subject: Rules And Regulations That Georgia Employer Should Know [print this page] If you are an employer in Georgia you have to follow certain rules and regulations so that your business can grow without any hindrance. If you are not aware of all the employment laws you can consult an employment attorney. In fact having an in-house attorney is also a great way to ensure that you are not taking any illegal step.
COBRA
Under Georgia law and COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act), an employer can not withdraw the healthcare plan of an employee if it is lost or the employee has been terminated or because the hours of an employee has been reduced.
Child Labor
A child under the age of 12 can not be employed in Georgia. If any one employs a minor under the age of 16, the employer should make sure that the minor has a work permit from the school. One can not employ a minor to work between 9pm to 6 am. Moreover they can not be employed in Dangerous Occupation.
Drug-Free Workplace
An employer should implement a drug-free work place program. It is quite beneficial for the employer because it helps him or her to get a discount on workers compensation insurance plan.
Workers Compensation
As per Georgia Employment Law, if an employee has been injured on the job, he or she is entitled to workers compensation. The employee will get payment of all the medical bills and also income benefit caused by lost time over a week.
Wage & Hour
An employer needs to set out wage and overtime as per the Fair Labor Standards Act. Under this law the hourly employees should get a minimum wage of $5.15 per hour. If a non-exempt worker works for more than forty hours a week, the employer needs to pay one and one half times more than the regular rate.
Discrimination
In Georgia an employer can not discriminate an employee on the basis of the following issues.
Age: As per the Age Discrimination in Employment Act an employer can not discriminate in hiring employees between the age of 40 and 70.
Bankruptcy: The federal law prohibits any discrimination against prospective employees who have declared bankruptcy.
Disability: Employment law of Georgia also prohibits discrimination of qualified individuals with disability. If an individual posses the required skills, education and experience the employer can not discriminate the individual on disability ground.
Equal Pay: Georgia law and the Equal Pay Act prohibit employers to set unequal wages to men and women doing the same work.
Race, Color, Sex, Religion and National Origin: As per the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title VII no employer can discriminate an employee on the basis of Race, Color, Sex, Religion and National Origin.
Pregnancy: The Pregnancy Discrimination Act forbid employers to discriminate a woman on the bases if pregnancy, child birth and related issues.
If the employment law seem to be too complicated to handle it is better that you seek help from a Georgia Employment Lawyer to ensure that your business functions smoothly.
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