Labour law
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[[Image:Colliery.jpg|thumb|350px|Labour law concerns the [[inequality]] of bargaining power between employers and workers.]]
'''Labour law''' (also known as ''employment'' or ''labor'' law) is the body of [[law]]s, administrative rulings, and precedents which address the legal rights of, and restrictions on, working people and their organizations. As such, it mediates many aspects of the relationship between [[trade unions]], employers and employees. In [[Canada]], employment laws related to unionised workplaces are differentiated from those relating to particular individuals. In most countries however, no such distinction is made. However, there are two broad categories of labour law. First, collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, employer and union. Second, individual labour law concerns employees' rights at work and through the [[contract]] for work. The [[labour movement]] has been instrumental in the enacting of laws protecting [[labour rights]] in the 19th and 20th centuries. Labour rights have been integral to the social and economic development since the [[industrial revolution]].
==Labour law history==
{{labor}}
Labour law arose due to the demands of workers for better conditions, the right to organise, and the simultaneous demands of employers to restrict the powers of workers' many organizations and to keep labour costs low. Employers' costs can increase due to workers organizing to win higher wages, or by laws imposing costly requirements, such as health and safety or equal opportunities conditions. Workers' organizations, such as [[trade unions]], can also transcend purely industrial disputes, and gain political power - which some employers may oppose. The state of labour law at any one time is therefore both the product of, and a component of, struggles between different interests in society.
==Individual labour law==
Individual labour law deals with peoples rights at work place on their contracts for work. Where before unions would be major custodians to workplace welfare, there has been a steady shift in many countries to give individuals more legal rights that can be enforced directly through courts.
===Contract of employment===
{{main|Employment contract|At-will employment}}
The basic feature of labour law in almost every country is that the rights and obligations of the worker and the employer between one another are mediated through the [[contract]] of employment between the two. This has been the case since the collapse of feudalism and is the core reality of modern economic relations. Many terms and conditions of the contract are however implied by legislation or common law, in such a way as to restrict the freedom of people to agree to certain things in order to protect employees, and facilitate a fluid labor market. One example in many countries<ref>e.g. In the European Union, Directive 91/533</ref> is the duty to provide written particulars of employment with the ''[[essentialia negotii]]'' ([[Latin]] for essential terms) to an employee. This aims to allow the employee to know concretely what to expect and is expected; in terms of wages, holiday rights, notice in the event of dismissal, job description and so on. An employer may not legally offer a contract in which the employer pays the worker less than a minimum wage. An employee may not for instance agree to a contract which allows an employer to dismiss them unfairly. There are certain categories that people may simply not agree to because they are deemed categorically unfair. However, this depends entirely on the particular legislation of the country in which the work is.<ref>In the US, under the [[National Labor Relations Act]], a worker has no right to organise where he is considered a manager, see ''NLRB v. Kentucky River Community Care'', [http://www.lawmemo.com/nlrb/kyrivercases.htm 532 U.S. 706] (2001)</ref>
===Minimum wage===
{{main|Minimum wage}}
There may be law stating the minimum amount that a worker can be paid per hour. Australia, Canada, China, Belgium, France, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Paraguay, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United States and others have laws of this kind. The minimum wage is usually different from the lowest wage determined by the forces of [[supply and demand]] in a [[free market]], and therefore acts as a [[price floor]]. Those unable to command the minimum wage due to a lack of education, experience or opportunity would typically work in the underground economy, if at all. Each country sets its own minimum wage laws and regulations, and while a majority of industrialized countries has a minimum wage, many developing countries have not.
