Employment Legal Questions

Unless you are a union employee or a highly paid executive with a written employment contract, you are an at-will employee and, as such, can be discharged at any time and for any reason, or even for no reason at all. The only thing that an employer may not do is make employment decisions based upon you being a member of a protected class. The protected classes are race, age (40+), sex, religion, national origin, or disability. Treating you differently from other employees isn't legally prohibited unless it is based on your being a protected class member. That is what is meant by illegal discrimination. To clarify, an employer can discriminate against its employees as much as it chooses on any basis EXCEPT the six (6) classes I already mentioned. I can legally discriminate against you because you are a Cubs fan, your taste in music, how you perform your job duties, etc. What I cannot do is discriminate against you because of your sex, race, age (40+), religion, national origin, or disability. In other words, showing favoritism isn't going to be a basis for a claim of illegal discrimination. If you believe that you were treated that way based on being a member of a protected class, or that you were retaliated against for asserting a legal right or whistleblowing, then you should schedule an appointment with a local employment attorney who primarily represents employees to discuss your case fully. It is important to act promptly because these cases have very short timeframes that are strictly enforced. Failure to meet those timeframes will preclude you from being able to proceed with your case. Most plaintiff employment attorneys take these cases on a contingent fee basis, meaning you will have no upfront out-of-pocket expenses. Best of luck to you.... Read Answer

Dear Sir or Madam - Your post doesn't give nearly enough information about your matter for a New York City Wrongful Termination Attorney to determine whether you may have a viable claim against your ex-employer for wrongful termination or for anything else.  See generally my recent article entitled Do I Have A Claim For Wrongful Termination Against My Employer In Manhattan? < https://www.davidrichlaw.com/do-i-have-a-claim-for-wrongful-termination-against-my-employer-in-manhattan/ >.  Instead, today, you should call an adept New York City Wrongful Termination Lawyer to schedule an initial consultation about your matter.... Read Answer

Sir or Madam - Yes, depending on your particular facts and circumstances, you may have viable claims against your ex-employer for discriminatory or retaliatory termination of your employment.  See my recent article entitled "Am I Entitled To A Religious Exemption From My Employer’s Requirement That All Of Its Employees In Manhattan, NY Be Vaccinated Against COVID-19?" < https://www.davidrichlaw.com/religious-exemption-from-employer-mandated-covid-19-vaccine-requirement/> Today, you should call an adept New York City Wrongful Termination Attorney about your matter.   Sincerely, David S. Rich... Read Answer

Does your company have more than 15 employees in all offices that they work out of? If that is the case, then you would have grounds to bring an EEOC action and then get a right to sue letter and then file a lawsuit against the company. You should have a consultation with an attorney here in Florida about Contingency fee representation, which means you pay nothing unless you win.     ... Read Answer

No attorney can assess the viability of a case with that limited information. If what you have is a true employment contract, and not merely an offer letter, it may be possible to pursue a case. However, I suspect that you merely accepted an offer of employment rather than a true employment contract. For it to be a valid employment contract it must be for a stated period of time - typically one year. If what you are looking at fails to specify the length of the employment then it is not a true employment contract under Missouri law. If that is the case, you have no case as you are an at-will employee and the employer is free to change the terms of employment at anytime.... Read Answer

Did the officer tell him that your file would be in "pending status" until further documentation was provided? This could be a matter of producing those court records of conviction/ records of adjudication from 15 years ago. Oftentimes, a simple conviction of misdemeanor theft is excused and won't subject the immigrant to grounds of inadmissibility. However, if it is more than a simple case of misdemeanor larceny, then a waiver would be a way to salvage your case. The US Citizen spouse would have to show that she would suffer "extreme hardship" if your case was denied. ... Read Answer

The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family Medical Leave Act are two different federal laws. Remember that state laws have protection as well but you asked about federal laws. The Family Medical Leave Act provides up to 12 weeks of UNPAID leave per year under federal law. However, there are some situations where an employee requests accommodation (remember that you must be able to do your job with or without reasonable accommodations which do not require an undue burden on your employer) which might extend that 12-week period. But there are requirements. An employer does not need to keep a job open indefinitely. It has the right to know when your doctor reasonably expects you to return to work, for example, July 5, 2024. Employees should not expect employers to guess. Neither should employees expect employers to anticipate or know what type of accommodation an employee may need. The employee usually must ask. There are some limited exceptions such as when a mental illness prevents the employee from asking and an employer reasonably knows or should know that they need to initiate the interactive process for a potential reasonable accommodation. You do not say whether you were injured on the job. If so, you need a workers compensation lawyer immediately. You also do not say whether you are the rare employee with a union contract which might give you more protection. Instead of paying private counsel to review your collective agreement you should reach out to your union since you pay union dues. Similarly if you work for the government reach out to that union. Most employees have no private contracts to enforce. If none of the above apply and you did not request accommodation your employer may have no requirement to keep your job open. Employees are injured in car accidents and sometimes have illnesses or conditions which have nothing to do with being caused by the job. In many instances, not all, the employee still needs to perform essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodations. These are complicated matters. Those of us who practice strict employment law don't handle social security disability or workers compensation. Employment lawyers usually need clients who are ready, able and willing to work and keep searching for work after some discriminatory action. Not sure if yours involves discrimination because you provided limited facts. Consider all of the above and act accordingly. If you did not qualify for unemployment benefits that's another thing we look at. Most clients collect those benefits after a discriminatory action. Although there are some types of actions like unpaid overtime or improper classification of being exempt where employees may still recover. You need to start calling some lawyers based on some of the above suggestions. An employment lawyer might not be what you really need but with the facts you gave you should act quickly or risk missing a filing deadline. And filing without legal counsel of your choosing is often not a great idea. Many claims are dismissed unless there are facts to support some plausible theory of recovery. Good luck.  ... Read Answer

