Hard to believe, but even nowadays employers still discriminate against employees because of who they are and not what level of production and quality of work the employee brings to the table. The law recognizes that discrimination based on things like race, color, religion, age, gender, and disability are scourges on our society and need to be rooted out. Employers have become well aware that they can no longer get away with overt and obvious discriminatory policies such as race quotas and blatant racist and discriminatory comments. The question normally revolves around whether or not an employee is being treated differently than co-workers who don't look like them. If you think you are being treated differently by your employer when compared to other employees, please call for a consultation so we can determine if the real reason you are being treated differently is because of discrimination.

If you have been fired, laid off, or forced to quit your job because you exercised your rights of free speech, you may have the right to bring a claim for wrongful termination against your former employer for violating your First Amendment rights. Legal remedies can include financial compensation, or in some cases, getting your job back. However, not all speech in the workplace constitutes free speech. Call us to discuss your case and we will assess whether or not you were fired for exercising your constitutionally-protected rights.

Unfortunately, harassment in the workplace still happens and can be based on race, religion, gender, national origin, color, or age, in addition to sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is any unwanted sexual advance or contact on the job that creates an intimidating or offensive work environment. It may include unwelcome physical contact, such as a hand on your thigh, or a verbal remark, indicating that hiring or continued employment may be contingent on providing sexual favors.

If you believe you are being harassed at work by a boss or co-worker, please call for a consultation. It is important to act quickly, so call me and we can discuss how to proceed legally.

Companies frequently attempt to hire employees as independent contractors instead of “employees”. This is often an attempt by employer to increase the number of employees without offering benefits of employment, such as wage rates set by law, overtime payments, unemployment insurance, or worker’s compensation. In some cases, the law requires that an employer label an independent contractor an employee based on certain criteria.

Assessing whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor can be tricky. If you have questions about your employment status, please call us. We can advise you.

Have you been denied overtime, or paid less than required by the law? Sometimes employers will classify an employee as salaried versus hourly to avoid paying overtime, which can lead to workplace abuses. The Fair Labor Standards Act and various states’ laws set mandatory minimum wage requirements as well as requiring “non-exempt” employees to be paid overtime for each hour over 40 worked in a single week.

You have the right to file an action against your employer for unpaid overtime, and to seek damages for retaliation if you are fired for complaining. Please call us for a confidential conversation about your situation.

Retaliation is when an employer takes an “adverse action” against an employee who has complained of discrimination or harassment. An “adverse action” can be firing you from your job, reducing your salary, demoting you, changing your job or shift assignment, giving you a poor performance review, or behaving in a hostile manner. In short, your employer may not retaliate against you for complaining about discrimination or harassment in the workplace.

If you believe your employer is retaliating against you, please call us immediately.

Employees are entitled to compensation in accordance with wage and hour laws, including unpaid overtime, minimum wage, and meal or rest breaks. If you have questions about your employer’s policies on wages, rest breaks or other concerns, please give us a call.

A “whistleblower” is an employee who is concerned about legal violations in his or her workplace and then reports those concerns to her employer or a government agency. An employer may then consider that employee to be a “whistleblower,” and retaliate, by assigning more work, disciplining unjustly or even firing the employee.

Some typical activities that whistleblowers have reported are environmental damage from releasing toxic chemicals or waste, corporate fraud in publicly traded companies, government fraud by paid contractors, mistreatment of patients in hospitals or nursing homes and complaining about health and safety violations.

The law provides protections from being discriminated against, fired, demoted or retaliated against for reporting violations in the workplace. Whistleblower cases are often complex, and you need an experienced employment law attorney to advise you. Please give us a call to discuss your concerns.