KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
Practical help, right now
What applies, who has authority, what to document and where the official source is.
YOUR RIGHTS
Your rights are not decorations.
Practical routes for using your rights, with official sources, deadlines and complaint paths — and the constitutional promises behind them.
A right can depend on jurisdiction, coverage, timing and facts. These are starting points to help you identify the real route and the official source, not individualized legal advice.
Choose your route
UNDERSTAND THE PROMISE
The constitutions behind them
What each text guarantees, who must deliver it and what remains when it is not delivered.
THE RULE
Never end with awareness alone.
For every issue we can, TMS will ask: What right or process applies? Who actually has authority? What should you document? What deadline matters? What can you do today? What happens if the first route fails?
VERIFIED RIGHTS UPDATE · 2 NOVEMBER 2026
Practical routes worth knowing now.
Each entry identifies the real rule, the relevant authority and the first usable step. A policy clarification is not necessarily a new law; a future program is not yet an open application route.
EEOC withdrew its 2012 arrest-and-conviction guidance. Title VII still applies.
On 28 October 2026 the EEOC voted to rescind its 2012 enforcement guidance on how employers consider arrest and conviction records; the agency announced the immediately effective change on 29 October. The withdrawal is a change in agency guidance, not a repeal of Title VII. The EEOC says race and national-origin discrimination, including requirements used as proxies for intentional discrimination, remain prohibited. Do not rely on the withdrawn document as current EEOC policy; other applicable federal, state and local protections may still matter.
Keep the job advertisement, background-check notice, decision, dates and comparable treatment evidence · Check applicable state/local fair-chance laws · Contact EEOC promptly: most private-sector charges have a 180-day limit, sometimes 300 days; federal workers have a different process
EEOC October 29 announcement → EEOC filing steps and deadlines →Small loans and buy-now-pay-later contracts get wider protection
Germany's November 2026 consumer-credit changes extend legal protections to small loans of up to €200, some interest-free and short-term credit, and covered buy-now-pay-later arrangements. The reform also expands pre-contract information duties and provides a route to human review where creditworthiness assessment uses automated personal-data processing. Scope and timing depend on the particular agreement; a digital confirmation is not a reason to skip the terms.
Save the complete offer, payment schedule and cancellation terms before accepting · Ask the lender for the legally required information and human review when relevant · Seek independent consumer advice if a fee or refusal is disputed
Federal government: consumer-credit reform → Consumer advice centres →The 2027 Deutschlandticket price requires active subscription consent
The federal government says the monthly Deutschlandticket price will increase from €63 to €66.80 on 1 January 2027. Existing subscribers must actively agree to continuation at the new price and supplementary conditions. The announcement does not establish a single consent deadline for every seller; check the message and conditions from the provider that holds your subscription.
Check your provider's notice · Save your consent or cancellation confirmation · Compare local social, student or employer-ticket discounts before deciding
Federal government: Deutschlandticket Q&A →Independent debt advice: ask about cost before the appointment
Corrected November 5, 2026: Most provisions of Germany's new debt-advice law take effect on November 20, 2026. Section 4, concerning federal reporting, took effect earlier. The enacted law permits fees that do not create an unreasonable burden and do not serve profit; the amount must be disclosed in advance. It does not promise universally free advice or an immediate local appointment. Check the actual service, waiting time and price before signing anything.
Find a recognised independent counselling centre · Ask in writing whether it is free and whether any fee applies · Keep urgent debt or court deadlines separately
Bundestag: final legislative compromise → Enacted law and commencement provisions →The federal 80/20 tip-credit guidance is no longer in force
Wage and Hour Division Bulletin 2026-1 withdrew three older opinion letters and confirmed that the 80/20 percentage guidance, already removed from its handbook in January 2025 after a 2024 court ruling, is not current enforcement guidance. The dual-jobs distinction remains: a genuinely separate non-tipped occupation cannot be paid using the tip credit. State rules may be stronger.