Minimum wage laws were first introduced nationally in the [[United States]] in 1938,<ref name="dol">{{cite news| url=http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/chart.htm| publisher=Department of Labor| title=History of Federal Minimum Wage Rates Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 1938 - 1996| date=March 31, 2006}}</ref> India in 1948, France in 1950,<ref name = "France">{{cite news| url=http://www.eurofound.eu.int/emire/FRANCE/MINIMUMWAGEGUARANTEED-FR.html|publisher=European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions|title=MINIMUM WAGE (GUARANTEED)|date=March 31, 2006}}</ref> and in the [[United Kingdom]] in 1999.<ref name = "uk">{{cite news| url=http://www.dti.gov.uk/er/nmw/nmwhist.htm| publisher=dti| title=National Minimum Wage| date=March 31, 2006}}</ref> In the [[European Union]], 18 out of 25 member states currently have national minimum wages.<ref name="Eurostat 2005">[[Eurostat]] (2005): ''Minimum Wages 2005: Major Differences between EU Member States'' [http://www.eds-destatis.de/en/downloads/sif/nk_05_07.pdf (PDF)]</ref>
===Working time===
{{Seealso|Eight-hour day}}
Before the [[Industrial Revolution]], the workday varied between 11 and 14 hours. With the growth of [[industrialism]] and the introduction of machinery, longer hours became far more common, with 14-15 hours being the norm, and 16 not at all uncommon. Use of [[child labour]] was commonplace, often in factories. In [[England]] and [[Scotland]] in 1788, about two-thirds of persons working in the new water-powered textile factories were children.<ref>[http://www.galbithink.org/child.htm Child Labor and the Division of Labor in the Early English Cotton Mills<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The [[eight-hour day|eight-hour movement]]'s struggle finally led to the first law on the length of a working day, passed in [[1833]] in England, limiting miners to 12 hours, and children to 8 hours. The 10-hour day was established in [[1848]], and shorter hours with the same pay were gradually accepted thereafter. The 1802 [[Factory Act]] was the first labour law in the UK.
After England, [[Germany]] was the first European country to pass labor laws; Chancellor [[Otto von Bismarck|Bismarck]]'s main goal being to undermine the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany]] (SPD). In 1878, Bismarck instituted a variety of anti-socialist measures, but despite this, socialists continued gaining seats in the [[Reichstag (institution)|Reichstag]]. The Chancellor, then, adopted a different approach to tackling [[socialism]]. In order to appease the working class, he enacted a variety of paternalistic social reforms, which became the first type of [[social security]]. The year 1883 saw the passage of the Health Insurance Act, which entitled workers to health insurance; the worker paid two-thirds, and the employer one-third, of the premiums. Accident insurance was provided in 1884, while old age pensions and disability insurance were established in 1889. Other laws restricted the employment of women and children. These efforts, however, were not entirely successful; the working class largely remained unreconciled with Bismarck's conservative government.
In [[France]], the first labor law was voted in [[1841]]. However, it limited only under-age miners' hours, and it was not until the [[French Third Republic|Third Republic]] that labor law was effectively enforced, in particular after [[Waldeck-Rousseau]] [[1884]] law legalizing [[trade unions]]. With the [[Matignon Accords (1936)|Matignon Accords]], the [[Popular Front (France)|Popular Front]] (1936-38) enacted the laws mandating 12 days (2 weeks) each year of [[holiday|paid vacations]] for workers and the law limiting to 40 hours the workweek (outside of overtime).
*''[[Lochner v. New York]]'', 198 U.S. 45 (1905), a notorious, and now defunct case by the [[US Supreme Court]] that regulation of working time (for bakeries) to limit workers to a 10 hour day.
===Health and safety===
{{main|Occupational safety and health}}
Other labor laws involve safety concerning workers. The earliest [[England|English]] [[factory]] law was drafted in [[1802]] and dealt with the safety and health of [[child labor|child]] [[textile]] workers.
===Anti-discrimination===
{{main|Anti-discrimination law}}
This clause means that [[discrimination]] against employees is morally unacceptable and illegal, on a variety of grounds, in particular [[racial discrimination]] or [[sexism|sexist discrimination]].
