Eight Employment Laws You Must Follow

Have you taken a look around your office recently to see whom you've hired? If you haven´t, you should. Both federal and state governments care about who you hire — and more importantly, whom you don't hire.

To discourage discrimination, there are a variety of federal and state laws governing

1. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, and sex. It also prohibits sex discrimination on the basis of pregnancy and sexual harassment.

2. The Equal Pay Act of 1963. Prohibits employers from paying different wages to men and women who perform essentially the same work under similar working conditions.

3. The Civil Rights Act of 1966. Prohibits discrimination based on race or ethnic origin.

4. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Prohibits discrimination on the basis of national origin or citizenship of persons who are authorized to work in the United States.

5. The Americans with Disabilities Act. Prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities.

6. The Bankruptcy Act. Prohibits discrimination against anyone who has declared bankruptcy.

7. Equal Employment Opportunity Act. Prohibits discrimination against minorities based on poor credit ratings.

8. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Prohibits discrimination against individuals who are age 40 or above.

Depending on the size of your company, it may be exempt from some discrimination laws. For example, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act only applies to employers with 20 or more employees.

No matter what the size of your firm is, it's important to always watch your hiring practices. Signing on 10 white males in a row is never a good practice. Remember that any size employer can be sued based on employment patterns and for not employing enough minorities and women.