Legal Aid Can Help With Employment-Related Legal Issues

By Tonya Sams

Millions of people report to work every day and have no idea what rights they have as employees. If their rights are violated, they may have to find an attorney. Employment Law attorneys focus on many work-related issues such as discrimination, wage theft, workers’ compensation, expungements, unsafe working environments and more.

“Employees have the right to be treated fairly without being discriminated against. That's the most important right,” said Matt Alden, a Senior Attorney in Legal Aid’s Economic Justice Practice Group. “If they're a member of a union, they might have additional rights over and above what nonunion members have.”

Employment discrimination occurs when the employer makes some type of decision about a person’s employment by using unlawful criteria. This could be based on race, sex, religious beliefs, age or disability. It also includes discrimination against veterans and those who have filed for bankruptcy or unemployment.

Workers who have been discriminated against or have even faced retaliation for speaking out, have options on how they should address it. If an employee is part of a union, they should contact their union representative to determine if a grievance can be filed. They should also look in the employee handbook to learn what the company states about discrimination complaints. An employee, whether union or nonunion, can also file a charge of discrimination on their own with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.

There are other things that employees can do to protect themselves if they believe that their rights have been violated. They should keep track of the dates that the incidents occurred and keep all paperwork, texts or emails from their employer.

“This will help you later because sometimes you may not realize that you have a case. Your lawyer will ask you about incidents that may have happened six months or a year ago. And if you've written it down, it's a lot easier to go back and remember the full details,” said Matt.

Matt suggests that even if you don’t believe that you have enough evidence to prove your case, that you should still get an attorney. Depending on the type of employment case it is, especially in wage theft cases, many attorneys will do it on a contingency fee basis. This means that it will not cost the employee anything to have a consultation and have an attorney handle their case. In some cases, the law provides a provision that, if the employee’s case is successful, the employer has to pay the attorney.

“Two lawyers can look at the same case and sometimes come up with two different opinions on how strong it is, so it's always worth it to get another opinion. You may have claims that you don't even know about,” he said. “Another lawyer might think that you've got a viable claim that's very strong and you may not. You just never know, especially if you're not a lawyer. You're not trained to know what to look for.”

If you are experiencing employment related issues, Legal Aid may be able to help! To apply for assistance, call 888-817-3777, or complete an online intake 24/7 at lasclev.org.

Story was published in The Lakewood Observer: Legal Aid Can Help With Employment-Related Legal Issues