North Carolina Employment Legal Questions

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 Answer

Many employment law attorneys handle this type of thing. You have the ability to request an appeal, but that has to be done within 30 days of the overpayment determination. Contact an employment law attorney ASAP for specific advice. If all avenues of appeal have been exhausted, and especially if you are having other financial difficulties, you should consult a bankruptcy attorney. ... Read Answer

You have very limited time to file an appeal the denial of unemployment benefits. It is very common for the initial determination to be a denial even though you should be eligible. Contact an attorney as soon as possible. Most appeals are done over the phone, meaning the attorney's location does not necessarily need to be close to you. ... Read Answer

Technically, you are not required to retain an attorney to represent you during an EEOC proceeding just as you do not need to retain an attorney to represent you in court.  However, it is always best to get expert advice on how to handle it and, at least, get a consultation with an experienced employment attorney.... Read Answer

It depends on what the employer's vacation pay policy says.  You should get it and read it carefully.  If it says you get your vacation pay, then you get it.  Most likely if it does not say you lose it, then you probably can get it.  If it says you forfeit it (or words to that effect), then you will lose it.... Read Answer

North Carolina is an employment-at-will state where an employee can be terminated for good, bad or, as in your case, no reason at all. There would be a legal claim only if there was an unlawful motive behind the termination. In this case, the only possibility I see is the at work injury. If you were terminated because of filing for or requesting workers comp benefits, then you may have a legal claim.... Read Answer

This is a very tough situation and legally complex. If someone who is not a manager is calling you that, then the only likely claim is that you are being subjected to non-sexual, sex-based harassment.  It is made more complex if these men are subordinates and not peers. However, such a claim is possible.  You shoudl consult with an experienced employment attorney as soon as possible. Attorneys on here are prohibited from soliciting you, but you can reach out to the attorneys.... Read Answer

North Carolina is an employment-at-will state where an employer can terminate an employee at any time for any reason.  According to the North Carolina Supreme Court you can be terminated for a good reason, bad reason or no reason at all.  This sounds unfair (a bad reason), but not unlawful.... Read Answer

North Carolina is an employment-at-will state where you can be fired for good reason, bad reason or no reason at all. Most complainst are not protected in this state. However, if you were discriminated against or harassed due to your sex (including sexual orientation) you may have a claim. If you were discriminated against or harassed due to your sex (including sexual orientation), and that was the basis for your complaint, then you may have a claim for unlawful retaliation. You should consult with an experienced employment attorney as soon as possible if you feel either of these apply.... Read Answer

There is nothing you can do in this situation if the employer does not want to do the right thing or be honest with you. Retaliation is unlawful only if you engaged in a "protected activity" which is an activity that the law says you have an absolute legal right to engage in. There are very few protected activities in this state.... Read Answer

There is not a legal claim simply because the employee feels s/he are in a hostile environment.  Harassment, including hostile enviroment harassment, is unlawful only if it is directed to the victim due to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability or age 40 or older. If it is not directed for one of those reasons, then it is not unlawful no matter how bad the conduct may be.... Read Answer

If you were terminated due to your use of FMLA, you have a legal claim for wrongful firing even if you had used all of your FMLA time. Now, there will be a "proof" issue where the employer will say it had nothing to do with the FMLA usage and you will have to come up with evidence that it did.  Further, it is possible that you might have a claim under the Americans With Disabilities Act depending on the exact facts. Althoug you have 2 years to initiate an FMLA lawsuit, you only have 180 days to initiate a claim under the ADA.  I suggest you consult with an experienced employment attorney as soon as possible. Keep in mind that attorney on this site are allowed to answer your questions, but cannot solict your representation.  That means you will need to request help directly from the attorney before s/he can offer to represent you or consult with you.... Read Answer

