Practice Areas - Employment Law and Workplace Discrimination
Each NKA Employment Lawyer Practices in a Diverse Range of Employment Law Specialties, Including All Types of Workplace Discrimination
The basic rule of employment law in the United States is that employment is considered to be “at-will” unless otherwise agreed upon by contract. Before signing employment contracts, you should first consult with an employment lawyer if at all possible. Employment at-will generally means that both the employer and the employee have the right to terminate the employment agreement at any time, for any reason, with or without notice. Unless you are a union employee or have a contract that states the terms under which you can be terminated (i.e. “for cause” or “for good cause”), you are likely an employee at-will. For assistance regarding the status of your employment and whether you have a contractual right to employment, contact a highly qualified employment lawyer from the law firm of Nichols Kaster.
Over the past several decades, statutes have been created and litigated by employment lawyers to protect employees from the employment at-will rule. For example, it is illegal for employers to discriminate against employees because of their inherent personal traits (race/ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, etc.) or because of choices employees have made that are protected by law (marital status, religion, etc.). Keep in mind that if you have suffered job discrimination for any of the above reasons, you should call an employment lawyer from NKA immediately to assist you.
There are also common law exceptions to employment at-will. Courts have found that there are situations where terminating or otherwise improperly disciplining employees is a violation of public policy. An example of this are so-called “whistleblower claims,” which arise when employees are terminated or discriminated against for reporting their reasonable suspicions that their employer is engaging in illegal activities. Many statutes now contain protections specifically for whistleblowers. If you have questions regarding whistleblower claims, do not hesitate to contact an NKA employment lawyer for a free consultation.
Federal and state laws also govern how much certain employees must be paid, and whether employees should be paid overtime. If you feel you are owed overtime pay that you haven't received, contact an NKA employment lawyer or class action attorney today.
Employers may enter into contracts with their employees regarding terms of employment, and may enter into other contracts such as severance agreements, and non-compete agreements. The law prohibits employers from breaching these contracts, and an employment lawyer can assist you if you believer your employer has violated your contract. An employment lawyer can also assist you with questions you may have before signing an employment related contract.
Employment litigation through the counsel of an employment lawyer may be a way to resolve the issues that arise when an employee’s legal rights are violated. Below are descriptions of different claims that employees may have against their employers:
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Sexual harassment includes conduct such as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or verbal or physical harassment that is sexual in nature. Sexual harassment can be an often overlooked form of job discrimination and can occur in many forms, from either sex.
Retaliation occurs when an employer fires, demotes, or otherwise causes problems for employees who have exercised their rights in the workplace. Employers may not retaliate against employees who engage in conduct protected by law. Whistleblower violations occur when an employer retaliates against an employee who reports illegal activity, refuses to commit an illegal act, or assists an investigation of possible illegal activity. Employees who suffer retaliation may have legal claims against their employers.
Job discrimination is treating certain employees differently than others for no legitimate reason. Employers generally may not discriminate against employees based on their age, sex/gender, race, pregnancy, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, military status, marital status, or disability. Contact a Nichols Kaster employment lawyer or class action lawyer if you feel you have experienced job discrimination.
Generally, a non-exempt or hourly employee may pursue overtime wages when an employer fails to pay the employee 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 per week, or when an employer does not pay an employee at least the minimum wage required by law. Additionally, salaried or exempt employees may be misclassified as exempt and may be entitled to overtime pay. For more detailed information visit our overtime and minimum wage website at www.overtimecases.com. Employees may also bring claims for failure to pay wages and commissions when an employer does not pay an employee for all the work performed for the employer or withholds a final paycheck or commission check. Feel free to contact an overtime attorney or class action attorney from Nichols Kaster regarding your unpaid overtime wages.
Class actions and collective actions are procedures that allow many employees to join together to bring legal claims against their employers for various types of job discrimination or other illegal workplace actions. These procedures are especially useful when an individual employee’s claim would be too difficult to litigate alone.
Severance packages are legally-binding agreements between an employer and an employee in which the employer promises to give the employee some sort of benefit after termination usually in exchange for the employee’s promise not to sue the employer. Employees may be able to sue employers that do not honor their severance agreements.
The False Claims Act allows an individual who discovers that his or her employer is defrauding the federal government to bring a lawsuit against the employer on behalf of the government. If the lawsuit is successful, the individual may often keep a portion of the recovered money as a reward.
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The law allows employees to take unpaid leave from work under certain circumstances. Leave is generally available for medical treatments or serious medical conditions, to care for a new-baby, or for the treatment of disabilities. Leave generally may be taken to care for oneself or close family members. Please contact an employment lawyer or class action attorney from Nichols Kaster to determine if you were improperly denied FMLA leave, or experienced unlawful retaliation for taking FMLA leave.
Trade secret and non-compete agreements are legally binding employment contracts that limit an employee’s ability to use or share an employer’s confidential information or to work for an employer’s competitor. If these agreements are too restrictive, they may be unenforceable against the employee. Feel free to contact a Nichols Kaster employment lawyer or class action attorney to discuss any contracts your employer wants you to sign.
Employee benefits are employee compensation, other than wages or salaries, including things such as insurance, vacation, reimbursed expenses, company sponsored trips, and compensation for job-related injuries. Employers may not create or operate benefit plans that violate the law. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) governs certain types of employee benefits. ERISA establishes certain rules that must be followed by private companies that provide retirement plans, pension plans, or health-care plans for their employees. Employees may also hire a class action lawyer or employment lawyer in certain circumstances to enforce their benefit plans or to appeal a benefit plan decision.
Defamation occurs when an employer lies or intentionally makes false accusations about an employee and the employee suffers some harm as a result. The false statements may be made to co-workers, potential employers, or other third parties. If you think you may have been defamed by your employer or former employer, please contact a Nichols Kaster employment lawyer for assistance in this matter.
Public employees have civil rights that often guarantee them more protection than private employees. These rights include rights to privacy, fair discipline, and free speech. These rights are in addition to the other employee rights provided by law. If you are a public governmental employee, please contact an employment law attorney from Nichols Kaster if you think your rights have been violated.
Breach of contract is a claim that an employee may bring to enforce an employment agreement that the employer is not honoring. The agreement may be written, oral, or implied by conduct.
Arbitration is an alternative to employment litigation for resolving disputes between employers and employees and will usually involve open discussion run by an employment lawyer. Some employees, such as series 7 securities dealers, may be required to arbitrate their employment law claims.
The Workers Adjustment Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) requires employers to provide 60 days notice to all employees being laid off in a WARN event. A WARN event is defined as a mass-layoff at a facility in which 50 or more full-time, six-month tenured employees are laid off within 30 days of each other. Further, the 50 or more affected employees must comprise at least one third of the total employees working at the affected facility before the WARN event took place. Most WARN Act cases are pursued in class action litigation. For further information and help regarding a possible WARN Act case, feel free to contact a highly skilled NKA class action attorney.
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