===Unfair dismissal===
{{main|Unfair dismissal|Wrongful dismissal|At-will employment}}
[[Termination of Employment Convention, 1982|Convention no. 158]] of the [[International Labour Organization]] states that an employee "can't be fired without any legitimate motive" and "before offering him the possibility to defend himself". Thus, on [[April 28]], [[2006]], after the unofficial repeal of the French [[First Employment Contract]] (CPE), the [[Longjumeau]] ([[Essonne]]) ''conseil des prud'hommes'' ([[labor law]] court) judged the [[New Employment Contract]] (CNE) contrary to [[international law]], and therefore "unlegitimate" and "without any juridical value". The court considered that the two-years period of "fire at will" (without any legal motive) was "unreasonnable", and contrary to convention no. 158, ratified by France.<ref name="Reuters"> {{fr icon}} {{Cite news | title=Un contrat en CNE jugé contraire au droit international |date=April 28, 2006 | accessdate=2006-05-05 | publisher=[[Reuters]] | url=http://today.reuters.fr/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-04-28T165412Z_01_TOU860781_RTRIDST_0_OFRTP-FRANCE-EMPLOI-CNE-TRIBUNAL-20060428.XML}} </ref><ref> {{fr icon}} {{Cite news | title=[[Bernard Thibault]] au plus haut |date=April 28, 2006 | accessdate=2006-05-05 | publisher=[[L'Express (France)|L'Express]] | url=http://www.lexpress.fr/info/quotidien/actu.asp?id=3591}} </ref>
===Child labour===
{{main|Child labour}}
[[Image:Abolish child slavery.jpg|thumb|right|Two girls wearing banners with slogan "Abolish child slavery!!" from the [[May 1]] [[1909]] labour parade in [[New York City]]]]
Child labour is the [[employment]] of [[child]]ren under an age determined by law or custom. This practice is considered [[exploitation|exploitative]] by many countries and international organizations. Child labour was not seen as a problem throughout most of history, only becoming a disputed issue with the beginning of universal [[education|schooling]] and the concepts of [[labour rights|labourers]] and [[children's rights]]. Child labour can be factory work, mining or quarrying, agriculture, helping in the parents' business, having one's own [[small business]] (for example selling food), or doing odd jobs. Some children work as guides for [[tourism|tourists]], sometimes combined with bringing in business for shops and [[restaurant]]s (where they may also work as waiters). Other children are forced to do tedious and repetitive jobs such as assembling boxes, or polishing shoes. However, rather than in factories and [[sweatshop]]s, most child labour occurs in the informal sector, "selling on the street, at work in [[agriculture]] or [[child domestic work|hidden away in houses]] — far from the reach of official inspectors and from media scrutiny."<ref name="unicef">{{cite web | title=The State of the World's Children 1997 | work=UNICEF | url=http://www.unicef.org/sowc97/report/ | accessdate=2007-04-15}}</ref>
==Collective labour law==
Collective labour law concerns the tripartite relationship between employer, employee and [[trade unions]]. Trade unions, sometimes called "labour unions" are the form of workers' organisation most commonly defined and legislated on in labour law. However, they are not the only variety. In the United States, for example, workers' centers are associations not bound by all of the laws relating to trade unions.
===Trade unions===
{{Main|Trade union}}
The law of some countries place requirements on unions to follow particular procedures before certain courses of action are adopted. For example, the requirement to ballot the membership before a strike, or in order to take a portion of members' dues for political projects. Laws may guarantee the right to join a union (banning employer discrimination), or remain silent in this respect. Some legal codes may allow unions to place a set of obligations on their members, including the requirement to follow a majority decision in a strike vote. Some restrict this, such as the '[[right to work]]' legislation in some of the United States.
===Strikes===
{{Main|Strike action}}
[[Image:Tyldesley miners outside the Miners Hall during the 1926 General Strike.jpg|right|thumb|Strikers gathering in Tyldesley in the 1926 [[General Strike]] in the U.K.]]
[[Strike action]] is the weapon of the workers most associated with industrial disputes, and certainly among the most powerful. In most countries, strikes are legal under a circumscribed set of conditions. Among them may be that:
* The strike is decided on by a prescribed democratic process. ([[Wildcat strikes]] are illegal).
* [[Sympathy strike]]s, against a company by which workers are not directly employed, may be prohibited.
* [[General strike]]s may be forbidden by a [[public order]].
* Certain categories of person may be forbidden to strike (airport personnel, health personnel, police or firemen, etc.)
* Strikes may be pursued by people continuing to work, as in Japanese [[strike action]]s which increase productivity to disrupt schedules, or in [[hospitals]].
A [[boycott]] is a refusal to buy, sell, or otherwise trade with an individual or business who is generally believed by the participants in the boycott to be doing something morally wrong. Throughout history, workers have used tactics such as the [[go-slow]], [[sabotage]] or just not turning up en-masse in order to gain more control over the workplace environment, or simply have to work less [http://www.af-north.org/lordstown.html]. Some labour law explicitly bans such activity, none explicitly allows it.
