Size and State Matter

• Author: Randy Freking
• Profession: Labor employment lawyer
• Pages: 7-9

7

CHAPTER

2

Size and State Matter

In employment rights, size matters because many smaller employers are not subject to all of the federal

or state laws granting employees certain rights. In Chapter 7, you will learn the minimum number of em-

ployees required before an employer is covered by certain laws.

For example, only employers with at least 20 employees must adhere to the federal Age Discrimina-

tion in Employment Act. Other laws, such as the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, apply to virtually

all employers.

Your State Matters

The state in which you work is important in determining the scope of rights and remedies available to

you. In some states, your rights and remedies may exceed those set as a minimum by Congress. Many state

legislatures have passed employment laws modeled after federal law, but with broader coverage in some

instances and greater potential liability for an employer.

As an example, Ohio age discrimination laws cover employers with only four or more employees,

thus greatly increasing the number of small businesses that cannot lawfully treat older employees differ-

ently than younger employees. Federal age discrimination law applies only if an employer has at least

20employees.

Thus, if an older worker is fired in Ohio while working for a company with 10 employees (10 fewer

than the federal threshold), the worker can only assert rights protecting him from age discrimination