Differences of Federal and State Regulation

In order to understand why some federal laws are different from state laws, one must first begin by defining the powers of our government. State courts are the development of the individual state's constitution and legislation. The United States Constitution divides some powers between state and federal governments, chooses which powers are to be shared, and also prohibits some powers to a certain level. Federalism is the principle that divides the powers between governments and makes requirements for change within the various levels. There are three types of power that are handed over to the federal government by the Constitution which are defined as expressed, implied and inherent. The majorities of federal laws that apply to employment and labor are inherent powers and are those which give the federal government power to carry out the U.S. Constitution. There have been many changes in legislation concerning equal employment opportunities in order to try to protect minorities from discrimination in the workplace.

Sonny Cornelius, official portrait from .

English: William H. Brown, chairman of EEOC

John H Powell Jr, chairman of EEOC

The powers which the Constitution provides to state governments is also recognized as reserved powers. The 10th Amendment defines reserved powers as those not expressly given to the federal government or held by the people not prohibited to the states.

Employees have a variety of rights in the workplace, established under both federal and state law. In most states, employees have a right to privacy in the workplace. This right to privacy applies to the employee's personal possessions, including handbags, storage spaces such as; lockers accessible only by the employee and private mail addressed only to employee. Employees may also have a right to privacy in their telephone conversations and voicemail messages. If an employee is using the employer's computer system, than the employees has to have a very limited rights to privacy in their e-mail messages and internet usage.