Employment Legal Questions

Did this person touch or harm you physically? If yes, did you retain and/or consult with a workers compensation lawyer if those physical injuries resulted in some type of permanent scarring whether emotional or physical or both? Assault and battery is also criminal if the employee had the state of mind to harm you or place you in a position where physical injury was imminent or physical injuries were likely to result and foreseeably cause you emotional distress. Did you report this to the police? What is your goal? It looks like the employer took action. The employer is now much more likely to be personally liable should this employee harm anyone else in the future since the employer is on notice that the employee has a history with you. Are you seeking an apology? Either a workers compensation lawyer or an assistant district attorney can provide you with better suggestions. Most of us do not sue individuals because collecting damages could be a process even if you secure a judgment on paper. Workers compensation claims are the exclusive remedy for physical injuries which occur within the course and scope of employment in the majority of scenarios and emotional distress alone is usually insufficient in most scenarios, barring exceptional circumstances. Of course you made no reference to discrimination associated with any of the above which might be a complaint for filing with New York State's Division of Human Rights but only if the last discriminatory act (causing an adverse employment action - often with termination or denied pay raises, promotions or inferior terms and conditions of employment) occurred within the past 12 months. Go to the police if the person retaliates against you and/or places you in reasonable fear for your safety. Not legal advice and no lawyer client relationship. Good luck.... Read More

Unpaid wages are taken very seriously in New York. There may be DOL notice violations also. You may be entitled to liquidated damages, often double the amount you are owed, and your own attorney's fees and the costs of filing can be court-ordered for payment by that employer. Plus the individual business owner should be personally on the hook for unpaid wages in most cases, if your lawsuit names them individually, so liquidation or bankruptcy of the owner does not leave you high and dry. However, the amount in controversy appears small. You may not have sufficient revenues by the business to file in federal court. And even a federal court may be reluctant to award the amount of attorney's fees which may be necessary for collection. Remember that litigation takes time and effort regardless of the amount pursued. And the restaurant could fight payment requiring you to retain a collections lawyer in the end. Overall your best option might be filing in small claims court in the county where that restaurant does or has a business operation. A small claims court judge will review your documentation and hear from both sides, assuming the restaurant responds. If it doesn't even show up you could have a default judgement entered in your favor and then collecting on it will be a separate matter. It's a process and if you wish to learn about the legal system yours may be an excellent one in which to do so. Gather your documentation and good luck!... Read More

We are very sorry to hear about your issue. You are owed wages for all time spent working. There are often many possible ways that you may not be paid for all time spent working in home care. We have seen cases where individuals providing home care were not paid for mileage or travel between multiple patients in a day. We have seen other cases where the employees do not receive all pay, including overtime compensation. The fact is that your employer is required to keep accurate time records of your time spent working. To the extent that you do so, I would encourage you to maintain such records as they will be very helpful in proving your case. Oftentimes, we can prove a violation of federal and state wage and hour laws, but the parties employee and employer dispute how much work was performed. If you keep records, that would be helpful. I would also encourage you to speak with an experienced wage and hour lawyer. Our firm regularly handles wage disputes for individuals working throughout Ohio https://www.mcoffmanlegal.com/columbus-wage-hour-attorney/unpaid-wage-violations/. By speaking with an experienced overtime attorney, they can assess all of the various ways that you may be underpaid by your employer and also inform you about your rights moving forward. If you would like a free consultation with experienced unpaid wages or unpaid overtime lawyers, feel free to call our office or reach out through our contact form https://www.mcoffmanlegal.com/contact-us/  ... Read More

Possibly but I'm not sure you have monetary damage to recover. The denial of the club probably isn't what we call an "adverse employment action," such as a demotion, pay reduction, termination, denial of raise, or forfeiting benefits. (It didn't cause you any monetary loss.) A court may consider injunctive relief to compel the employer to allow a social club, but the employer would have the opportunity to explain itself and defend its position. Absent monetary damage, getting an attorney to sue on contingency is unlikely unless you have identified several (no specific number but more than a handful) coworkers who are interested in the club to bring a class action under state law.... Read More

