If you’re lucky, you’ll end up at a fantastic company with a great boss who respects you. But most of the time, employers put the well-being of the company above that of their employees.
According to an employment lawyer, they often take these measures to an extent that is downright illegal – and it goes completely unnoticed because most employees are unaware of their rights.
The employment lawyer named three things that your boss is not legally allowed to do, but that happen all the time at work.
If social media has shown us anything over the past few years, it’s that there are plenty of employers out there who are quite audacious.
Case in point: the information employment lawyer and TikToker Craig Levey recently shared on TikTok. His video included three employment practices that most of us have experienced at least once in our careers—even though they’re completely illegal.
1. Force employees to resign
Firing an employee is one thing – and unfortunately, the United States’ poorly designed “at will” employment laws mean you can do it at any time and for any reason, as long as it’s not illegal.
But what’s an employer to do when the circumstances of a termination raise legal alarm bells? As we’ve all probably experienced once or twice, they’ll try to “force termination.”
This is sometimes called “constructive discharge” and is defined by the Department of Labor as a situation in which an employer creates a “hostile or intolerable work environment” or uses other forms of pressure, such as making drastic changes to a workplace, to get an employee to quit. The definition varies in each state’s law, so check the specifics in your home state.
“This is important,” Levey said, “because if a worker quits their job, it can affect their unemployment benefits application” and also their ability to sue their employer.
2. Refuse to pay overtime to certain employees.
Of course, this depends a lot on your pay structure. Most, but not all, employees are not eligible for overtime – but that changed significantly as of July 1, 2024, when the Biden-Harris administration raised the overtime salary threshold by nearly $10,000, from $43,888 to $58,656, making many more workers eligible for overtime.
The Fair Labor Standards Act also exempts certain occupations from overtime—namely, managers, administrators, field sales representatives, highly specialized professionals, and many computer-based occupations such as programmers.
But “if … they don’t fall under one of the exemptions in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA),” Levey says, then employers must pay the employee overtime – and they’re counting on you not knowing that. So make sure you know if you’re eligible.
3. Hold your last paycheck hostage.
Most of us have been told at some point that our last paycheck will be withheld until we return company equipment, uniform items or something similar. But Levey said this widespread practice is simply illegal.
“Once you’ve earned that paycheck, once you’ve provided services to an employer, you’ve earned that wage,” he said, “and a company can’t withhold it.”
So what does this mean for that company laptop or phone you haven’t returned yet? Well, that’s between you and your boss, but that paycheck they’re holding back to force you to hand over is yours no matter what!
Hopefully you’re lucky enough to work for an honorable, honest person and company. But even if that’s the case, it’s always good to know your rights – because all too many companies rely on your ignorance to skimp in every way possible. Don’t let them get away with it.
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer covering pop culture, social justice and human issues.
