Federal Employment Guidelines
- Drug testing is not required by all employers due to the Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988, but the workplace must be drug-free. Those employers who receive a federal grant must provide a drug-free workplace. Federal agencies such as the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission and National Aeronautics and Space Administration require contractors, licensees and grantees to take drug tests to ensure the work environment is drug-free. When conducting a drug test, employers can screen who they choose to test, as long as the employer does not discriminate with its choices.
- When interviewing an applicant, there are certain questions an employer can and can not ask. For example, asking someone if they are a U.S. citizen is illegal. Employers have a right to know if employees can legally work for them, so the employer may ask if the employee or applicant is authorized to work in the U.S. An employer may not ask an employee what religion she practices when determining if the employee can work on the weekends or extended hours. An alternative would be to ask what days an employee can work. Questions regarding an employee's age, marital status or sexual orientation are prohibited by federal employment guidelines.
- Federal employment guidelines require an employer to pay employees wages for any and all hours the employee has worked. The amounts of pay an employer must pay employees depend on the minimum wage amount for that state. All employers are required to pay employees minimum wage, unless the employees work on farms, in agriculture, deliver newspapers and work on commission or tips.
- The Family and Medical Leave Act mandates that covered employers grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 work weeks of unpaid leave during a 12 month period for different reasons. Those reasons include birth or care of newborn child of the employee, to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition, to take medical leave because the employee is unable to work or for placement of an employee's son or daughter with foster care. Denying an employee this time off is illegal, and an employer can face a legal lawsuit for doing so.
- Sexual harassment is not permitted at the workplace under federal employment guidelines. An employee has to perform the duties outlined in her job description that are legal and non-sexual. If an employer uses her authority to make an employee perform a sexual favor, the employee can legally sue the employer. Also, if an employee is suing an employer for sexual harassment, he cannot lose his job for filing the suit.