Employment law claims help workers hold employers responsible for wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, wage theft, retaliation, or being denied protected leave. Most claims have strict deadlines, sometimes as short as 180 days. Talking to an employment attorney right after a violation can help you recover lost wages, damages for emotional distress, and sometimes even punitive damages.
When Do Employment Law Claims Occur?
Employment law claims occur when an employee experiences discriminatory or unfair labor practices from their employer and can include harassment, wrongful termination, wage or hour violations, employer retaliation and more. Many times employees may experience these violations and either fear speaking out or be unaware of their rights.
Types of Employment Law Claims
Wrongful Termination: Occurs when an employee is fired and claims that their employment contract, or some public law, was breached. Many states default to the “at-will employment” rule where both the employee and employer can terminate the relationship at will.
Wage or Hour Violations: Occurs when an employer fails to follow state laws regarding limitations on the amount of time an employee can work or their compensation for exceeding that limit. These laws vary from state to state and can cover minimum wage, overtime compensation, lunch and/or rest breaks, and damages due to an employee when these regulations are ignored.
Employer retaliation: Occurs when an employer (or employment agency) or a labor organization punishes an employee for participating in an activity that they are within their right to participate in. For example, an employee may be punished after filing a discrimination claim against their employer, or even talking about filing a claim. The employee has the right to file this claim if they feel they are being discriminated against. The employer does not have the right to take retaliatory action against the employee for filing their claim.
Workplace Harassment: Occurs when an employer interacts with an employee in such a way that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The employer’s, manager’s, or co-worker’s negative conduct can be based on race, religion, color, sex, age, disability, or national origin and becomes unlawful when the negative conduct becomes a condition of continued employment or is severe enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider hostile or abusive. The negative conduct can include offensive jokes, slurs, intimidation, ridicule, insults or physical threats or assaults.
Workplace Sexual Harassment: Occurs when an employee experiences unwelcome sexual advances, verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature, or requests for sexual favors. Victims of workplace sexual harassment can be male or female and the victim’s harasser can be a boss, supervisor, co-worker, or even someone who is not an employee like a client or customer.
Family and Medical Leave Act violation: The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federally enforced set of guides that dictate the rights of employees to unpaid, job-protected leave with regard to specified family and medical reasons. Some employers may not know the rules and some employers may try to ignore them. Employers can break FMLA laws by requiring too much notice before you take leave, discouraging you from taking leave entirely, requiring a specific type of notice, or misrepresenting the amount of time you have worked. FMLA ensures that employees have the right to leave for family and/or medical reasons if that employee has worked for more than twelve months and for 1,250 hours in the preceding year. If an employer allows leave, they can still violate FMLA by cutting off an employee’s insurance, bugging them to return to work, delaying their return to work, allowing them to return, but in a different job role, counting their FMLA leave against their normal time off, or refusing to restore all the employee’s benefits.
Employment Law Claims: Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file an employment law claim?
For most discrimination and harassment cases, you must file with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) within 180 days of the incident. Other claims, like wrongful termination or retaliation, have different state deadlines that can range from one year to several years. If you miss the deadline, you usually lose your right to bring the claim, even if your case is strong. It’s best to check your specific deadline with an employment attorney as soon as you can.
What compensation can I recover in an employment law claim?
What you can recover depends on your claim and where you live. You might receive back pay for lost wages and benefits, front pay for future lost earnings, compensation for emotional distress, and sometimes extra damages if your employer’s actions were especially serious.
How do I start the process of filing a claim?
To start, gather details about the violation, such as dates, any messages, and names of witnesses. Next, you usually need to file a charge with the EEOC or your state’s agency before you can sue. An employment lawyer can tell you if you need to file with an agency first or if you can go straight to court, and will help you keep track of all deadlines.
Speak With The Cochran Firm About Employment Law Claims
If you have faced discrimination or unfair treatment at work, such as harassment, wrongful termination, wage issues, or retaliation, you might have a claim under employment law. The Cochran Firm can review your situation, explain your options, and help you keep track of all deadlines.
Call 1-800-THE-FIRM or schedule your free, no-obligation consultation. The Firm’s call center is available 24/7 to hear your case.
