Detroit Employment Law Blog

“Employment law” consists of federal and state laws, rules and regulations, plus precedent from court decisions.

Here are four facts about Michigan employment law that you might not be aware of.

An "employment contract and compensation agreement" establishes the terms of an employment relationship between the worker and employer. Although such a contract is not required for all employees of a particular business, an employment contract and compensation agreement is often used when establishing the terms associated with hiring someone into an executive-level position.

Here are some of the features associated with a typical employment contract and compensation agreement:

Businesses and employers cannot discriminate against workers -- or potential workers -- on the basis of the worker's religious belief system in the United States. By virtue of the First Amendment, one of the primary principles of the United States is protection from religious discrimination. This is largely because the original founders of the United States had suffered from religious persecution in Europe, leading to escape to the "New World" where they could enjoy a freer life.

In addition to the right of the general population to live free of religious persecution in the United States, U.S. workers also enjoy protection from religious-based employment discrimination under Title VII of the Civil rights Act of 1964, which prevents private and government employers from discriminating against potential and current employees as a result of their religions. For example, employers cannot pass you up for a promotion or fail to hire you for a job simply because your Christian, Hindu, Muslim or Jewish.

One of the biggest dangers of becoming a so-called "whistleblower" is the threat of employer retaliation. Imagine, for example, that you work for a construction firm that engages in numerous Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) safety violations because it's too "cheap" to pay for legally required safety improvements.

Nevertheless, the workers put up with the safety issues because they're thankful to have a job and they don't want to risk their incomes by complaining. After a co-worker suffered a serious injury, you've decided that enough is enough, and you've filed a complaint with OSHA to complain.