If you have an HR department, have you tried to get their help? Even if you don't have an HR department, is there a trustworthy person in a management role you can talk to? A lot of employment issues can be resolved internally. The benefit of getting them resolved internally if possible is that you can usually continue working in peace, and - if you have a true "legal" issue - get it resolved before you suffer too much harm.
Have you consulted with an honest-to-goodness live, non-virtual employment lawyer, or someone with a government agency that handles your type of claim, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or your state Wage and Hour Division? Do you have a friend who is an employment lawyer or HR professional who might be able to give you some free and sound advice?
If so, have you given them all of the facts, both good and bad? What do they think you should do? If they're encouraging you to "build a bridge and get over it" or "quit," then maybe suing isn't such a good idea. If you claim emotional distress in a lawsuit, the employer is usually entitled to find out all about any trauma you may have suffered, including physical and sexual abuse, psychological conditions, psychiatric conditions, diseases, divorces, plastic surgeries, accidents, crimes, arrests, and deaths.
The employer can also get your medical and psychiatric records, at least within limits.
Everything You Need to Know About Suing Your Employer
How many jobs were you fired from before you got fired by this employer? Were you accused of embezzlement on your last job? The employer will be able to subpoena your personnel files from your past employers. Wrongful termination happens when an employer unethically lets an employee go for a reason unrelated to their performance or the state of the company.
Wrongful termination may happen if the manager is looking to retaliate against the employer or as an act of discrimination. While wrongful termination can be difficult to prove, employees who can state their case may sue. While we often think of workplace injuries only happening in dangerous jobs like construction work, they can happen just about anywhere. Those situations include third party negligence, toxic substance, defective products or intentional accidents caused by the employer.
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If you believe you have a case against your employer, there are a few crucial steps you should take to ensure the process goes smoothly. Because qualified attorneys deal with similar cases day in and day out, they can help you determine the strength of your case before you let your employer know you may be suing them. Talking with an attorney first, especially through a free consultation, allows you to understand whether a lawsuit would be justified. In many cases, your employer will want to resolve the problem without public attention or high legal fees.
A solid foundation of evidence can be helpful if you should ever need to go to court. In fact, employers can usually be downright jerks as long as they are equally jerky to everybody.
Employees: Better Think Twice Before Suing Your Employer (Four Reasons Why)
They can be arbitrary and play favorites as long as they're not making distinctions based on "protected" categories, like race or sex. If you read this blog very often, you know that I am a strong advocate of treating employees respectfully, fairly, and with dignity.
So is everybody in Human Resources who's worth a darn. But we feel that way because it's the right thing to do, not because it's the law. The American legal system would collapse in a heap if people could sue every time their feelings were hurt. Our system is designed to prevent only the worst kinds of behavior -- you know, like murder, armed robbery, and driving 70 in a It's supposed to keep us from being at each others' throats.
Anything more is left to our respective senses of common decency. If you sue your employer, it won't be enough for you to prove that your employer made the wrong decision, or even that your employer was a no-goodnik.
If you don't have a valid legal claim against your employer, then you will ultimately lose your case. One big reason to think twice before you sue. Litigation is long, drawn-out, stressful, and painful. The only people who really enjoy litigation are lawyers. No one else could possibly be that sick. And, here's a secret: Judges who are usually lawyers are always after the parties to try to settle, which would end the case before the judge has to hear it.
Lawyers are usually the same way -- they are rarely averse to settlement, although they'll fight to the death if that's what the client wants. Why do you think most courts nowadays have mandatory mediation?
BEFORE YOU SUE: 10 questions every employee should ask: Employment & Labor Insider
If even lawyers don't necessarily like litigation, just think about how much you will hate it. So it's still worth it to sue. Or, at least, not necessarily. You see, your employer gets sued a lot. This is what they call a "cost of doing business" in the United States. It is true that your lawsuit will be stressful and disruptive for your company.
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But it will be a lot more stressful and disruptive for you, who are not used to the court system or dealing with lawyers, and you don't even know whether it's a trap when the employer's lawyer says hello to you and offers to shake hands. The distraction and stress of a lawsuit may also make it more difficult for you to do well in your new job. And having to continually dwell on an unpleasant experience as you'll have to do while your lawsuit lasts is difficult and stressful.
You may find out that your co-workers are not on your side. You feel very strongly that your employer did you wrong. You find a lawyer willing to take your case.