A "whistleblower" is a person who reports illegal activity by his or her employer to governmental authorities. In order to help ensure employees speak up when they notice employer wrongdoing, laws have been put in place to protect "whistleblowers" from wrongful termination or retaliation by their employers. Retaliation may include: firing, demoting, refusing overtime, intimidation, reducing hours or reassignment of duties.

Ohio is an at-will employment state, which generally means that employers and employees can each terminate an employer/employee relationship without notice or cause. There are some exceptions to this rule, including terminations that violate either a contract between the employer and employee or public policy/legal statutes.

Some employers require their tip-based, hourly employees to place a percentage of their tips into a collective pool. The pool is then divided among the tipped employees. This arrangement is often referred to as tip pooling.

Under federal law, employees who receive tips as part of their general compensation, such as wait staff, bartenders, bellhops and others, can be required to share and/or pool their tips if the following guidelines are met:

Under the 1993 federal law, eligible employees who work for covered employers are entitled to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave in any 12-month period in order to: birth and care for a newborn child; adopt and care for a son or daughter; and/or take care of an immediate family member with a serious health condition. Eligible employees may also take unpaid leave under the Act if they have a serious health condition themselves and are unable to work.

It's easy to be confused about your rights under an employment-law contract. Some workers don't even know they have a contract, believing they are employed "at will" and can be terminated any time. But language in your employee handbook or a verbal agreement between you and your boss may establish a contract.

Non-compete clauses have grown increasingly popular in recent years, as companies seek to keep employees from leaving to work for competitors. Years ago, only senior executives were asked to sign non-competes, but now many companies ask all their workers to sign one.

A non-compete may be a section in a larger contract, or may be a separate contract of its own. Usually, the non-compete will specify a length of time during which you cannot work for competitors.

Insurance is a promise. When you buy an insurance policy, you pay monthly premiums up front, in exchange for which the insurer promises to full the policy later, paying your covered claims and communicating with you about its actions promptly.

Unfortunately, insurers don't always uphold their end of the bargain. When this happens, it is considered an act of "bad faith" by the insurer. It is essentially a form of consumer fraud.