===Pickets===
{{Main|Picketing}}
[[Picketing]] is a tactic which is often used by workers during strikes. They may congregate outside the business which they are striking against, in order to make their presence felt, increase worker participation and dissuade (or prevent) [[strikebreaker|strike breakers]] from entering the place of work. In many countries, this activity will be restricted both by labour law, by more general law restricting demonstrations, or sometimes by injunctions on particular pickets. For example, labour law may restrict [[secondary picket]]ing (picketing a business not directly connected with the dispute, such as a supplier of materials), or [[flying picket]]s (mobile strikers who travel in order to join a picket). There may be laws against obstructing others from going about their lawful business ([[strike action#Scabs|scabbing]], for example, is lawful); making obstructive pickets illegal, and, in some countries, such as Britain, there may be court orders made from time to time against pickets being in particular places or behaving in particular ways (shouting abuse, for example).
===Workplace involvement===
{{main|Industrial democracy}}
Workplace consulation statutes exist in many countries, requiring that employers consult their workers on issues that concern their place in the company. Industrial democracy refers to the same idea, but taken much further. Not only that workers should have a voice to be listened to, but that workers have a vote to be counted.
===Co-determination===
{{Main|Co-determination|Industrial democracy}}
Originating in Germany, some form of co-determination (or ''Mitbestimmung'') procedure is practised in countries across continental Europe, such as Holland and the Czech Republic. This involves the rights of workers to be represented on the boards of companies for whom they work. The German model involves half the board of directors being appointed by the company trade union. However, German company law uses a split board system, with a 'supervisory board' (''Aufsichtsrat'') which appoints an 'executive board' (''Vorstand''). Shareholders and unions elect the supervisory board in equal number, except that the head of the supervisory board is, under co-determination law, a shareholder representative. While not gaining complete parity, there has been solid political consensus since the [[Helmut Schmidt]] [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|social democrat]] government introduced the measure in 1976.
In Britain, the similar proposals were drawn up, and a command paper produced named the [[Bullock Report (Industrial democracy)]]. This was released in 1977 by the [[James Callaghan]] Labour government. This proposal involved a similar split on the board, but its effect would have been even more radical. Because U.K. company law requires no split in the boards of directors, unions would have directly elected the management of the company. Furthermore, rather than giving shareholders the slight upper hand as happened in Germany, a debated 'independent' element would be added to the board, reaching the formula 2x + y. However, no action was ever taken as the U.K. slid into the [[winter of discontent]]. This tied into the European Commission's proposals for worker participation in the 'fifth company law directive', which was also never implemented.
==International labour law==
One of the crucial concerns of workers and those who believe that labour rights are important{{Who|date=May 2008}}, is that in a [[Globalisation|globalising]] economy, common social standards ought to support economic development in common markets. However, there is nothing in the way of international enforcement of labour rights, with the notable exception of labour law within the European Union. At the [[Doha round]] of trade talks through the [[World Trade Organisation]] one of the items for discussion was the inclusion of some kind of minimum standard of worker protection. The chief question is whether, with the breaking down of trade barriers in the international economy, while this can benefit consumers it can also make the ability of multinational companies to bargain down wage costs even greater, in wealthier Western countries and developing nations alike. The ability of corporations to shift their [[supply chain]]s from one country to another with relative ease could be the starting gun for a "regulatory race to the bottom", whereby nation states are forced into a merciless downward spiral, not only slashing [[tax]] rates and [[public services]] with it but also laws that in the short term cost employers money. Countries are forced to follow suit, on this view, because should they not [[foreign investment]] will dry up, move places with lower "burdens" and leave more people jobless and poor. This argument is by no means uncontested. The opposing view{{Who|date=May 2008}} suggests that free [[competition]] for [[capital]] investment between different countries increases the dynamic efficiency of the market place. Faced with the discipline that markets enforce, countries are incentivised to invest in education, training and skills in their workforce in order to obtain a [[comparative advantage]]. Government initiative will be spurred, because rational long term investment will be perceived as the better choice to increasing regulation. This theory concludes that an emphasis on deregulation is more beneficial than not. That said, neither the International labour organisation, nor the European Union takes this view.
