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Louisiana Employee Rights



A brief guide to Louisiana employee rights

The legal system has created many different laws in order to safeguard employees from being exploited in their workplace. Being aware of every Louisiana employee right you have is the most important step you can take to guard against being taken advantage of by a dishonest employer.

One important provision of the law concerns minimum wage. Louisiana employee rights guarantee nearly every worker a minimum payment of $7.25 an hour, per the federal guidelines established in the Fair Labor Standards Act. In addition to paying this, an employer must compensate their workers for every hour worked past 40 hours a week. Every worker is guaranteed the Louisiana employee right to be paid $10.88 an hour for all such labor. There is no limit set on how many hours a week employers may have their employees work.

Sometimes, an employer may try to avoid paying you the compensation you are entitled to as part of your Louisiana employee rights by paying the total of your minimum wages in one sum rather than making note of how many hours you worked. This will allow them to claim that as a salaried employee, you are not entitled to compensation for overtime labor. However, this is a violation of your Louisiana employee right to fair compensation, since only those workers who perform primarily administrative or intellectual tasks requiring specialized knowledge can be salaried workers. This is unlikely to apply to anyone who is making minimum wage.

Louisiana employee rights concerning payment of overtime wages do not concern certain workers, such as salespeople who make the bulk of their income on commission. Similarly, workers who are under the age of 20 may be paid $4.25 an hour for the first 90 days of their employment. After this period has passed or they reach the age of 20, they have the Louisiana employee right to be paid the standard adult minimum wage.

If you feel that your employer has underpaid you or you are being denied compensation unfairly, you should contact the Hours and Wages division of the US Department of Labor. This government agency is responsible for making sure all Louisiana employee rights are respected by employers. After reviewing your claims, they may be able to compel payment of underpaid or unpaid wages. 

Female employees who have given birth are entitled to a clean, safe space to breastfeed their children for up to a year after having given birth. Louisiana employee rights stipulate that this location must be somewhere other than a bathroom.

Employers must have some form of workers compensation insurance. If you are injured while on the job, you have the Louisiana employee right to visit the physician of your choice and receive coverage for your medical expenses. It is irrelevant whether you were partially or fully responsible for any such incident. Regardless of the circumstances, you have the Louisiana employee right to be compensated by your employer. 

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