For the past fifty years, according to the National Employment Law Project, the number of part time workers has tripled. (Part time workers are those who usually work under 40 hours per week.) Because of this trend in the labor sector, United States government has acted upon to protect the rights of these part time workers by introducing several laws.
There are basically three well-known laws that have been enacted during the past years by the US government. And these laws are:
Employee Retirement Income Security Act
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act is one law that mainly supports the pension plan a private employee should receive upon his retirement, especially on the part time worker. Many companies define part time workers as employees that work under 40 hours a week and should not be entitled to such benefits like vacation, company pension, health insurance and profit-sharing plans. This law then acts as income support for those who are part time workers when they retire. ERISA states that if the part time worker has completed 1,000 hours of work then he is entitled for a pension.
The Fair Labor Standards Act
According to the Department of Labor, the Fair Labor Standards Act main purpose is to set a standard concerning overtime, recordkeeping, youth employment and minimum wage. The regulations as set in this law are applicable to the private sector as well to all public employees in the local, state, and federal government. Though this laws does not stipulate directly that it applies to part time workers, this law is now considered as applicable to both the full time workers and the part time workers. As of July 2009, the Fair Labor Standards Act establishes the federal minimum wage at $7.25.
Unemployment Compensation Law
Unemployment Compensation Law is designed to address the needs of the part time workers. It is stated that under this law, an employee is entitled to compensation if he got unemployed due for the reason that he is not at fault. Additional probation in this law is the eligibility of the employee for unemployment payments if he used to work as a part time worker.