Record duties, hours, tips and cash wages · Check your state’s tipped wage rule · Ask Wage and Hour about the actual occupation and any underpayment
Official October 19 bulletin → State-by-state tipped wages → Wage complaint route →Adoption credit: automatic refund, separate penalty review
The IRS is adjusting some 2025 returns with unused 2020–2024 adoption credits, generally without requiring amended returns. But it says an estimated-tax underpayment penalty will not automatically be recalculated as part of that adjustment. Not everyone is affected or entitled to a refund.
Keep the IRS adjustment notice · Compare it with your 2025 return · If an estimated-tax penalty might now be too high, follow the penalty notice or ask about Form 843
IRS official Q&A (Topic E, Q5) →A new IRA error-correction route is coming — not open yet
The IRS announced an IRA Compliance Resolution System for certain inadvertent IRA failures and rollover issues, effective 1 May 2027. Existing no-fee automatic-waiver and self-certification procedures remain available to qualifying taxpayers now.
If a rollover went wrong, check existing waiver or self-certification options now · Do not assume the 2027 procedure is already available
IRS October 22 announcement →Arbeitsuchendmeldung: the employer also has responsibilities
Under §38 SGB III, people whose employment is ending generally must register as seeking work three months before the end, or within three days of learning about a shorter-notice end. §2 SGB III says employers should inform employees early and release them for relevant steps. The Federal Employment Agency confirms release for necessary appointments. Registering as seeking work is not the same as registering as unemployed.
Melde dich fristgerecht arbeitsuchend · Bitte um Freistellung für erforderliche Agenturtermine · Melde dich am ersten Tag der Arbeitslosigkeit zusätzlich arbeitslos
§2 SGB III → Bundesagentur: deadlines and release →UNITED STATES
Rights people often discover too late.
Freedom of Information Act
Any person can request records from federal executive agencies, subject to statutory exemptions. If access is denied, check the agency's administrative appeal route.
Ask for the record behind the decision · Keep the request and response · Appeal when available
Official source →Workers acting together
Many private-sector employees have federal rights to act together over wages, benefits and working conditions even when there is no existing union.
Document group concerns · Compare wages where lawful · Check NLRB coverage quickly if retaliation occurs
Official source →Minimum wage, overtime and retaliation
The Wage and Hour Division enforces federal wage-and-hour protections for covered workers. Keeping your own hours and pay records can matter.
Save pay stubs · Track hours · Check federal and state rules · Preserve retaliation evidence
Official source →Whistleblower protection
OSHA administers retaliation protections under multiple federal statutes. Some filing deadlines are short, so identifying the correct law quickly matters.
Write down the protected report · Save the employer response · Check the deadline immediately
Official source →GERMANY
Rights that should not stay buried in the law book.
§14 SGB I: Right to advice
Everyone has a statutory right to advice about rights and obligations under the Social Code.
Ask: "Ich möchte Beratung über meine Rechte und Pflichten nach §14 SGB I."
Official source →Akteneinsicht
If an administrative or social-law decision relies on information you have not seen, file-inspection rights may apply under the relevant procedural law.
Ask what is in the file · Request access where the statute applies · Keep the decision and Aktenzeichen
§25 SGB X →Betriebsrat and co-determination
Qualifying workplaces can elect a works council, which can have statutory participation rights in important workplace matters.
Check whether the workplace qualifies · Ask whether a Betriebsrat already exists · Learn what §87 covers
Official source →§84 BetrVG: Complaint right
Employees may complain when they believe they are disadvantaged, treated unfairly or otherwise adversely affected at work.
Document what happened · Use the formal complaint route · Involve the Betriebsrat where available
Official source →MONEY YOU MAY NOT KNOW IS YOURS
Eligibility is not the same as receipt.
TMS will also keep tracking tax refunds, credits, unclaimed property, social benefits, housing support, family support and other money that can go untouched because people did not know they qualified, did not know where to apply, were not adequately informed or missed a deadline.
WHAT CAN I DO MONDAY MORNING?
Start with one problem, not the whole system.
- Write down exactly what happened and when.
- Find the right, law, benefit or procedure that may apply.
- Identify the person or institution with actual authority.
- Save the letter, pay stub, schedule, email, decision, case number or other evidence.
- Ask for important decisions and denials in writing.
- Check the deadline immediately.
A right you cannot use is barely a right at all.