If you have questions or concerns, you can call us at 1-866-487-9243 or visit dol.gov/agencies/whd.
HR professionals may be sued in their individual capacities for several reasons, Kay says, based on the employment actions and the litigation strategy. The first and most obvious reason is when the HR professional is accused of intentionally engaging in unlawful conduct.
10 Things You Should Never Tell HRLeaving While on Leave.Lying to Get Leave Extensions.Lying About Your Qualifications.Changes in Your Partner's Career.Moonlighting.Lawsuits You've Filed Against Employers.Health Issues.Personal Life Issues.More items...•
Start by approaching the human resource department of your company. It will be in a position to explain where you stand legally and will help resolve the issue. You can also lodge a formal complaint directly with the department and should give it adequate time to evaluate your situation and suggest a solution.
An HR professional can be held liable as an accessory if they are involved or knowingly concerned in a breach of any civil penalty provision of the Fair Work Act. HR practitioners may also be held liable as accessories under anti-discrimination legislation.
In some states, such as California, managers can be held personally liable. Within the scope of his/her employment, this means the penalty determined through the court judgment can be paid out only through the assets of the business, not through the plaintiff's personal assets.
In addition, many human resources personnel also administer or man- age employee benefits plans. In that capacity, you probably owe a fiduciary duty based on a federal law — the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA.
Although both attorneys and lawyers obtain law degrees, they don’t do the same job. An attorney actually practices law by representing other indivi...
When talking about two main types of lawyers, we’re actually referring to criminal law professionals. These are prosecutors and defense attorneys....
In our article, we covered how much lawyers working in different fields earn. Those with the highest salary are medical lawyers, and they earn over...
Choosing the best type of lawyer career depends on multiple factors, including your interests and ambitions. Our article delves deeper into differe...
This is a good career path for all those who love the law. It offers good salaries, benefits, and different working environments, depending on whic...
People who hire medical malpractice lawyers have most often suffered a personal injury due to an error made by a medical professional. Any harm caused by inappropriate treatment, negligence, botched surgery, or misdiagnosis falls under the practice of these types of attorneys. A malpractice lawyer can also represent health professionals when charges are brought against them, and they are usually employed directly by the medical facility where said professional works.
Immigration lawyers deal with individuals and entire families who are trying to acquire US citizenship. They provide advice on how to live and work in America legally. Immigration lawyers also work with political refugees and asylum seekers. Moreover, many employers and employees use immigration lawyers to help them obtain work visas. While this isn’t one of the highest-paid types of lawyers, helping people find a better life in the US can be fulfilling work.
In other words, it’s one thing to secure the so-called Juris Doctor degree - a graduate-entry professional degree in law - and another to pass the bar exam and practice law. So before we examine what the most interesting types of attorneys and lawyers are, it’s important to point out the difference between the two terms. An attorney is a lawyer, but a lawyer isn’t necessarily an attorney.
We compared different types of lawyers and their salaries and found that medical lawyers earn the most. The average annual salary of a medical lawyer is over $150,800.
Business lawyers or corporate lawyers ensure that all operations of an individual company are conducted within the legal framework of local, state, and federal laws. A business lawyer is involved in everything from liability and intellectual property disputes to mergers and revising all sorts of legal documentation.
While these are not the types of lawyers that make the most money, most professionals in the field enjoy doing their part to save the planet. These lawyers work with various government organizations, citizens, and businesses to help them avoid further environmental damage in their actions, or pursue justice for the harm that has already been inflicted.
According to the latest statistics, there were 1.33 million lawyers in the US alone. Among this vast array of legal minds are diverse types of lawyers who work across several categories of the law business. The following article covers a dozen different jobs for lawyers that can serve as a useful starting point to anyone searching for a legal practice.
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.
It is illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or age. However, some employers do just that, leading to a hostile and inequitable workplace where some workers are treated more favorably than others.
It is illegal for a company to punish an employee for filing a complaint or lawsuit against their employer. This is considered employer retaliation. Although workers are legally protected against retaliation, it doesn’t stop some employers from punishing an employee who filed a complaint in a variety of ways, such as:
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.
