Sexual harassment . Racial discrimination. Sexual harassment. All of these behaviors are illegal in the office, and if they happen to you, you should hire a good employment attorney.
No matter what kind of employment issue you’re facing, an employment attorney may guarantee your legal rights are represented. Never act by yourself if you think a boss or coworker has wronged you. Make sure you have strong representation on your side.
Employment law issues have a direct effect on your everyday life in the office. The law protects you from discrimination and undesirable treatment, and it needs that you be treated fairly in your job.
Illegal job discrimination is a very important, and heavily legally contested, area of employment law. It is unlawful for employers to discriminate against employees on the basis of gender, race, religion, disability, age, national origin, pregnancy, military affiliation, citizenship, bankruptcy, genetic information or HIV/AIDS status. Although discrimination for other reasons (for example, height) isn’t dissalowed most states, these twelve groups are protected.
Both state and federal laws cover unlawful job discrimination. Many states have employment boards which hear complaints of job discrimination, as does the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The best way to navigate the agencies if you feel you’re wronged in the workplace is to consult an experienced employment lawyer.
Sexual harassment is another type of unlawful behavior that employment attorneys handle regularly. This kind of conduct is protected by the same laws the protect against discrimination. Sexual harassment doesn’t need to be of a romantic or sexual nature; so long as it’s unwanted and it’s based on your gender, it counts.
Employment lawyers also represent employees who’ve been fired in breach of employment contracts. Most American employees are “at will,” meaning they could be fired or laid off for any reason — so long as it is not unlawful discrimination — thus employment contracts are relatively rare. They’re most common among union workers, executives and professional athletes, stars and so on.
Contracts could be written, oral or implied, though it is much harder to enforce oral and implied contracts. Breach-of-contract claims normally stem from situations by which employers believe they’ve fired workers for “good cause” as necessary for contracts while the workers insist there was no good cause. An employment lawyer may aid you if you had an employment contract and you believe your employer breached it.
An increasingly common source of trouble for workers and an increasing source of work for employment attorneys is the non compete clause. When a worker who has signed a non-compete clause leaves his employer, he can’t work in the same field for a set period of time or use information he gleaned from his past employer.
These arrangements benefit employers far more than they benefit employees, who can find themselves shut out of their own industries. Because of this they’re banned in California, and their use is restricted in some other states.
These areas of law are difficult to navigate, even when you do not have the stress of dealing with the situation that has you looking for legal solutions initially. Don’t add to your pressure by trying to settle your issue by yourself. Consult with an employment lawyer to determine your legal rights and the best solution.