The judge likely believes that the Department is immune from liability pursuant to § 34-13-3-3.  It would be wise to retain counsel to build the argument that your particular claim is not subject to governmental immunity.  Most governmental non-proprietary decisions are immune.   It is also common for people to sue the wrong entity -- political subdivisions are not generally proper defendants, and quite a bit of research is generally required to be sure to sue the right government body.      ... Read Answer

Most Labor cases can go on a long time, usually the company wins unless they do something really stupid. In this case, there is only 1 question: do you want the job back or not? You can contact more experienced labor counsel but ultimately, it looks like they want you back. Best of luck to you and sorry I cannot be of more help.... Read Answer

Your employer has a duty to maintain a safe workplace. If the coworker who threatened you is truly a problem child with a history of aggressive behavior, its time to collect allies and pitch your case to management for whatever that may be: new rules, his termination, etc.  That effort is called concerted activity and it is protected under the NLRA.  If he used offensive language targeting your protected demographic (age, religion, race, etc.), that is a criminal offense and workplace harassment and presumably you've told HR already and they either yawned, or he didn't go that far. If this was a one-off spat, and both of you have clean disciplinary histories, the law is the law but there's no teeth to your claim. You're presumably a full-grown, able bodied, male. I found a such a person using your name online who maintains a profile that works in NY in the security industry. Someone has threatened you in the course of your duties. What does your training suggest. You know waht he said, I do not. Was it an imminent threat that would put a reasonable person in fear of life or limb? If yes, you kno what to do. If not, go back to work and try to patch things. Up. Everyone deserves a second chance, but not a third. Put HR on notice of his actual words and that you believe he is a danger or otherwise unstable, unfit, etc. That beahvior is almost certianly unbecoming a security officer but forcing management to act is an art, not a science, and often futile. ... Read Answer

I'd like to know whether you're actually an indie contractor or if this Major News Organization is taking liberties to avoid the full weight of NY labor law they undoubtedly support in their hot takes. To be sure, professional writing and editing have all the trappings of exempt FLSA status, but if you're not really independent, then you're still an employee even if you are exempt from OT. The easiest test for independence is whether you have other clients and a written contract for your services. If the answer to both is "Yes," it still may be a good idea to shake the tree in a consult, but if the answer to one of those most basic quetions is "No," Do Not Pass Go or collect your $200 until you get a consult.... Read Answer

The civil rights laws prohibit discrimination based upon race in the workplace, which includes racial discrimination against white people. If you feel that the reason for your termination was based on race then you should file a complaint internally with HR to document it and then file a charge of discrimination with the EEOC.  ... Read Answer

You first need to familiarize yourself with your obligations as a NY employer. Start here: Sexual Harassment Prevention Model Policy and Training (ny.gov) You need to execute (and implement prospectively) the minimum standards, such as making a model complaint for available and adopting the minimum standard policy. For the incident at play, review your obligations about conducting a confidential investigation. That should include interviewing the reporting party, the purported victim, and the alleged offending employee.  Running a business anywhere is not easy and at this moment, NY is not making it any easier. You should have a viable relationship with a business and employment attorney (meaning, not necessarily someone on retainer but accessible communications to sort the wheat from the chaff from in the first instance). The internet is not the best place to have to turn in your time of legal need. There is no menu or list of outcomes explaining how to conclude your investigation or what to do once done. That is left for you, but you have to document your process and maintain confidentiality of the sensitive data collected.... Read Answer

It depends.Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), an employer with more than 50 employees must allow an employee who has worked at least 1250 hours within the last 12 months at a facility at which at least 50 employees are employed within a 75-mile radius up to 12 weeks of paid and/or unpaid leave as a result of a serious health condition.  I think your emergency gall bladder surgery almost certainly qualifies as a serious health condition.  If it was an emergency on May 15, 2023, you were certainly within 12 weeks at the time of the call on May 24, 2023.Facts not included in your question that are important are:  1) Does your employer Club 4 have more than 50 employees; and 2) had you worked at least 1250 hours within the 12 months preceding your emergency surgery at a facility at which at least 50 employees are employed within a 75-mile radius?I'm going to speculate that Club 4 is a fitness franchise, and I know there are numerous Club 4 fitness centers in the DFW area.  I'm also going to speculate that your employer is a franchisee, and not the franchisor.  I'm going to speculate that an individual fitness center probably does not employ 50 employees.  So it may be important to learn what other locations your particular franchisee employer owns in the area, and how many total employees the franchisee has spread out among its DFW area locations.... Read Answer