10 things managers can't do

I get a lot of workplace-advice requests in my inbox. I am always happy to answer human resources and leadership questions when I can. One topic that comes up often is this: Can my manager do this or that (cut my pay, change my title, change my hours, etc.) without getting in trouble?

All of the three examples I gave are areas where managers, and employers, in general, have a lot of latitude. Yes, your boss can cut your pay, change your hours or title, or eliminate your job — in most cases. If you're a member of a union, or a government employee, there are certain restrictions on an employer's ability to make these kinds of changes that don't apply to the rest of us. But for the most part, your employer can make drastic changes to your job, and there is no one to say "you can't do that."

However, there are plenty of things that managers can't do — not legally, anyway. Here are 10 of them:

1. Your manager can't decide that s/he'd like a younger employee in your job, and replace you — not if you are over 40. That's called age discrimination.

2. Your manager can't pay you less than the minimum wage, unless you work in some very specific areas (e.g. certain agricultural and restaurant jobs).

3. Your manager can't decide that you are an independent contractor, and stop withholding payroll taxes and paying for your benefits. The government has set up specific tests to determine whether a working person qualifies as an independent contractor — the rest of us are employees.

4. Your boss can't hire a person only because he or she is of a particular gender, race, ethnicity, or religion, or fail to hire someone for any of those reasons.

5. Your company can't fire a person or downgrade her position because she is pregnant.

6. Your employer can't require employees to make donations to a particular political candidate.

7. Your boss can't fire or discipline you for using Family Medical Leave Act benefits — time off to deal with family issues, that is — if you qualify for benefits under the act and go through the defined process for using these benefits.

8. Your employer can't decide on its own to pay you a fixed salary (vs. hourly wages) unless you meet the tests that designate a person as a salaried employee. These tests, created by the recent revision of the old

(1938) Fair Labor Standards Act, require employers to prove that employees are truly salaried employees. Everyone else must receive overtime pay for overtime hours worked.

9. Your company can downsize you or lay you off, but in that case you're eligible for unemployment compensation, as long as you've been working long enough to earn benefits. Your company can't lay you off and then, without any documentation, call your departure a termination for cause.

10. Lastly, your boss can't fire you in retaliation for reporting sexual harassment. If s/he does, you can file one charge for the harassment and another one for retaliation. This is where a good employment attorney comes in.

We hope you never run into any of these situations. But if you do, it's good to know in advance where the limits of managerial control kick in.

Liz Ryan is a former Fortune 500 VP, a 25-year HR veteran and an expert on careers and the new millennium workplace. An award-winning entrepreneur and workplace adviser, Ryan is author of "Happy About Online Networking" and founder of the global online community www.AskLizRyan.com. E-mail Ryan at liz@asklizryan.com.