Employment Lawyer Donald E. Uloth

Do you suspect wrongdoing at work, or have you already reported it? Before you do anything else today, get some legal advice – here’s why. First, unless you work for the state or federal government, there may not be a law that protects you from retaliation when you blow the whistle on your employer, so find out if there is. Second, even if there is a law that applies to your situation, that law will dictate who you have to report to – telling someone higher-up in the company is often the wrong thing to do in these situations. Third, whistleblower protection laws have short time limits, and you don’t want to wait and miss the deadline.

Many laws say that an employer cannot retaliate against an employee who sticks up for his or her own rights, or the rights of co-workers. For example, if you go management or human resources and report what you believe to be a case of race or sex discrimination, the employer cannot fire or demote you for doing so. If you question whether you are being paid all wages you are owed, again the employer is supposed to fire you, demote you, or take actions against you to teach you a lesson.

Broadly speaking there are two kinds of claims here. The first kind is obvious – a supervisor who says if you want to keep your job, here’s what you have to do for me. It might start out as lunch with the boss, but pretty soon your job is job is on the line if you don’t agree to sex. This is illegal.

The second type of case is more subtle, like death by a thousand paper cuts. If an employer regularly makes comments about you, changes your duties to make you perform unpleasant or less lucrative work, and it all adds up to the point where you now hate going to work … you may have a claim.

If you’re being offered a new job or a promotion that includes a written employment agreement, you might want to go over it with an attorney before you sign it. Almost everything is negotiable before you sign it, so make sure you understand your contract, and don’t be afraid to ask for what’s fair before you sign.

If your employment is ending and the employer owes you money, a lawyer can help you get what you are owed. Don’t compromise or walk away with nothing – contact an experienced employment lawyer to find out what your rights are.

Employers offer some money to a departing employee, even one that has been fired, in exchange for the employee’s promise not to sign an agreement not to sue. These agreements are usually one-sided in favor of the employer, and you may not want to agree to all of the restrictions they are asking you to sign off on.

Also, if you think the termination is retaliation for something you’ve done, or you suspect you might have a real claim against the employer, don’t sign until you’ve talked it over with an employment attorney.