Employers who offer 401k plans are allowed to adopt automatic enrollment. This means the employee will automatically have a certain percentage of their pay placed in the 401k plan unless the employee affirmatively "elects" to stop or change the amount. The employer is not required to change this amount until you provide them with the required notification that you want to stop or change the amount it is usually a form you have to complete or a process that complete via a website.  If you go through this process and they do not change it, then you can contact the US Department of Labor's, Employee Benefits Security Administration.... Read Answer

The EEOC enfoces federal law which prohibits discrimination (or harassment) on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability or age 40 or older.  You do not mention any of these "protected classes" in your facts.  Did you mean that you are disabled after the on-the-job ingury and are being harassed due to your disability?  If so, that is possible, but I do not see near enough in these facts although there could be more facts that change the analysis. I want to let you know that harassment for file a worker compensation claim in not unlawful.  However, retaliation that leads to job loss for filing for workers compensation is unlawful. ... Read Answer

Perhaps, but workplace harassment is not a legal claim in North Carolina.  Harassment in the workplace is unlawful only in certain situations as there is no law specifically prohibiting harassment.  Initially, we have to determine the reason he was harassed and if that reason is unlawful, he may have a claim. In this state (as in most states), workplace harassment may be unlawful only if it is directed toward the employee on the basis of: race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability or age 40 or older.  If the alleged harassing actions were directed toward him on any other basis than one of these "protected classes", then it will not matter what the actions were because it simply will not meet the legal definition of unlawful harassment. If it is directed to him on the basis of one of these protected classes, it will be unlawful only if it occurs on mulitple occasions.... Read Answer

Pro Bono means "free" and employment attorneys will not work for free.  Every attorney is different, but some will consider a contingency fee (won't get paid unless client wins or accepts a settlement) if you have a very strong case with substantial damages.  If you have a weaker case, then you may need to consider that you will have to pay out of pocket for an attorney's services.  The first part of this is to consult with one or more employment attorneys about your situation and listen to what they think.... Read Answer

In general, employees are entitled to overtime pay unless they are "exempt" from overtime pay requirement.  If you are exempt, the employer can work you an unlimited number of hours over 40 without paying you any additional amount.  The determination as to whether you are an exempt employee can often be complex.  You can do some intial research yourself on the US Department of Labor's wesbite which explains overtime exemptions under the FLSA.  However, the best way for you to know for sure is to consult with an experienced employment attorney to fully discuss. You will also be able to discuss your options moving forward if you are a non-exempt employee who is entitled to overtime.... Read Answer

There would be no legal claim against the co-worker.  It would be possible, in certain situations, to have a claim against the employer.  Basically the legal argument in these cases is that you have a disability as defined by the ADA and that you need a reasonable accomodation to perform your job. In this case, it would be that you need a fragrance free workplace. It has been noted that frangrance free workplaces may not be reasonable accomodations because it may be difficult for the employer to implement. You should contact the EEOC for more information or to file a charge.... Read Answer

  Terminating an employee who is absent from work is not unlawful regardless of whether you have a doctor's note or sick/vacation leave.  The only way this would be a violation of the law is if your sickness was part of a larger issue such as a serious health condition or disability.  If it was either, then you might - not certain, but might -- have rights under one of the two following laws:   The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides covered employees who work for covered employers with up to 12 weeks of leave for a serious health condition.  Not all employers and not all employees are covered by FMLA.  The serious health condition can be the employee's own or of an immediate family member. At a minimum, the employer must have at least 50 employees and the employee must have worked at least 12 months and more than 1250 hours. In general, things such as colds, the flu, upset stomach, dental problems and the like are not serious health problems. If an employee on FMLA is able to return to work in 12 weeks or less, then the employer must return the employee to the same or equivalent position.  Employees are also allow to take FMLA on a intermittent basis (here and there as needed).FMLA makes it unlawful for a covered employer to interfere with an employee's FMLA rights or leave or retaliate against an employee for exercising FMLA rights.       The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against employees or applicants for employment due to a disability.  The ADA also requires an employer to provide a reasonable accommodation to an employee or applicant with a disability that will allow the person to perform the essential functions of the job.  ... Read Answer