===International Labour Organisation===
{{main|International Labour Organisation}}
[[Image:ILO logo.svg|150px|right|thumb]]
The International Labour Organisation (ILO), whose headquarters are in Geneva, is one of the oldest surviving international bodies, and the only surviving international body set up at the time of the [[League of Nations]] following the [[First World War]]. Its guiding principle is that "labour is not a commodity" to be traded in the same way as goods, services or capital, and that human dignity demands equality of treatment and fairness in dealing within the workplace.<ref>
See the article [http://www.itcilo.it/english/actrav/telearn/global/ilo/law/lablaw.htm International Labour Law] or the whole [http://www.itcilo.it/english/actrav/telearn/global/ilo/default.htm Globalization and Workers' Rights] section at the [http://www.itcilo.it/english/actrav/telearn/index.htm Actrav Distance Learning Project] of the [[International Labour Organization]] [http://www.ilo.org/]</ref> The ILO has drawn up numerous conventions on what ought to be the labour standards adopted by countries party to it. Countries are then obliged to ratify the Conventions in their own national law. However, there is no enforcement of this, and in practice most conventions are not agreed to, even if they are adhered to.
===European labour law===
{{main|European labour law}}
The [[European Union|European]] [[Working Time Directive]] limited the maximum length of a working week to 48 hours in 7 days, and a minimum rest period of 11 hours in each 24 hours. Like all [[European directive|EU Directives]], this is an instrument which requires member states to enact its provisions in national legislation. Although the directive applies to all member states, in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] it is possible to "opt out" of the 48 hour working week in order to work longer hours. In contrast, [[France]] has passed more strict legislation, limiting the maximum working week to [[35-hour workweek|35 hours]] (but optional hours are still possible). The controversial [[Directive on services in the internal market]] (aka "[[Frits Bolkestein|Bolkestein]] Directive") was then passed in 2006.
==National labour law==
===Australian labour law===
{{main|Australian labour law}}
{{Expand-section|date=June 2008}}
===Canadian labour law===
{{main|Canadian labour and employment law}}
In Canadian law, 'labour law' refers to matters connected with unionised workplaces, while 'employment law' deals with non-unionised employees.
===British labour law===
{{main|British labour law}}
The [[Factory Act]]s (first one in 1802, then 1833) and the 1832 [[Master and Servant Act]] were the first laws regulating labour relations in the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]. The vast majority of employment law before [[1960]] was based upon the Law of Contract. Since then there has been a significant expansion primarily due to the "equality movement"{{Fact|date=April 2008}} and the European Union.{{Fact|date=April 2008}} There are three sources of Law: Acts of Parliament called Statutes, Statutory Regulations (made by a Secretary of State under and Act of Parliament) and Case Law (developed by various Courts).
The first significant modern day Employment Law Act was the Equal Pay Act of 1970 although as it was a somewhat radical concept it did not come into effect until 1972. This act was introduced as part of a concerted effort to bring about equality for women in the workplace. Since the election of the Labour Government in 1997, there have been many changes in UK employment law. These include enhanced maternity and paternity rights, the introduction of a National Minimum Wage and the Working Time Directive which covers working time, rest breaks and the right to paid annual leave. Discrimination law has also been tightened, with protection from discrimination now available on the grounds of age, religion or belief and sexual orientation as well as gender, race and disability.
===French labour law===
In France the first labour laws were [[Waldeck Rousseau]]'s laws passed in 1884. Between 1936 and 1938 the [[Popular Front (France)|Popular Front]] enacted a law mandating 12 days (2 weeks) each year of paid [[vacation]] for workers, and a [[Matignon Accords (1936)|law]] limiting the work week to 40 hours, excluding overtime. The [[:fr:Accords de Grenelle|Grenelle accords]] negotiated on May 25th and 26th in the middle of the [[May 1968]] crisis, reduced the working week to 44 hours and created trade union sections in each enterprise.<ref>[[:fr:section syndicale d'entreprise|fr:section syndicale d'entreprise]]'' December 27, 1968 law</ref> The minimum wage was also increased by 25%.<ref>[[:fr:Salaire minimum interprofessionnel garanti|fr:SMIG]]</ref> In 2000 [[Lionel Jospin]]'s government then enacted the [[35-hour workweek]], down from 39 hours. Five years later, conservative prime minister [[Dominique de Villepin]] enacted the [[New Employment Contract]] (CNE). Addressing the demands of employers asking for more [[Labour market flexibility|flexibility]] in French labour laws, the CNE sparked criticism from trade unions and opponents claiming it was lending favour to [[contingent work]]. In 2006 he then attempted to pass the [[First Employment Contract]] (CPE) through a vote by emergency procedure, but that it was met by [[2006 labor protests in France|students and unions' protests]]. President [[Jacques Chirac]] finally had no choice but to repeal it.
