International Employment Laws For Americans

Every person in the United States has several rights established. Those rights do not stop when you go overseas to work. There are important international labor laws in effect to ensure the rights and safety for Americans and international workers alike.

• You have a right to unionize. As a
  worker you have the right to organize a Union. That means you can join an
  organization without the approval of your employer. While your employer may not
  like the action itself, it is a way to protect you as a worker.


• You have a right to combat child labor. Even
  though this is an international labor law, it is still an issue in society
  today. Child labor will always be a reoccurring problem and that is why The
  Minimum Age Convention of 1973 took action. Many laws have been put into place
  to prohibit the overuse of children and teenagers as cheap labor. Although this
  law is enforced in the US, it is hard to see its effectiveness in other
  countries.


• You have a right to say no to forced labor. No one
  can make you work without your consent. This law does not work for those who
  are in the military or for criminals of society. Several years later more has
  been added to the forced labor law, known as the Abolition of Forced Labor
  Convention. There are many exceptions to this particular law.


• You have a right to be treated equal. As you
  may notice on the bottoms of your employment applications, everyone must be
  treated equal. In the past an employer has the right to refuse to hire you
  based on color, age or sex. However, more people are fighting this law more
  than ever. Everyone has an equal right to a job.