Key federal employment laws include: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 1964 (prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for disability discrimination, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) for workers over 40, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for eligible employees, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for wages and hours, and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) for collective activity rights. State laws often provide additional protections.

Most US states are "at-will" employment states, meaning an employer can terminate an employee for any reason or no reason, without notice — except for illegal reasons. Illegal reasons include discrimination based on a protected characteristic, retaliation for protected activity (such as filing an EEOC complaint, taking FMLA leave, or reporting safety violations), and in some states, termination that violates public policy. Being "at-will" does not remove these protections.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces federal employment discrimination laws. Before you can sue an employer for discrimination under federal law, you must generally file a charge with the EEOC first. There are strict time limits — you must file within 180 or 300 days of the discriminatory act, depending on whether your state has its own fair employment agency. The EEOC will investigate and may attempt conciliation.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles eligible employees at covered employers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for: the birth or adoption of a child, a serious health condition of the employee, or to care for a covered family member with a serious health condition. To be eligible, you must have worked for your employer for at least 12 months and 1,250 hours in the past year, and your employer must have at least 50 employees within 75 miles.