Your workplace may provide you with certain legal protections, depending on your employer’s size, the state where you work, and your profession:
- In some places, you may also have the right not to be discriminated against based on race, national origin, skin color, gender, pregnancy, religion, disability, genetic information, or age (and to be protected from discrimination based on marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or other characteristics).
- The right to be free of harassment in the workplace
- In some places, you’re entitled to overtime premiums for hours worked over forty in one week (or, in some places, over eight hours a day) as well as the right to be paid for hours worked.
- Working conditions that are safe
- You may take a leave of absence to care for your serious health condition or that of a family member, or about the birth or adoption of a child.
- An individual’s right to privacy in personal matters.
There are a few things you may do to protect your legal rights.
- Discuss this with your Employer
In many circumstances, speaking with your employer should be your first action. Most difficulties can be solved with intellectual discussion, or at the very least, your disagreements can be laid out on the table. Most businesses desire to stay on the right side of the law and steer out of legal trouble. Unless you work for an employer who is uncaring and hostile, your predicament is almost always the consequence of a mistake, misunderstanding, or lack of legal knowledge.
Here are some pointers on how to communicate your concerns to your boss:
- Understand Your Legal Rights
The more informed you are about your rights before the discussion, the more comfortable you will be in expressing your issue. You can also report what’s happening if your organization is breaking the law by accident or negligence.
- Keep Your Focus on the Facts
Prepare an overview of the problem and your suggestion for resolving it before speaking with your boss. It could be beneficial to have someone more impartial, such as a friend or family member, analyze the information and brainstorm solutions with you. Make sure you don’t forget any vital details or make any mistakes. Examine your documents to ensure that your recollection of dates, statistics, and events is correct.
- Don’t Get Caught up in Your Feelings
Coping with a job issue can be frustrating, but making false allegations and emotional responses will not help you get your message across. If your employment is in jeopardy, try not to escalate tensions by losing your cool. To ensure that you can stay professional and calm during your presentation, practice it ahead of time.
- Maintain a Low Profile
Workplace disagreements should be discussed in private. Not only for those concerned but also outsiders, employment issues can be unpleasant and stressful. You don’t want to be criticized for suffocating your coworkers or forcing them to take sides. Request a meeting with a supervisor or manager to discuss your issues in private.
- Decide Your Future Strategy
Before you wrap up your conversation with your boss, make a strategy for the next steps. Will the corporation look into the issue? Will your manager discuss your performance with your coworkers or supervisor? Will there be any changes to assessments, job responsibilities, or reporting relationships?
- Keep in touch with Your Employer
Keep in touch with your employer once you’ve spoken with them. If your boss promises to look into the situation or speak with other employees, follow up to see how far they’ve progressed. Arrange another meeting in a few weeks to discuss what advancement has been achieved in resolving your situation and what remains to be done.
- You must Document the Problem
Defend yourself by documenting the problem in addition to discussing it over with your boss. Make a list of important talks and occurrences, including the time, date, and names of anyone else who was present. Gather papers such as corporate policies, offer letters, performance reports, memos, emails, other communications, and employee handbooks that may support your side of the story.
Keep in mind, however, that you should only acquire papers to which you have legal access. Taking or duplicating classified papers, even if they are relevant to your case, could result in your dismissal and jeopardize your legal rights.
Request your colleagues to jot down what they observed and heard in signed, dated statements if they witnessed or heard any of the episodes that caused this problem (such as an oral performance review, a bullying comment, or a search of your workplace).
- Litigation is Worth Considering
Take into account taking legal action if your employer does not appear to be taking your statement seriously, or if you are degraded or fired. You’ll need to consider your intentions, proof, and interest in spending the time and money that legal action needs while making this decision.
- What are your Desired Outcomes?
If you’re dreaming of a multimillion-dollar payout, think again: while such decisions do happen, they’re rare. A huge number of legal claims are never heard in court. If you’re outraged, seeking vengeance, or expecting to prove to the world that you were just all along, remember that such feelings don’t make for a solid legal case and may even drive you to make terrible decisions in the future. If your request is straightforward try bargaining with your employer.
- What is the Strength of Your Case?
The quality of the evidence is important to the success of any legal claim. To succeed, you must demonstrate that your rights had been violated — preferably with papers. You should speak with a competent employment lawyer to determine how strong your claims are and whether you are likely to win.
- Do you have enough Time and Money to Afford a Lawsuit?
Proving legal actions consumes a lot of effort, which you could use to locate and succeed at new work. Suits are also costly. If your case is good enough, you might be able to find a lawyer who would take it on a contingency basis, which means that the lawyer’s fees are deducted from the money you win. Even so, you’ll almost certainly have to cover the costs of filing the claim, which can be large. And that contingency fee might be as much as 25%, 33%, or even 40% of the total amount you collect.
If you wish to pursue this, be sure to adhere to all legal requirements. The law establishes time constraints (often referred to as “statutes of limitations”) for filing specific sorts of claims or lawsuits, which can range from a few weeks to many years. If one of these limitations applies to your case, you’ll need to decide whether or not to go to court as soon as possible.
You should speak with a lawyer about your situation to determine how solid your arguments are, whether any filing deadlines apply, and what you can anticipate to gain or lose if you bring a lawsuit.
Siman Law Firm in Los Angeles, California can assist you in this matter if you want to file a valid legitimate workplace claim.