===Mexican labour law===
{{main|Mexican labor law}}
{{Expand-section|date=June 2008}}
===United States labor law===
{{main|United States labor law}}
[[Image:PalmercarpenterA.jpg|thumb|right|An American builder]]
In the [[United States]], employers generally accepted the 8-hour day as of [[1912]]. The [[Wages and Hours Act]] of [[1938]] set the maximum standard work week to 44 hours, and in [[1950]] this was reduced to 40 hours. The [[United States Permanent Resident Card|green card]]s entitle legal [[immigrant]]s to [[work permit]]s, although an [[illegal alien]] may often work in the States because of compartmentalization of various bureaucratic entities. Despite the 40-hour standard [http://deskinlawfirm.com/working_more_than_72_hours_in_a_week_cannot_be_required maximum work week], some lines of work require more than 40-hours to complete the tasks of the job. For example, if you prepare agricultural products for market you can work over 72 hours a week, if you want to, but you cannot be required to. If you harvest products you must get a period of 24 hours off after working up to 72 hours in a seven-day period. There are exceptions to the 24 hours break period for certain harvesting employees, like those involved in harvesting grapes, tree fruits and cotton. Professionals, clerical (administrative assistants), technical, and mechanical employees can not be terminated for refusing to work more than 72 hours in a workweek.
The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the [[United States Constitution]] limit the power of the [[Federal government of the United States|federal]] and [[state]] governments to [[discriminate]]. The private sector is not directly constrained by the Constitution. The [http://finduslaw.com/us_constitution_5th_and_14th_amendments#1 Fifth Amendment] has an explicit requirement that the Federal Government not deprive individuals of "life, liberty, or property," without due process of the law and an implicit guarantee that each person receive equal protection of the laws. The [http://finduslaw.com/us_constitution_5th_and_14th_amendments#2 Fourteenth Amendment] explicitly prohibits states from violating an individual's rights of [[due process]] and [[equal protection]]. [[Equal protection]] limits the State and Federal governments' power to [[discriminate]] in their employment practices by treating employees, former employees, or job applicants unequally because of membership in a group, like a race, religion or sex. [[Due process]] protection requires that employees have a fair procedural process before they are terminated if the termination is related to a "liberty," like the right to [[free speech]], or a property interest.
The [http://finduslaw.com/age_discrimination_in_employment_act_of_1967_adea_29_u_s_code_chapter_14 Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967] prohibits employment discrimination based on age with respect to employees 40 years of age or older. This Act was created to promote employment of older persons based on their ability rather than age; to prohibit arbitrary age discrimination in employment; to help employers and workers find ways of [[meeting]] problems arising from the impact of age on employment because in the face of rising productivity and affluence, older workers find themselves disadvantaged in their efforts to retain employment, and especially to regain employment when displaced from jobs; the setting of arbitrary age limits regardless of potential for job performance has become a common practice, and certain otherwise desirable practices may work to the disadvantage of older persons; the incidence of unemployment, especially long-term unemployment with resultant deterioration of skill, morale, and employer acceptability is, relative to the younger ages, high among older workers; their numbers are great and growing; and their employment problems grave; and the existence in industries affecting commerce, of arbitrary discrimination in employment because of age, burdens commerce and the free flow of goods in commerce.
[http://finduslaw.com/civil_rights_act_of_1964_cra_title_vii_equal_employment_opportunities_42_us_code_chapter_21 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act] is the principal federal statute with regard to [employment discrimination] prohibiting unlawful employment discrimination by public and private employers, [labor organizations], training programs and employment agencies based on race or color, religion, sex, and national origin. Retaliation is also prohibited by [http://finduslaw.com/civil_rights_act_of_1964_cra_title_vii_equal_employment_opportunities_42_us_code_chapter_21 Title VII] against any person for opposing any practice forbidden by statute, or for making a charge, testifying, assisting, or participating in a proceeding under the statute. The [[Civil Rights Act of 1991]] expanded the damages available to [http://finduslaw.com/civil_rights_act_of_1964_cra_title_vii_equal_employment_opportunities_42_us_code_chapter_21 Title VII] cases and granted [http://finduslaw.com/civil_rights_act_of_1964_cra_title_vii_equal_employment_opportunities_42_us_code_chapter_21 Title VII] plaintiffs the right to jury trial.
