4 Tips for Understanding the Basics of Employment Litigation
The simple explanation of worker litigation is that it represents a special form of a lawsuit where a worker is suing the company in case some of its rights were endangered. You can choose this option if you get into a problem with coworkers, managers, or other staff where they inadequately treated you. It can be harassment, mobbing, racism, unfair treatment, lower wage, and more.
There are many other reasons when a worker should consider this option, like being forced to work overtime, constantly getting lower payments, not getting the terms as they are in the contract, and more. The main problem is that many people are not aware of their rights, which leads them to longer periods of harassment or other issues.
Therefore, if you are not sure about your rights and whether you are eligible to create a lawsuit, the best solution is to contact an expert, like Sattiraju & Tharney, which is an office especially experienced and skilled in assisting employees for reaching their rights.
To understand the process of litigation, the first thing to do is to learn more about the rights of workers. These rights are introduced by officials. Here are the most important tips that will help you understand the process of employment litigation.
1. Learn Your Rights
Both owners and workers must be aware of certain regulations and what type of relations is suitable by the law. We can notice all kinds of issues related to this field where both owners and workers are not aware when they are breaking some regulations. The crucial parts of these rights are related to the wage, time spent at work, and treatment.
Therefore, if you think that it was unfair that your wage is lower than average, or when it is compared to other workers or previous months, you might be able to activate a litigation process. The same is when you are forced to work more than is determined in the contract.
There is always an option to work overtime, and it can be a great way to earn more money, but it will require an agreement from both sides, and you must be paid extra for that as well. In most cases, issues that lead to this process are related to relations between people, like sexual harassment, bullying, or physical violence.
Another issue is that people are sometimes afraid to activate this process because they fear that they will lose their job. According to the law, the company must treat you in the right way, and even if you get fired before the contract is finalized, you can sue the company and request to return to the same position or get suitable compensation.
2. Different Types of Harassment
The main reason why you should pay more attention to your rights is in the case when some people from the executive board are constantly expressing inadequate behavior towards you, and you feel stressed, scared, embarrassed, and more. Keep in mind that even a joke can be considered harassment if you find it offensive or insulting.
You should look for professional assistance and activate a lawsuit in case you feel isolated due to your gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, or any other factor. However, keep in mind that it must be reasonable and covered by proper arguments and proof.
An argument with your manager where you were expecting an increase in your wage, or getting into a verbal conflict where both sides exchanged insults won’t be enough for litigation, unless it is covered by other factors that we mentioned before.
3. Discrimination is Still an Issue
People can feel discriminated against for various things. If you think that the main reason why you are not getting a raise or a promotion is due to the different color of your skin, sexual orientation, or gender, the only way to reach your rights is through this process. There are all sorts of situations where people might feel discriminated.
For example, if you think that the main reason why you didn’t get a new role even though you are the most suitable person, and you think that some of the factors we already mentioned are the reason for that, the first thing you should do is to speak to your executives and ask for the explanation. If it proves to be discrimination, you can expect suitable compensation after the lawsuit ends.
4. Find the Right Assistance
The main issue is that it is not a rare case that people who are fighting for their rights have to be alone in that process. Even if some colleagues in your office could confirm your allegations in court, they might decide to avoid that because they fear losing their jobs.
The crucial part of the process is to find professional assistance with proper skills and experience in this field. The other side might try to use some tricks to avoid the penalty. Therefore, an expert will help you to create the right combination of proofs and testimonies that will help you prove that your allegations are true.
Last Words
There is no need to let others at your work harass you in any way. If you are constantly getting insulted, forced to do different things, facing lower payments, overtime, and other issues, the only way to protect your rights properly is to hire an expert and activate this process on the court.
You can do the same when you got fired, and you think that the reasons for that are not related to your skills. Some of the reasons that allow people to start a lawsuit are when they got fired because of sexual orientation, the color of skin, religion, ethnicity, and more.
Always read the contract when you are starting to work for some company since they might involve hidden terms where your additional hours won’t be paid properly, or where you even cannot sue them for many things. Still, a good attorney will help you to defend your rights even when the company has implemented different anti litigation terms in their policy.