A US Employment Lawyer Revealed The Laws Companies Break The Most & You Could Be Impacted
Talking about your salary with your coworkers is definitely not illegal.
Paige Sparks in a pink suit. Right: Employees working in an office.
Working for companies — whether big or small — is the way of life for millions of Americans, but not all of them know there are some labor laws that their employers break on a regular basis.
Employment lawyer Paige Sparks recently shared a TikTok video where she exposed all the usual rules companies implement that are actually illegal.
The St. Louis-based attorney's post from January 31 received 26.3 million views, and so many people are flooding the comment section writing that they have experienced a few of these violations at their own job.
@lawyerpaige Replying to @smellykellyjellybelly_ good morning ☀️ #law #legal #lawyer #legaltiktok #lawyersoftiktok #work #discrimination #employmentlaw
Here are a few that are pretty common:
Discouraging employees from discussing pay with each other
Sparks says the most common infringement she sees is employees being told they aren't allowed to discuss their salary among co-workers.
"If your employer has a policy saying that's not allowed, that's illegal to enforce or even to have," she said. "It's a federal right."
However, the comment section suggests this situation is happening a lot around the States.
"You literally just made me realize what my old job did to me was completely illegal. They penalized me for finding out my coworkers made more for the same job..." one user recounted, receiving over 6K likes. "I asked for a raise and was yelled at for disclosing my salary."
Improperly denying disability accommodations
Another common violation is when employees get accommodations denied for absolutely no reason at all.
Sparks says they have to do the "interactive process" that requires the company to explain why they can't accommodate, as well as provide "possible alternatives."
Again, this is another breach of law that many U.S. employees say they are experiencing.
"I got let go for miscarriages and needing to work from home," a user wrote. "I got a doctor's note, and they denied it and called my ER doctor, later they terminated via a severance..."
Firing employees for using the Family and Medical Leave Act
The Family and Medical Leave Act, or "FMLA," is a federally mandated law that protects an employee's job during times when they must take a leave from work for an extended period of time.
The government ensures the protection of employees taking time off for medical or familial reasons, like having a baby, so they can keep their position as well as health benefits.
Sparks says some companies aren't so respectful of the law.
"My sister-in-law got laid off because she had to take a lot of time off for being in the hospital due to pregnancy," a person wrote in the comment section of the clip. "She even asked if there was a way to work from home, and her employer said: ‘Well, what did you expect? For us to build you a nursery?'"