Get the facts on employee/employer rights from various labor law resources

Who you can hire, what you can expect from them, and what is expected of you, are all parts of government information on labor law provided by the US Department of Labor. Guidelines can be comprised of everything from a federal employment law manual, to federal employment law training, federal employment regulations and federal employment law, or simply federal labor law. Some of the available publications include: federal state labor law and federal labor law notices, a federal labor law poster, labor law public records, and various other general labor law resources.

I recommend: Review the Summary of the Major Laws administered by the US Department of Labor. Then, for specific workplace issues see the National Workrights Institute web site. Additionally, there is information available on various labor laws and related government documents at FindLaw .

Be knowledgeable of federal child labor laws

The legal hiring age for most positions is 18 years old, however, for specific industries it can be as low as 14 or as high as 21. The US Department of Labor regulates the minimum employment age, the number of hours and time of day a minor can work, and the type of positions for which they can be hired.

I recommend: See the US Department of Labor Youth & Labor information for an overview of federal child labor laws and reference to other resources. Also, visit the YouthRules! website to discover everything you need to know to legally hire anyone under the age of 18, including safety measures and legal work hours for minors.

Understand the government labor law that regulates minimum wage

Everyone's heard of minimum wage; and has probably earned it at one time or another. The standards for minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor are all established by the US government under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

I recommend: Be familiar with who is covered by the FLSA and its basic provisions by reviewing the Employment Law Guide available from the US Department of Labor. For free employment law information and answers see My Employment Lawyer (MEL). If you need additional legal assistance with labor law issues you can find an attorney specializing in this area at Lawyers.com.

Adhere to federal labor laws that focus on keeping the workplace safe

For most US employers and employees, workplace safety and health is regulated by the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Coverage is usually provided at the federal level by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), and governed by the US Department of Labor, or at the state level by an OSHA-approved plan. Basically, the Act enforces rules and regulations with the primary goals of keeping workplaces safe, and ensuring employers remain free of work related accidents.

I recommend: Review the Occupational Safety and Health information provided by the US Department of Labor. For specific OSHA laws and regulations, compliance assistance, program enforcement, and more, see the official OSHA web site. If you need legal assistance with an occupational safety and health matter, or want to know your rights as an employer, LegalMatch can help.

Remember all government information on labor law is available in one spot

Labor law is not an easy subject to address; for every situation there is an opposite situation. However, the US government does try to make it easier for employers to find what they are looking for by putting together one guide (with regular updates) to keep it as simple as they can. To this end, they have developed the Employment Law Guide as an online, searchable resource for the various US Department of Labor regulations regarding employer and employee issues.

I recommend: Use the US Department of Labor's Employment Law Guide as a hands-on source of information for most employment related issues. For additional assistance, the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) are advocates for employee rights and very knowledgeable in federal labor laws.