2020 Laws

There are nearly a dozen new laws that go into effect starting January 1, 2020 that all strengthen employee rights.  These range from extending the time you can file a lawsuit for specific claims to prohibiting unfair contract terms.  Each free consultation I give will cover whether any of these new protections will benefit you.

Common Employer Violations

There are many issues I come across that always surprise me.  Frequently they result from employers who don’t run the proper payday and human resource software or are too arrogant to change their employment practices.  A few rights employees are legally entitled to cover meal breaks, rest breaks, sick days, paychecks that arrive on time, harassment (not just sexual, but also other types of verbal harassment), maintaining a safe work environment, maternity leave…the list goes on and on.  In some of these cases it’s up to the employer to prove nothing illegal is occurring, and other times the employee is required to provide the evidence.  Once an employer knows that something wrong is happening, they must act quickly to fix it.  In some instances, I will advise clients on the best way to bring a matter to your employers’ attention to develop a record we can use against them. 

As a side note, a company’s human resource department is not there to protect employees, but the company.  Do not take what human resources is telling you at face value.  Call me to discuss the issue, and together we can determine the real intent behind human resources; usually they are hoping to sweep the problem under the rug without resolving it so that upper management can remain happy. 

Wrongful Termination

It is common for many employers to classify employment contracts as “at-will.”  This gives the mistaken belief that employers can fire you for any reason, and you can’t do anything about it.  Often, clients tell me that the real reason they were fired is that they spoke out against a workplace violation or kept on pressing for a promised wage increase.  To make matters worse, employers often give a fired employee the incorrect final paycheck without taking into consideration PTO, sick days, or employee covered reimbursable expenses.  All of these examples are illegal, and I will fight to recover your money and dignity.