Does DC 37 have an own occupation policy?  I'm not even sure what type of policy this refers to but you'll need to get a copy of your Collective Bargaining Agreement to find the answer.  Am I allowed to work in another field while collecting dc 37 short-term disability? No. The Union has advised you to take FMLA and STD. STD is a statutory benefit available to all New York employees. When you take STD leave, you are certifying to the insurer that you are unable to work. Absent a separate Union benefit that would provide for paid leave pending a dispute (which probably doesn't exist given the advice you received), your only other option would be to take an unpaid leave of absence while working in another field.  ... Read More

Correct. Once you have complained of some type of "employment discrimination" which might include sexual harassment or racial harassment or national origin harassment then that might be a hostile work environment. That is much different from being harassed because you are not performing your job duties exactly in the manner your supervisor wishes. Harassment because of discrimination is not ok. Harassment because you are not following exactly what is being asked of you and others who do similar work is just a conflict with a supervisor which is often best resolved by moving to some new position like a transfer or new job. HR will investigate unlawful discrimination and the employee does not conduct their own investigation which could be insubordination which can result in termination. HR does not investigate just complaints about a supervisor which have no reason to believe discrimination is being alleged or just sour grapes. The latter usually resolves itself with the employee's new job voluntarily or involuntarily. So yes you may not violate instructions from HR. But if you did not say words which usually include discrimination because of .... don't expect much to happen. Start looking for other positions if the hostility is not discriminatory. Hostile does not mean generally not nice or not civil. At work it means discriminatory or it's probably nothing the law is designed to protect. That's the reality check for employment law.... Read More

A foreign national can visit his girlfriend in the United States on a visitor visa. After that he can return home, and if you choose you can sponsor him for a fiancée visa. Thereafter, he can return to the United States, where he can adjust status to get his green card after marriage to you. This can all be done if you are a US citizen. You should retain counsel anywhere in the United States for legal representation. Some of us charge a very affordable flat fee to handle the case from start to finish.... Read More

The Occupational Safety and Health Act is a federal law which requires reasonably safe workplaces for everyone. Constructive discharge is VERY hard to prove. It means that an employee is forced to quit and that no reasonable employee would have remained and tolerated the workplace, often because the employee is being discriminated or subjected to a hostile work environment. OSHA can be more challenging to prove. Have you spoken to your employer or contacted OSHA if the employer is not interested in discussing the situation with you? Hopefully the employer does not have a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason to fire you. If you had reason to believe that you are a whistleblower, your facts unclear in that regard, the employer could not retaliate against you. But if the employer has other valid, legitimate reasons to let you go those could deny you unemployment since gross misconduct and quitting are usually unemployment benefits disqualifiers. If you don't already have a job lined up, start looking, and definitely speak with several employment lawyers before you take any action. Your facts are not specific enough to support any type of action based on your disclosures herein. You need to speak with employment lawyers before doing anything. Good luck.  ... Read More

Generaly, you have four years from the date you should have become aware of the fraud in Maryland, but determing if the conduct falls under the leagal defintion or fraud, or just breach of contract (a three year statute of limitiations) depends on the facts.  You should discuss the specifcs of your claim with a lawyer to better determine which statute of limitations would apply.    ... Read More

Is there a provision within your agreement that if you resign with good cause that you will not be required to repay a bonus, advance or whatever else your employer calls the money? It appears that we're you fired for good cause, presumably defined within your agreement, that you would be responsible for repayment. Parties are free to enter into agreements. No lawyer can provide you with advice or an opinion you can rely upon without reviewing all documents you may have signed or which were incorporated by reference into the agreement from which you extracted what may or may not control your contractual duties or obligations. If the amount in controversy is substantial pay an employment lawyer to review all documents. Many of us have been doing so remotely for clients for years. Read lawyer reviews online to decide for yourself. Remember that the last sentence you provided with what appears might be prevailing party attorney fees could be multiple times the amount you are considering whether to repay. Good luck!... Read More

Generally, employment in PA is known as at will.  You can be hired, fired, demoted, or promoted for good cause, bad cause, or no cause at all.   One exception is for prohibited discrimination. Another exception would be the existence of an employment contract.  You referenced breach of contract and if you do indeed have one, the terms of the contract govern the relationship.  Accordingly, any attorney whom you consult with would need to review a copy to better advise you.   I trust this answers your questions, and, if you live in the Delaware Valley, feel free to call or email on a free initial basis. Best Regards,   Matthew R. Nahrgang, Esquire 35 Evansburg Road, Ste 400 Collegeville, PA 19426 (610) 489-3041 o (610) 489-3042 fax nahrganglaw.com... Read More

