Working in America
One golden rule for a person planning to work overseas is: take nothing for granted. This applies just as much to the United States as it does to some country in the Third World; for while superficially things may look the same as they do back home, they seldom are.
This is certainly true with respect to the world of work. US employment laws and working practices may be different from those you are used to. Contracts, for instance, are less likely to be open-ended; in fact, many people are on short-term contracts and new agreements have to be negotiated every two or three years. Moreover, American employers are in a position to terminate a job at any time without justification.
In some respects employees in the United States receive less protection than workers in Europe. That is not to say that America has no labour laws; in fact, there is plenty of legislation both at the federal and state levels, some of it extremely detailed. It is designed to prevent unfair employment practices and discrimination, and to regulate the health and safety of employees.
Your best protection, however, is the contract that you sign. It should spell out the terms and conditions of your employment clearly, so that if your employer should renege on any parts of the agreement you can take him to court. As Americans are somewhat litigious by nature, legal disputes with employers are not uncommon.
