ABA Family Legal Guide

Law and the Workplace

Federal Laws Regulating the Workplace

I work for a state government agency. Can I sue my employer for violating an employment law?

It depends on what law you are claiming the state has violated. If it is a state law (and the law applies to state employers), then you can file suit against the state agency. However, if it is a federal law, you may not be able to file a lawsuit. The Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution provides that state governments have immunity from federal lawsuits filed by individuals. The Supreme Court has held that Congress can abrogate state immunity only under very specific circumstances. Both Title VII and the Family Medical Leave Act have been held to overcome state immunity validly; therefore, individual employees can sue state employers under these two federal statutes. However, the ADA, the ADEA, and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) do not abrogate state immunity, and individual employees cannot sue state employers for violating these federal laws.

This immunity doesn't mean that the states do not have to comply with these laws. If states fail to comply, the federal government (through the EEOC with respect to the ADEA and the ADA, and the Department of Labor [DOL] with respect to the FLSA) can initiate lawsuits against the state to enforce compliance. Moreover, some states, such as Minnesota, have waived their immunity, allowing employees to file a lawsuit against their state employer.

Finally, immunity does not apply to local government employers, which can be sued by their employees for violating any federal law.