However, in recent years, some employers have abused classification by misclassifying bonafide employees as contractors in an attempt to save money and circumvent laws. This is most commonly seen among “gig economy” workers, such as rideshare drivers and delivery drivers.
The employment and labor lawyers at Morgan & Morgan have successfully pursued thousands of labor and employment claims for the people who need it most.
But family attorneys may also handle reproductive rights cases, and their work may intersect with other areas of the law. For instance, if there’s a criminal investigation of child abuse or a domestic violence case, or if there’s a juvenile delinquency case, a family lawyer may also work with a criminal lawyer. 3. Estate Planning Lawyers.
Different types of lawyers specialize in different areas of law. Some lawyers mostly do the work outside of the courtroom, such as drafting contracts and wills, preparing documents to comply with a process, negotiating deals, and advising clients on a legal problem. There are also lawyers who present cases in court or litigations ...
Family Lawyers. These are lawyers who handle all kinds of domestic cases, such as divorce, legal separation, child custody, adoption, paternity, alimony, prenuptial or postnuptial agreements, and emancipation. But family attorneys may also handle reproductive rights cases, and their work may intersect with other areas of the law.
Since these are professions that ascribe to a set of standards , they have greater professional responsibilities that may be challenged in the courtroom or in litigation.
Real estate lawyers provide legal guidance for individuals or companies seeking to buy or sell a property. They work with their clients and the real estate agents to draft documents and ensure that the paperwork is legally binding. They may also negotiate for the buyer or seller, or represent a property owner during a foreclosure dispute.
Last but not least, a criminal defense lawyer is skilled in handling all stages of a criminal lawsuit. They provide valuable counsel to their clients from the time they are arrested, through the investigation, charging, arraignment and sentencing. Their work isn't quite done if their clients wish to appeal their case. A good criminal defense attorney knows how to navigate the nuances of the law, which allows them to keep their clients out of prison.
Any original creative, scientific, or technical invention which may benefit the public has to be protected from copycats and duplicates. If you've created an art design, a unique product, a novel, a song or a computer program, you can consult with an intellectual property lawyer for securing copyright, patents, trademarks, and licensing agreements.
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.
While you may be caught up in a serious employment dispute only once or twice in your lifetime, some larger employers and their attorneys handle many employment disputes every single day. 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.
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 delay contacting an attorney, you will not know what you may be able to do to prevent your situation from worsening and you may not properly document events as they occur. Because it is your burden to prove an illegal motive, such as discrimination or retaliation, you must document the evidence that supports your claims. 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.
Without legal help early on, you may not be prepared to counter the employer's stated reason for your poor evaluation or termination.
Immigration lawyers help immigrants, and employers seeking to hire them, with legal issues related to the status of immigrants and their families. Immigration lawyers help with visas, green cards, citizenship, and asylum and refugee status. Immigration laws change constantly, so it’s important to consult an experienced attorney in these situations.
Simply put, the most common scenario to use a real estate attorney is when you buy or sell real estate. Cloud-based real estate law software assists attorneys by facilitating collaborative document management and project tracking in a seamless and secure environment.
Criminal lawyers are attorneys who defend individuals and organizations against government charges in federal and state courts. Criminal lawyers understand the rules around arrest, arraignment, bail, pleas, proof, and related issues. Some of the most common crimes requiring criminal lawyers include homicide, sexual battery and assault. Criminal law software helps criminal attorneys manage their businesses.
Some of the most common types of cases handled by employment lawyers are contracts, wrongful termination, workplace harassment, retaliation, and workplace discrimination.
Workers’ compensation lawyers specialize in helping workers navigate the unique laws that apply to people who have been injured on the job. A workers’ compensation lawyer typically has a large number of cases to manage, each with its own deadlines, so look for a firm using a modern cloud-based law firm management system. The Department of Labor administers four major disability compensation programs.
Intellectual property attorneys (“IP attorneys”) help companies, artists, and inventors with legal issues concerning copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets and the like. IP attorneys spend a lot of time working with clients to help them avoid infringing upon the rights of others and making sure that their intellectual property is properly protected under the law.
The general term “civil litigator” refers to an attorney who represents clients in civil (not criminal) court, either as plaintiff or defendant. The most common kinds of civil litigation involve contract ...