Background Checks and Federal Law: Employee Rights and Employer Responsibilities Employers are increasingly using credit reports as a basis to make hiring decisions and many of them break federal law when they do so. If you lost out on a job opportunity because of a credit report, you may be able to seek redress through […]
Background Checks and Federal Law Read More »
Gordon v. U.S. Capitol Police: Retaliation and Interference with FMLA Rights A police officer who tried to get time off from work to help her cope with the suicide of her husband recently got a victory with decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The case shows that under
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Appeals Court Makes It Difficult for Age Discrimination Cases to Succeed Those claiming age discrimination under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) face a more difficult time making their case than those involved with the federal Title VII law, which covers issues such as race and color discrimination, according to the U.S. Circuit
Arthur vs. Pet Dairy Read More »
There are a number of good resources for finding an employment lawyer. I recommend starting with the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), an association of attorneys who represent individuals in employment matters. The website (www.nela.org) has a “find a lawyer” function that will allow you to search for a lawyer in your area. Note, however,
Finding (and Paying for) a Lawyer Read More »
I’m certain you’ve thought about the costs of hiring an attorney to represent you. But you may not have considered that you can make much more by taking action than you will spend on your lawyer. I know, I know. An attorney telling you that it’s good for you to pay an attorney? Right. You
Maximizing your Investment Read More »
Litigants representing themselves are said by the legal system to be acting pro se, or “for one’s self.” It is certainly possible to bring a discrimination claim without an attorney. Indeed, I once took over a case for a pro se litigant after she had handled the case alone in federal court for more than
Do You Need a Lawyer? Read More »
Here’s one more thing to think about. In the real world, many companies don’t like employees who complain of illegal activity. Yes, your company may have a nice glossy website encouraging employees to report known wrongdoing. Maybe your company means it. Maybe it doesn’t. If it doesn’t, it means that, as soon as you report something, the clock is
Anonymous Complaints Read More »
If you are still employed or just on your way out the door, you may want to consider the following tools. Report Discrimination If you are the victim of discrimination or if you suspect wrongdoing, let your boss know it. Telling your boss about discrimination or wrongdoing at the company may buy you more time. Courts
Still Working and It’s Hell? What to Do If You Are About to Lose Your Job Read More »
To many, it is distasteful to take what happened and reduce it to a dollar figure. How can you put a price on your dignity or reputation? You can’t. But money is the primary yardstick courts use to evaluation a violation of employment (and other) laws. They almost never force your employer to admit wrongdoing.
What Is My Case Worth? Read More »
I ran across a post on “You’re the Boss”, the New York Times blog on small business issues, titled “How Do You Handle Employee Litigation?” The article reports on a small business owner who had settled several employee lawsuits (not sure what’s going on there!), but decided once to push a case to trial. When he did, not
