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TITLE How to Beat the Boss     page 4 of 5
SUBHEAD   AUTHOR Jennifer Vogel

how DO I beat the boss


Speak Up:
Tell us how you beat your boss

Palfsky is especially fond of the Civil Rights Act because it allows workers to recover attorneys fees if we win. "In most other kinds of cases," he says, "you have to pay your own lawyer even if you win. That means that very few matters are economically feasible to pursue through litigation. Before 1991, you could go to court but you could only get back pay. Now you can get punitive damages, emotional stress damages, and a jury trial."

Other laws depend on what your specific situation is:
If you were fired for reporting some sort of law violation, you'll want to look into the Whistleblower Protection Statutes of 1989 that say employees of financial institutions and government contractors are protected against retaliatory firings.

  • If you're being forced to work a lot of overtime--and more and more of us are--the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 may provide some relief. The law says that, except for supervisors and a few other classes of employees, we can't be forced to work more than 40 hours a week without overtime pay.
  • The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1991 says your boss has to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave time for employees who have newborn babies, a seriously ill family member, or are ill themselves. This law means you'll have a job when you come back.
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