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Issues involving your place of employment can be stressful and difficult to handle, but the first step in workplace dispute is to contact your Human Resources (HR) Department. If HR is unable to resolve the issue, or refuses to, then your next step will be file a claim with the EEOC. But if the EEOC is unable to help your situation, then you ...
Protect Your Rights Find an Employment Attorney. Find an Employment Attorney. The Workplace Fairness Attorney Directory features lawyers from across the United States who primarily represent workers in employment cases. Please note that Workplace Fairness does not operate a lawyer referral service and does not provide legal advice, and that Workplace Fairness is not …
The lawyer's fee structure is probably the single most important factor in choosing an employment lawyer. There are 2 main ways an attorney can be paid: An hourly rate. These vary widely due to a number of variables, but on average, you should expect to pay between $250 and $500 per hour for an employment lawyer.
If you are involved in an employment dispute or face an adverse action by your employer, an employment lawyer can help. Employment lawyers protect the rights of employees and determine violations of federal and state anti-discrimination and harassment laws, and employment agreements. Use FindLaw to hire a local employment lawyer near you who ...
You cannot sue your employer or a co-worker for an on-the-job injury that was caused by their negligence – you can only file a claim for workers' compensation benefits. However, if a third party – somebody other than your employer or a co-worker – was at fault, you can sue them.
Employees have a right to: Not be harassed or discriminated against (treated less favorably) because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, disability, age (40 or older) or genetic information (including family medical history).
How do you tell if someone is sabotaging you?They make you jump through hoops others don't have to. ... They talk about you behind your back. ... They tell lies to your boss or your colleagues about your work. ... They steal your ideas or try to take credit for your work.More items...
You have three basic rights: the right to refuse dangerous work and know that you're protected from reprisal. the right to know about workplace hazards and have access to basic health and safety information. the right to participate in health and safety discussions and health and safety committees.
An employment lawyer can: Evaluate the strength of your case and help you understand the outcomes you might expect. Advise you whether to negotiate a settlement or litigate your complaint in court. Defend you against any counterclaims made against you by your employer.
If you’re making decisions that affect a large number of people, such as a mass layoff or a change to your retirement plan, an employment attorney can help you avoid legal problems resulting from the decision.
Employee handbooks, policies, and procedures It's a good idea to have a lawyer review your office policies, procedures, and employee handbooks to make sure you don't violate any employment laws. A lawyer can ensure you meet requirements for wages, overtime, and family medical leave, among others.
If one of your employees has filed a harassment or discrimination complaint against you with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or other state agency, or if you are the subject of a lawsuit by a disgruntled employee, contact a lawyer immediately.
Your employer is suing you or threatening to sue you. You've been accused of committing a crime at work. You are being asked, or pressured to, sign a contract or agreement you don't fully understand, such as a non-compete, arbitration, or release of claims.
These vary widely due to a number of variables, but on average, you should expect to pay between $250 and $500 per hour for an employment lawyer.
The employee is a member of a protected class, such as a pregnant woman, a person with a disability, or a religious minority. The employee has access to trade secrets or valuable proprietary information.
When workers are subjected to slurs, assaults, threats, ridicule, offensive jokes, unwelcome sexual advances, or verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, it can be considered workplace harassment. Similar to workplace discrimination, workplace harassment creates a hostile and abusive work environment.
For example, an employee may be forced to tolerate sexual harassment from a manager as a condition of their continued employment.
Unfair and discriminatory labor practices against employees can take many forms, including wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, refusal to give a reasonable accommodation, denial of leave, employer retaliation, and wage and hour violations.
This is termed wrongful termination, wrongful discharge, or wrongful dismissal. There are many scenarios that may be grounds for a wrongful termination lawsuit, including: Firing an employee out of retaliation. Discrimination.
Some examples of misclassifications include: Misclassifying a worker as an independent contractor to not have to comply with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission laws, which prevent employment discrimination.
Under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), employers must offer unpaid leave time to employees with a qualifying family or individual medical situation, such as leave for the birth or adoption of a baby or leave to care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition.
Defamation is generally defined as the act of damaging the reputation of a person through slanderous (spoken) or libelous (written) comments. When defamation occurs in the workplace, it has the potential to harm team morale, create alienation, or even cause long-term damage to a worker’s career prospects.
Why might I need a lawyer to handle a employment-related problem? To fully enforce state and federal laws protecting employees against illegal actions by their employers, you will need an attorney in many situations where you have a serious problem with your employer and need to take legal action.
Employment law is a highly specialized and an ever-changing area of the law with significant gray areas. Retain someone who has represented individual employees, not employers. For more information on potential sources for employment lawyers, see the Workplace Fairness employment attorney directory.
If you fail to document events as they happen, later you may not have the evidence necessary to prove your case. You need documents or a witness to confirm facts and events. If it is your word against your manager's word, it will be very difficult to prove your claim.