OK so if you are a United States citizen and Dad entered the United States legally with a visa, then you can sponsor him to get a green card without him returning to his country. The process takes about a year from the time that you file until the interview date.   If Dad is overseas, you can still sponsor him but he would process overseas at the US consulate and that is taking a little bit longer. It does not matter if you are married, as you can still sponsor your father for a green card. You should retain counsel to process the case from start to finish. Some of us charge an affordable flat fee for these type of cases and remain in the case for its lifespan. ... Read More

Anytime a worker is injured on the job site, his exclusive remedy against his employer is Worker's Compensation. This is the general rule however there are a few exceptions. If a third-party caused your injury by assaulting you, you can always sue that individual, but there may be a lack of recovery because any insurance policy he may have only covers negligent acts and not intentional acts. You should discuss your case with counsel here in Florida to explore your options.... Read More

Generally, the PA Department of Labor takes no action to collect such overpayment, other than mailings.  I have never seen such a matter pursued in court. I trust this answers your question, but feel free to call or email me on a free initial basis. Best Regards,   Matthew R. Nahrgang, Esquire 35 Evansburg Road, Ste 400 Collegeville, PA 19426 (610) 489-3041 o (610) 489-3042 fax nahrganglaw.com... Read More

You can file a workers comp claim against your employer and get benefits under the employers insurance plan. Also you can File a police report against the person that assaulted you so that he is prosecuted for the crime he committed. Normally a judge in the criminal case will force the defendant to pay you restitution in the form of medical bills etc. etc. You could always sue the perpetrator, but he probably doesn't have any assets for you to go after. Additionally, you can file a claim with the California victims compensation fund and they may be able to also help pay your medical bills.... Read More

OK if you have an injury on the job, your exclusive remedy against your employer is to file for Worker's Compensation benefits. If the injury was caused by a third-party, then you would have an additional claim for personal injuries against the third-party. You should discuss your case with both a workers comp and a personal injury attorney to explore these issues.  ... Read More

It's hard to predict that because judges' schedules determine dates. I am without knowledge regarding how you were discriminated but it's important to consider that "retirement" will not help wage loss damages calculations. A number of years ago a general practice lawyer, with about 40 years of experience, called me. He had failed to advise his client that it was imperative to keep looking for work and to keep a detailed log of every job a terminated employee applied for and was rejected after the "discriminatory" job loss. Mitigation of damages is key for all terminated employees. Remember that the courts tell us that employment discrimination damage awards are not a lottery ticket. What the courts mean is that every discriminated employee must prove the damages she or he has suffered. And the first prong of calculating damages is to examine past wage loss. For any period of time in which an employee was not seeking alternate employment many courts, if not all, may conclude that an employee did not mitigate damages and therefore will not award based on wage loss. During this pandemic I have personal knowledge of an employee who was reluctant to leave their job because they were of advancing age. They were certain that no one would hire them given their age. But as fate would have it, an employer from a far away state was willing to give them a remote job, working from home, earning more money than they earned from their prior employer. And with technology those possibilities are ones which I have heard about over and over again. I have spoken with and represented employees earning $500,000 as well as $50,000 pre-pandemic. And these employees have landed out-of-state positions, working from home here in New York, without ever leaving their residences, to interview, get hired, and perform jobs from home. Speak with your NYS DHR lawyer about mitigation of damages and what your best case scenario outcome might be if you failed to mitigate. My employment law reality check videos on YouTube suggest calling many employment lawyers for good reason. The Division of Human Rights does great things. But when pre-hearing conferences or settlement opportunities go nowhere sometimes it's because one or both sides have not deeply examined their positions or expectations. The judges who conduct those conferences are not ones who will hear your case. But they have witnessed hundreds or more complainants with very good lawyers lose those hearings more often than win them. Read the decisions. Both sides must be realistic about resolution. Take a look at decisions or orders of the New York State Division of Human Rights, paying special attention to the percentage of complainants who win at hearing, as well as the dollar amounts of awards. Google it. Those decisions, posted on-line, are valuable. Stay healthy and good luck. ... Read More