• Georgia state contour with Capital City against blurred USA flag image by Stasys Eidiejus from Fotolia.com
  
  The Georgia Department of Labor oversees the enforcement of state labor laws. Georgia labor laws cover areas such as child labor and workplace discrimination. For employers and workers alike, knowing your rights under Georgia law is advisable. Employees must know their rights to insist on them. Conversely, employers want to avoid infringing upon the law, which can be very expensive.
  
  

Child Labor

• Georgia law regulates the number of hours children may work. All minors, regardless of marriage status, must have work permits. State law mandates that minors under the age of 16 may not work more than four hours during a school day. When school is not in session, a minor under 16 may work up to eight hours a day. During the summer or other vacations, minors under the age of 16 may be scheduled for as many as 40 hours per week. Minors under 16 cannot work when school is in session; they also cannot work from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. Georgia law has no restrictions on what hours a minor over the age of 16 may work. Minors under the age of 14 are not permitted to hold a job of any kind, unless they work for their parents who own the business.
  
  

Employment and Discrimination

• Georgia is an "at will" work state. This means that an employee may be terminated for any reason or no reason at all. However, there are a handful of legal restrictions regarding improper termination of employees. Employees may not be terminated or have their wages or hours reduced on the basis of gender, race, age, national origin, disability status, bankruptcy status, pregnancy status, religion or sexual orientation. Further, employees may not be terminated for insisting on equal treatment under the law, nor for acting as whistle blowers about discrimination or unsafe work place practices.
  
  

Unions

• Georgia is a "right to work" state. This means that unions may not compel members to join, and the "union shop" does not exist in the state. On the other hand, employers may not take measures to interfere with an employee's legal right to join or form a union. Employers may not intimidate employees nor retaliate against them in any way to form a union. Once a union has been recognized, the employer must make a good faith effort to bargain with it.