Whether you’ve just entered the workforce or you’ve been financially independent for years, or something more specific like looking to hire a Los Angeles sexual harassment attorney, then it’s vital to know your employment rights.

In particular you can even find out employment rights Phoenix.

Read on to discover your rights, and how you can protect them if they are violated in the workplace.

The Right Not to Experience Discrimination

Anti-discrimination laws are in place to ensure that employees are not treated unfairly due to their race, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, disability, marital status, religion, and pregnancy. Employers may not discriminate against employees under any circumstances.

To be able to determine whether you are being discriminated against in the workplace, it’s vital to know your rights. If your employer is treating you differently due to any of the reasons above or permitting discrimination in your workplace, you should consult with an employment lawyer and take legal action against them.

The Right to Work in a Safe Environment

Employers are responsible for ensuring that their employees work in a safe environment. If you have reason to believe that your working conditions are dangerous, you can refuse to work until the employer rectifies the situation.

An employer’s negligence or failure to protect their employees’ health can (and should) result in legal action. You have a right to ensure that your working environment does not pose a risk to your safety or physical and emotional wellbeing.

The Right to Privacy

When it comes to your personal matters, you have a right to privacy. While your employer is entitled to know about all work-related matters, they do not have a right to invade your privacy, demand details about your personal life, make them known by other employees, or hold them against you.

If your employer invades your privacy, it’s vital to know that your autonomy is protected by law – employers are never allowed to violate your privacy.

The Right to a Harassment-Free Workplace

No form of harassment is permitted in any working environment, so you need to know when an employer or coworker crosses that line so you can protect your rights. Harassment can be sexual – such as sexual harassment and sexual assault – but it can also be invasion of personal space and bullying.

If a coworker is making you uncomfortable and your employer does not deal with the harassment or take it seriously, you are within your rights to speak out and demand to be protected.

It’s important to know how to recognize and respond to sexual harassment, so employers need sexual harassment prevention training for their employees. This type of training teaches employees about the laws that protect them from sexual harassment in the workplace, what sexual harassment is, how to identify it and report it, and strategies for preventing sexual harassment before it happens.

The Right to Take Time Off

Another right that you are guaranteed in the workplace is being permitted to take adequate time off – especially if you are sick, pregnant, or have to take care of an ill family member. If you haven’t taken time off and would like to take consecutive days, your employer has to grant them to you.

Additionally, employers must provide you with time off, and they have no right to control what you do during your free time – whether it’s time off or after hours.

The Right to Fair Pay

Equal pay for equal work is your right. If you have not been compensated fairly for the work you’ve done or if other employees of the opposite sex are receiving more compensation for the same amount of work, you have the right to take legal action against them.

Additionally, your employer is not permitted to deduct money for unjust causes – your work ethic and professionalism should guarantee fair pay from your employer. Bear in mind, though, to take legal action you’ll need to provide proof that you have rendered a service or adequate amount of work.