Most employers have much more experience and resources than you to evaluate and handle claims. An employee who has not consulted an attorney can be at a real disadvantage. Succeeding in an employment lawsuit without a lawyer (called filing "pro se") is virtually impossible.
Employees are individuals who, more often than not, depend on their jobs for their livelihood. Employers are often corporations or other businesses with ample resources at their disposal. Many California employment law firms focus on representing employers who can pay large fees upfront.
California employers sometimes try to get out of their wage and hour obligations by misclassification of non-exempt employees as exempt. This means to classify hourly employees as salaried. California employers may also misclassify employees as independent contractors to get around wage and hour laws.
These family and medical leave laws only apply if: You have worked for your employer for at least (1) year; You have worked for that employer for at least 1,250 hours in the past year; and. Your employer has at least fifty (50) employees working within seventy-five (75) miles of your worksite.
They must also pay overtime (time and a half) to non-exempt employees. This kicks in when you work more than eight (8) hours in a day or forty (40) hours in a week.
the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and. Pregnancy Disability Leave under the (CPDA).
because of the employees’ political speech or activities outside of work, or. as retaliation for a qui tam lawsuit. based on a failure to provide reasonable accommodation to a worker with a disability. You may also be entitled to receive back pay and benefits under the California WARN Act.
Most employees are at-will employees. This means their employer can terminate their employment at any time for almost any reason. But there are exceptions to at-will employment in California law.
Use methods of administration subjecting employees to discrimination. Select a location that excludes or denies them benefits. Deny an employee the opportunity to participate in an advisory or planning board, if the occasion arises.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in hiring, firing, and other terms of employment based on a person’s religious affiliation or beliefs.
Titles I and V of the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits employment discrimination of qualified individuals due to a disability. This applies to both private and government positions.
Some other examples of gender or sex discrimination include: Hiring (e.g., an applicant, with excellent credentials and qualifications is denied employment on the basis of sex) Firing (e.g., a female employee is let go due to “cutbacks,” while a male employee with less seniority remains employed)
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 protects employees over the age of 40 from discrimination in the workplace. Under the Act, employers are prohibited from: Offering different compensation, terms, or conditions of employment due to someone's age.
Employment and labor laws prohibit discriminatory or unfair treatment of an applicant or employee based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or parental status. Federal law forbids “discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.”
The Act prohibits harassment or other discrimination based on: Affiliation (affiliating with a particular religious group) Physical or Cultural Traits (e.g. , accent, language, or dress related to the religion) Perception (the mere belief an employee or potential employee is a member of a particular religious group)
When the EEOC investigates a workplace to determine whether a work environment is hostile, they typically make an assessment based upon the following legal elements: Type of Conduct: The EEOC will look at whether the harassing conduct was verbal, physical, or both. Physical threats or intimidation will result in higher penalties for the harasser; ...
After asking the offending employee or employees to cease their behavior, you should also immediately contact management and the HR department to report the issue. This is important, because in order for a case to be successful there must be documented evidence that the problem has been reported.
In short, a hostile work environment is created when anyone in the workplace engages in a type of harassment that makes it impossible for an employee to perform their job duties. This type of harassment generally includes unwelcome comments or conduct based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnacy), national origin, age (40 or older), ...
The EEOC will look to determine whether the conduct has become a pervasive and long lasting problem , rather than a simple isolated incident.
These damages typically include claims for lost wages, including back pay and benefits, due to the inability to work. In cases where the hostile work environment caused you to lose your job, compensatory damages will be awarded to help put you back in the same place you would have been had you not lost your job.
This means that the harassing behavior must be discriminatory against a person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnacy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, genetic information, or any other categories legally protected by the EEOC;
Simple isolated incidents generally do not meet the requirements of creating a hostile work environment, unless they are extremely serious; Discriminatory Intent: In order to succeed on a hostile work environment claim federally, you must be able to demonstrate discriminatory intent.
That's because trying to curtail worker communications can be seen as an illegal attempt to prevent them from unionizing or organizing.
An employer has an obligation to ensure its workplace is a safe environment and that worker complaints are handled in an appropriate manner. Some states also require companies to provide sexual harassment training to workers or supervisors.
While the federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour, many states and even some cities have higher requirements. Employers can't get around paying the minimum wage by paying with tips or commissions either. "You can't have a commission standard that pays less than federal minimum wage," Weinthal says.
That's because there is no way for employees to gauge wage equality with co-workers if they can't discuss their compensation.
These agreements generally stipulate employees can't work for a competitor for a certain period of time after leaving a company.
The EEOC prohibits discrimination against workers on the basis of eight broad categories: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability and genetic information. That means none of these factors, known as protected classes, should be used when making employment decisions, such as hiring, setting compensation and awarding promotions.
The National Labor Relations Act and a variety of statutes overseen by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission protect employees from hostile work environments, discrimination and unfair labor practices. There are also state and local regulations that employers must follow.