Nowadays, most corporations or employers want to befriend you and make you lose sight of the act that a workplace is a place of business.
Of course, you need to get along with your coworkers, but that doesn’t mean that these relationships need to get too personal.
Whenever you feel like you are being mistreated at your workplace, you should contact an employment lawyer. There are hundreds of these lawyers in the U.S, including Solana Beach employment lawyers.
If you’re still not convinced, here are 5 reasons why you should hire one.
1. Filing a Wrongful Termination Lawsuit
How many times has it happened to you to be fired for no reason, or be given a doubtful reason as a response? Our guess is a lot. It happens to all of us, although it shouldn’t.
There are a series of laws that protect your rights as employees and those should give you the chance to fight back when you feel that your rights were violated.
Fortunately, for these laws to be of good use, you will need to hire an employment lawyer who will be able to assist you with any case of getting fired or being laid off unlawfully.
2. You Feel Like You’re Mistreated or Wrongfully Disciplined
There are hundreds of cases where employees are mistreated by their bosses or are wrongfully disciplined.
The number of times when employers do not investigate certain situations before blaming employees or even firing them is outrageous.
If you feel like your employer has it out for you or is treating you differently than your colleagues, this is your time to shine. Hire an employment lawyer, gather all the needed data, and let justice be brought to you.
3. Unfavorable Work Environment
A toxic environment is both a law breach and a health issue. If your employer cannot manage to maintain a safe, friendly work environment for you and your colleagues, there is a major issue.
An employment lawyer can help you get the work climate that you need and deserve.
Not only it is unpleasant for the eye, but a toxic environment can also cause incurable diseases like Alzheimer’s or even kidney diseases.
A good lawyer can prove that this kind of place doesn’t respect certain laws. At the same time, it can very well get you compensated for having to put up with that.
4. Harassment
Harassment is the most common law-breaking action an employer or colleague can do. It is very important to know that not only your boss can harass you.
Indeed, this is the case in most situations, but your coworkers can harass you too. It is also crucial to know that in any case of harassment, there are some steps to be taken.
So, the first thing to do is to address this with your supervisor. He or she will have a chat with the said colleague that is harassing you (note: this is for coworkers only).
The supervisor is obligated to inform the said person that there will be repercussions if they don’t stop harassing you.
If this continues, the next step is to take the issue to your human resources department. They should have another chat with the said person or even give them a warning (given the fact that you can be fired upon gathering three warnings).
If the harassment continues afterward, you can take the matter to an employment lawyer. Keep in mind that harassment is mostly associated with unwelcome sexual advances, but it can also refer to comments about gender, sexuality, or religion, as well as offensive jokes toward a person.
In this case, the employment lawyer’s job is to file a complaint about the company with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission).
5. Breach of Contract
An employment contract is the most important thing you should look after when getting hired. It is very important to make sure that you read and understand every term of the contract.
Take your time when doing that because it includes terms that you should agree on when signing it.
Moreover, always read the fine print. If you know your contract well, you’ll be aware of what you are allowed to do and what your employer is allowed to do.
Most of the time, the breach of the contract consists of not paying the salary on time or not offering vacation time.
If these are breached, per se, an employment lawyer can represent you in court, simply because the employment contract is a legal document.
The Bottom Line
There are many laws that protect both employees and employers. It is very important to know your rights to figure out when they are being crossed over.
If any of the above-mentioned situations happened or are happening to you, hire an employment lawyer as soon as possible.