​Introduction to Labor Rights

See: Glossary

​National Labor Relations Act 

What employer behavior is against the law according to the NLRA?
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See: https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights

​Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act broadly prohibits employers from interfering with workers’ labor organizing rights. This section includes protection of all rights outlined in Section 8(a), parts 2–5 (described below), as well as forms of interference not explicitly addressed in parts 2–5. In this report, we look at charges in which Section 8(a)(1) has been invoked independently of any other part of NLRA Section 8(a). These independent charges are identified elsewhere in this report under the label “coercion, threats, retaliation.” According to the NLRB’s Guide to the National Labor Relations Act (1997),
Examples of such independent violations [of Section 8(a)(1)] are:
• Threatening employees with loss of jobs or benefits if they should join or vote for a union.
• Threatening to close down the plant if a union should be organized in it.
• Questioning employees about their union activities or membership in such circumstances as will tend to restrain or coerce the employees.
• Spying on union gatherings, or pretending to spy.
• Granting wage increases deliberately timed to discourage employees from forming or joining a union. (NLRB 1997, 14)

Section 8(a)(2) prohibits an employer from “dominating” or illegally assisting a labor union. An employer who interferes in the formation or control of a union may be attempting to gain an advantage in bargaining or to discourage support of an actual union that is trying to organize the employees (NLRB 1997, 14).

Section 8(a)(3) prohibits an employer from discriminating against any worker because of union activity. Section 8(a)(3) charges are identified elsewhere in this report under the label “discipline, firings, changes in work terms.”
Examples of illegal discrimination under Section 8(a)(3) include:
• Discharging employees because they urged other employees to join a union.
• Refusing to reinstate employees when jobs they are qualified for are open because they took part in a union’s lawful strike.
• Granting of “superseniority” to those hired to replace employees engaged in a lawful strike.
• Demoting employees because they circulated a union petition among other employees asking the employer for an increase in pay.
• Discontinuing an operation at one plant and discharging the employees involved followed by opening the same operation at another plant with new employees because the employees at the first plant joined a union.
• Refusing to hire qualified applicants for jobs because they belong to a union. It would also be a violation if the qualified applicants were refused employment because they did not belong to a union, or because they belonged to one union rather than another. (NLRB 1997, 16)

Section 8(a)(4) prohibits an employer from punishing a worker for filing charges with the National Labor Relations Board.
Examples of violations of Section 8(a)(4) are:
• Refusing to reinstate employees…because they filed charges with the NLRB….
• Demoting employees because they testified at an NLRB hearing. (NLRB 1997, 17)

​Section 8(a)(5) requires the employer to bargain in good faith with the union (NLRB 1997, 17). Section 8(a)(5) charges are identified elsewhere in this report under the label “refusal to bargain, repudiation of contract.”

​Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 

See: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/publications/fact-sheets/employment-laws-disability-and-discrimination

​The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and guarantees equal opportunities for individuals with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodations, state and local government services, and telecommunications. Two sections of the ADA relate to employment:

• Title I: Employment prohibits covered employers from discriminating against people with disabilities in all employment-related activities, including hiring, pay, benefits, firing and promotions. Covered employers include private businesses, educational institutions, employment agencies, labor organizations, and state and local government entities with 15 or more employees.

​The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces Title I of the ADA. The EEOC website has a section dedicated to disability discrimination that summarizes the ADA provisions it enforces and provides access to related publications and resources.

• Title II: State and Local Governments protects people with disabilities from discrimination in state and local government services, programs and activities. It prohibits all state and local government entities, regardless of how many people they employ or whether they receive federal financial assistance, from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in employment.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) enforces Title II of the ADA. DOJ's ADA Homepage offers resources on all aspects of the ADA, including those addressing state and local government employment-related responsibilities under Title II.

L​aws Enforced by EEOC

See: https://www.eeoc.gov/statutes/laws-enforced-eeoc​
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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)
This law makes it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate applicants' and employees' sincerely held religious practices, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act
This law amended Title VII to make it illegal to discriminate against a woman because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)
This law makes it illegal to pay different wages to men and women if they perform equal work in the same workplace. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)
This law protects people who are 40 or older from discrimination because of age. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
This law makes it illegal to discriminate against a qualified person with a disability in the private sector and in state and local governments. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant or employee, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business.

Sections 102 and 103 of the Civil Rights Act of 1991
Among other things, this law amends Title VII and the ADA to permit jury trials and compensatory and punitive damage awards in intentional discrimination cases.

Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
This law makes it illegal to discriminate against a qualified person with a disability in the federal government. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant or employee, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business.

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) Effective -  November 21, 2009.
This law makes it illegal to discriminate against employees or applicants because of genetic information. Genetic information includes information about an individual's genetic tests and the genetic tests of an individual's family members, as well as information about any disease, disorder or condition of an individual's family members (i.e. an individual's family medical history). The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

EEOC Protections 

see: https://www.eeoc.gov/fact-sheet/federal-laws-prohibiting-job-discrimination-questions-and-answers​

​Under Title VII, the ADA, GINA, and the ADEA, it is illegal to discriminate in any aspect of employment, including:

• hiring and firing;
• compensation, assignment, or classification of employees;
• transfer, promotion, layoff, or recall;
• job advertisements;
• recruitment;
• testing;
• use of company facilities;
• training and apprenticeship programs;
• fringe benefits;
• pay, retirement plans, and disability leave; or
• other terms and conditions of employment.

Discriminatory practices under these laws also include:

• harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, genetic information, or age;
• retaliation against an individual for filing a charge of discrimination, participating in an investigation, or opposing discriminatory practices;
• employment decisions based on stereotypes or assumptions about the abilities, traits, or performance of individuals of a certain sex, race, age, religion, or ethnic group, or individuals with disabilities, or based on myths or assumptions about an individual's genetic information; and
• denying employment opportunities to a person because of marriage to, or association with, an individual of a particular race, religion, national origin, or an individual with a disability. Title VII also prohibits discrimination because of participation in schools or places of worship associated with a particular racial, ethnic, or religious group.

Employers are required to post notices to all employees advising them of their rights under the laws EEOC enforces and their right to be free from retaliation. Such notices must be accessible, as needed, to persons with visual or other disabilities that affect reading.