==See also==
{{organized labour portal}}
* [[Collective bargaining]]
* [[Contingent work]]
* [[Labour market flexibility]]
* [[Industrial relations]]
* [[Legal working age]] and [[child labour]]
* [[Labour movement]]
* [[Master and Servant Act]]
* [[Right-to-work law]]
* [[Social security]]
* [[Sweat shops]]
* [[Unfair labor practice]]
* [[Union Organizer]]
* [[Vicarious liability]]
* [[Weekends]]
* [[WorkChoices]]
* [[Workplace Fairness]]
===Advice===
====UK====
Advice on employment law in the UK is available from a variety of sources, including the ACAS helpline (0845 7474747) or, for workers in Scotland, the [[Scottish Low Pay Unit]] Employment Rights Advice Line (0845 6023802). Advice on sex discrimination at work is available from the Equal Opportunities Commission ([http://www.eoc.org.uk] or 0845 6015901). There are also a number of useful sources of information on the internet, such as the Department of Trade and Industry [http://www.dti.gov.uk/employment/index.html website] and the [[Scottish Low Pay Unit]]'s online [http://www.slpu.org.uk/employment_rights.htm employment rights pack].
==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}
==Further reading==
*Norman Selwyn, ''Selwyn's Law of Employment'' (2008) Oxford University Press
*Simon Honeyball, ''Honeyball and Bowers' Textbook on Employment Law'' (2008) Oxford University Press
*Keith Ewing, Aileen McColgan and Hugh Collins, ''Labour Law, Cases, Texts and Materials'' (2005) Hart Publishing
*Simon Deakin and Gillian Morris, ''Labour Law'' (2005) Hart Publishing ISBN-13 9781841135601
*Keshawn Walker and Arn Morell, "''Labor and Employment: Workplace Warzone''", Georgetown University Thesis (2005)
==External links==
*[http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Labour_Legislation Labour Legislation page from 1911 Encyclopedia.org, Encyclopedia Brittanica's 1911 edition]
*[http://www.emplaw.co.uk British employment law at emplaw.co.uk]
*[http://www.dbj.co.at/phps/start.php?noie=&lang=en&content=publikationen_show.php&navi=publikationen&;publikation_nr=167 Overview article on Austrian labor law]
*[http://www.g-p.ge/files/25_37_111820_newsletter_5.pdf Overview article on Georgian labor law] at Getsadze & Pateishvili Law Office
*[http://www.lassche.nl/en/employmentlaw.html Summary of Dutch labour law in English]
*[http://www.dbj.co.at/phps/start.php?noie=1&lang=en&content=publikationen_liste.php&fach_nr=8&navi=publikationen Other articles on Austrian labor law (mainly in German language)]
*[http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/lwp Labor and Worklife Program] at [http://www.law.harvard.edu Harvard Law School]
*[http://www.iww.org/en/culture/articles/zinn13.shtml Repression Against the IWW]
*[http://finduslaw.com FindUSLaw United States Employment Law]
*[http://finduslaw.com/california_labor_code California Labor Code]
*[http://library.msstate.edu/content/templates/?a=1323&z=83 Foreign Countries - Labor, Employment & Income Data, Policy & Law Research Guide from the Mississippi State University Libraries]
*[http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/library/research/subjectGuides/laborEmploymentLaw.html Labor and Employment Law Subject Guide from Catherwood Library, ILR School, Cornell University]
{{Law}}
[[Category:Organizational studies and human resource management]]
[[Category:Labour relations]]
[[Category:Socialism]]
[[Category:Social programs]]
[[Category:Labour law]]
[[Category:Employment compensation]]
[[Category:Working conditions]]
[[Category:Working time]]
[[Category:Employment law]]
[[de:Arbeitsrecht (Deutschland)]]
[[es:Derecho laboral]]
[[eo:Labora juro]]
[[fr:Droit du travail]]
[[gl:Dereito laboral]]
[[ko:노동법]]
[[it:Diritto del lavoro]]
[[he:דיני עבודה]]
[[lt:Darbo teisė]]
[[nl:Arbeidsrecht]]
[[ja:労働法]]
[[no:Arbeidsrett]]
[[pl:Prawo pracy]]
[[pt:Direito do trabalho]]
[[ro:Dreptul muncii]]
[[ru:Трудовое право Российской Федерации]]
[[sr:Radno pravo]]
[[sv:Arbetsrätt]]
[[tr:İş Hukuku]]
[[uk:Трудове право]]
[[zh:勞工法]]