the Whistleblower Protection Act. These are the people who report on something that they reasonably believe to be:
- a breach of rule, regulation, or law
- mishandling of gross
- a gross waste of funds
- abuse of power
- or a considerable and particular danger to public health or safety
If you fear to be a whistleblower or you’ve already informed the company about one of these behaviours and later got fired or harassed by your employer, they can get in serious legal trouble. The power to whistleblow is crucial to the integrity of company operations and acts as a defence to the employees, employer, and company stakeholders. When you get punished as a whistleblower for doing what you believe is right, then that’s illegal.
5. Your boss labels you as a contractor when you are actually an employee
Most bosses will usually try plenty of various things and ways to save the company money. But one of the things that your boss is not allowed to legally do is to misclassify your status as an employee or contractor. Be wary because they may try to classify you as a contractor when you are actually an employee of their company to avoid paying employment taxes and avoid the need to follow most employment laws.
However, how will you know what type of worker you are? If your boss oversees the manner, location, and time of your work, and tells you that you’re not allowed to work for anyone else, pays you vacation time, and gives evaluations, then you are most likely an employee.
If you fairly believe that you have been misclassified, it would be best to consult with an employment law attorney as this may be a case.
6. Your boss creates a hostile workplace 
We all have had bad bosses, right? However, if it goes beyond the legal line and makes the work environment to be hostile, then that is definitely not good. If you don’t know what a hostile work environment is, it is where an individual or group gets subjected to discrimination, unwanted sexual advances, insulting comments, bullying due to protected status or activity, or other related actions that create an oppressive and intimidating atmosphere. Moreover, this makes a worker feel fear and anxiety to show up to work because of those actions.
A hostile work is not only caused by a boss but it can also be made by a vendor or contractor, co-worker, direct supervisor, or even a customer. However, you need to know that laws that protect people from a hostile work environment are quite specific because not every hostile action is illegal. Employees should be a part of a safeguarded category or take part in protected activity like:
- Religious Affiliation
- Disability
- Pregnancy
- Sex or Gender
- Age
- Race
- Whistleblowing
- Sexual Harassment
- Punishment for filling a Workers’ Compensation Claim
