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Federal and State Systems of Government

Many people are stunned to discover that there is not a single "court system" in the United States. Every state has its own court system which is designed to handle cases that involve disputes or crimes that occur within the state. The federal government also has a court system to handle cases that involve disputes or issues governed by federal laws or the U.S. Constitution. Both the state system and the government system have different applications for employment laws as well. It is amazing to learn that the federal and state systems of government differ in their application of employment law.

The United States Supreme Court ruled that their employees could not sue states over alleged violations of Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The court's decision only affects the rights of state employees. Other public employers do not enjoy the right to claim "sovereign immunity" from individuals' legal actions. The decisions also do not affect the enforcement of state laws governing discrimination or regulating wages and hours of employment.

In the United States, each state has state laws that must to be followed regarding employment. Each state has its own court system to handle criminal and civil cases. Outside of these state run court systems is the federal court system. This court system is designed to try cases that involve issues that are governed by federal laws or the United States Constitution. Employment laws differ from state to state and on the federal level.

It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee based on age, sex, race, disability, and age. Federal and state employment laws are put into place to protect the rights of the employee. Some states even go above and beyond the employment laws that are set forth by the federal government while some states strictly follow the guidelines of the federal laws.

In order to understand why some federal laws differ from state laws one must understand the powers of our nations' government. Federalism is the principle that divides the powers between governments and makes provisions for change within the various levels of government. The United States Constitution divides some powers between state and federal governments, designates which powers are to be shared, and also disallows some power to each level.

In the state of California employees are subject to a daily overtime requirement as well as a weekly overtime requirement. In California employers must pay time and a half to employees who have worked more than 8 hours in one day and double time for more than 12 hours worked in any single day. California law also requires employers to pay double time for any hours over 8 worked on the seventh consecutive day of a given workweek. (The Ison Lawgroup Workplace Law)

Social Security is the federally administered insurance system. Under current federal laws, both employer and employee must pay into the system, and a certain percentage of the employee's salary is paid up to a maximum limit. Social Security is mandatory for employees and employers. The most noteworthy exceptions are state and local government employees.

The Social Security Act was passed in 1935. It provides an insurance plan designed to indemnify covered individuals against loss of earnings resulting from various causes.

Unemployment insurance is a Federal-State program jointly financed through Federal and State employer payroll taxes. Generally, employers must pay both State and Federal Unemployment

taxes