Working in America: How much do you know about your rights?  

Agreed... you would however, be amazed at the amount of people who don't. Working in collections, the amount of people who didn't even know that bounced checks could be prosecuted by law was unbelievable. I have several friends who have faced the same problem, Lamb :/

Totally unrelated to this, but...

My sister was down visiting my Mom last week, and I went over to see her, and told her I had met someone from there on a site I frequent. She thought it was kinda cool.

I've always believed that the classroom was one of the worst places to learn, especially when it comes to "common sense". Where I live, years ago the school required a class called "Living skills" - the only thing they taught us was "proper study technique". That's okay I guess if you want to be a career student, ha! I think that basic federal labor laws/rights, as well as laws/basics regarding savings, checking and credit cards. I mean hell, we spend hours upon hours teaching kids how to drive so that they can get their driver's licenses... I guess that their logic is that they can kill OTHER people with cars too, not just ruin their own lives.. ha.

I hear you their. I took a critical thinking course with DeVry not too long ago, they taught me how to study and organize, and not sexually harrass folks...

I started up with network marketing, and learning about the law of attraction much more recently I learned more in the last 3 months about how to live, and see through things, and save money and critical thinking, and personal/relationship developing then I have in my entire life.

It makes me not want to put my son through school.

I hate having to send my kid to the schools here... But the only private ones are, of course, religiously affiliated, and I'm not in good enough health to home school her. I might not feel the same living somewhere else, but I'm stuck here for the time being.

I am considering making suggestions on critical thinking and active listening courses to the school boards and local politicitions. Probably even interview the teachers.

Indeed they are. I've never been lucky enough to score a job with paid days off or incentives for being a good employee. It's as amazing as it is sickening to hear that your company gives out incentives and rewards and half of the people still blow through them. I always seem to end up at crappy ones that pay the hopeheads and wh0r3$ better than the person who comes to work and works their body into an early death.... at which to say, honestly, what they do on their own time is fine, but when it reflects how *I* am going to be viewed at my job or I'm going to get reprimanded because their drugged up, hungover butts can't keep up, that doesn't fly over too well with me.

My husband's job is physically demanding, the working conditions are poor, and the pay is about average for our area; but, they do have excellent benefits. Because of the first two items, his company has a lot of employee turn over and they expect it - that is why the benefits are so good.

My job is not physically demanding, working conditions are average, pay is about average for our area, and we also have excellent benefits. We even have benefits his company does not have. But, we still have a high employee turnover rate! Part of this is because people will not show up for work consistantly; a few are fired for other reasons; but, many just quit. We have even had people that were hired that quit after the first day or never even showed up for the first day! We are one of the few companies that is still hiring on a steady basis in our area. Some people just don't WANT to actually work even when the work is easy to do.

In an At Will state, they *can* fire you because you don't wear makeup, the same with the more qualified promotion and pay issue - unless that state has some stipulations to the At Will laws and rulings.. Many don't. I was fired for taking a day off that I was approved for taking off by my supervisor. I was fired from another job, I was told, because I don't smile much (which I don't because I have bad teeth)... and more. All perfectly legal. One place I worked actually forced the employees to participate in illegal hiring practices, which was reported to EEOC. Three years later, it's still like nothing was ever said or done. Go figure.