Employment

An employer is a person or institution that hires employees or workers. There are federal rules which determine whether an employee can be classified as exempt or non exempt from over time. Once an employee has been properly classified as exempt or not exempt, an Employer may offer hourly wages or a salary. It is important to note that "salary" does not always mean "exempt from overtime requirements." A properly classified, as exempt, salaried employee is typically not paid more for more hours worked and employers may not deduct wages for items such as lack of work or because the employee worked less hours due to no fault of their own.
Employees, that are not exempt, must be paid overtime. They are most often referred to as "hourly employees." The federal rule for overtime for all hourly employees is: Hourly employees that work more than 40 hours in a set and predetermined 24 hour and 7 consecutive day period must be paid 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for all hours over 40. Under no circumstance may either the employer or employee waive the over time requirement. Additionally, many states have their own individual requirements about when and how over time is to be paid. In general, when there are both federal and state laws that apply to the same employment issue, such as Over Time, the law that treats the employee the best or with most favor, is the law that governs.
Most employment in the U.S is what is known at AT Will. One state, Montana, is not At Will. For all other states, this means that either the employer or the employee may end the relationship "At Will" and with no notice. In the United States there are a growing body of rules, regulations, and laws which affect the AT Will relationship. Therefore, At Will for employers also means that they must not terminate or make an adverse employment decision based on an "unlawful reason."
Employers include individuals hiring a babysitter to governments and businesses which may hire many thousands of employees. In most western societies, governments are the largest single employers but most of the work force is employed in small and medium businesses in the private sector.
Although employees may contribute to an enterprise, the employer maintains control over the productive base of land and capital, and is the entity named in contracts. The employer typically maintains ownership of intellectual property created by an employee within the scope of employment and as a function thereof. These inventions or creations become the property of the employer based on a concept known as "works for hire".
In the United States, the standard employment relationship is considered to be at-will meaning that the employer and employee are both free to terminate the employment at any time and for any cause, or for no cause at all. However, if a termination of employment^[3] by the employer is deemed unjust by the employee, there can be legal recourse to challenge such a termination. Unjust termination may include termination due to discrimination because of an individual's race, national origin, sex or gender, pregnancy, age, physical or mental disability, religion, or military status. Additional protections apply in some states, for instance in California unjust termination reasons include marital status, ancestry, sexual orientation or medical condition. Despite whatever agreement an employer makes with an employee for the employee's wages, an employee is entitled to certain minimum wages set by the federal government. The states may set their own minimum wage that is higher than the federal government's to ensure a higher standard of living or living wage for their residents. Under the Equal Pay Act of 1963 an employer may not give different wages based on sex alone.^[4]
Employees are often contrasted with independent contractors, especially when there is dispute as to the worker's entitlement to have matching taxes paid, workers compensation, and unemployment insurance benefits. However, in September 2009, the court case of Brown v. J. Kaz, Inc. ruled that independent contractors are regarded as employees for the purpose of discrimination laws if they work for the employer on a regular basis, and said employer directs the time, place, and manner of employment.^[5]
In non-union work environments, in the United States, unjust termination complaints can be brought to the United States Department of Labor.
Alternatives
A developing model of employment, as practiced by such companies as Semco, Google, DaVita, Freys Hotels and Linden Labs, seeks to set aside the "master-servant relationship" implicit in the traditional employment contract. The concommitant employment practices are often grouped under the heading Workplace democracy, and are characterised by high levels of employee engagement; principles-based rather than rules-based work relations; and a problem-solving approach to workplace conflict. In this model management (including its employment function) effectively becomes a domain shared between managers and staff. The resurgent New Unionism movement promotes this employment model, and seeks to extend it.
When an individual entirely owns the business for which he or she labours, this is known as self-employment. Self-employment often leads to incorporation. Incorporation offers certain protections of one's personal assets. Laws of incorporation vary from state to state with Delaware having the most incorporated businesses of any state in the U.S.
Workers who are not paid wages, such as volunteers, are generally not considered as being employed. One exception to this is an internship, an employment situation in which the worker receives training or experience (and possibly college credit) as the chief form of compensation.
Those who work under obligation for the purpose of fulfilling a debt, such as an indentured servant, or as property of the person or entity they work for, such as a slave, do not receive pay for their services and are not considered employed. Some historians suggest that slavery is older than employment, but both arrangements have existed for all recorded history.