Employment Lawyer in New York City – What We Do

An employment lawyer in New York City will listen to the client, understand the situation, thoroughly evaluate the case to see what type of employment law was violated, and to provide options, after careful consideration, on the next step to take: whether it be to reach an out-of-court settlement or go to trial. When facing your employer, especially in serious matters with serious allegations, it is always important to be legally represented so that you will not feel intimidated in a possibly hostile environment.

Employment law deals with your rights in the workplace. It covers a broad spectrum, ranging from hiring all the way to firing. It includes employment contracts, working conditions, wages and overtime, wrongful termination, illegal discrimination, sexual harassment, and rights of a part-time worker, independent contractors, or people working on commission.

Wrongful Termination

In New York, NY, most employees are “at-will.” At-will employees generally do not have employment contracts. They can be terminated at any time for any reason, but they cannot be terminated for illegal reasons. Examples of illegal reasons for termination are pregnancy, age, and race. In determining the reason for termination, each case is different, and an employment lawyer will help you analyze the facts of the case to identify the possible reason for termination and the strength of your cause of action against the employer.

Wage and Hour

Wage and hour cases involve violations of federal and state law on minimum wage, overtime pay (which is 1.5 times the regular rate), illegal and unauthorized deductions, and withholding of bonuses and final paychecks, to name a few. In wage and hour violations, employers will be required to pay the employee the unpaid wage plus interest or liquidated damages in lieu of interest. In some wage and hour cases, employees are not paid at all by the employer, such as people who are immigrants or unpaid interns. In cases in restaurant tip and credit, restaurant owners or managers collect tips but don’t forward the tips to the staff such as waiters.

Discrimination

An employment lawyer in New York City would typically deal with the following types of discrimination:

• race, religion or national origin
• sex or gender
• LGBTQ discrimination
• arrests & convictions discriminations
• Family Medical Leave Act
• Disability
• pregnancy discrimination

Discrimination cases may be based on race, sex, disability, age, pregnancy, or even arrests and convictions, and discrimination may occur during hiring, promotions, compensations, layoffs, or forced retirement. Violations of the Family Medical Leave Act occur when an employer does not allow an employee time off to take care of his own health or that of his family members without fear of job loss or retaliation. Worker’s compensation cases involve injuries an employee might sustain while working. Pension and insurance cases involve filing claims with the employer’s insurance company based on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). In case there is a denial of your claim by the insurance company, a procedure for appeal is required, and it is better to have your appeal drafted by a lawyer.

In most cases of employment violations, the employer is prohibited from retaliating against the employee. There is retaliation when an employee, who has reported violations of state or federal law, is discriminated against or terminated by the employer.

Breach of Employment Contract

In breach of employment contract cases, an employment lawyer in New York City would deal with a violation of the employment contract, whether from the side of the employer or the employee.

If you are a recipient of an employment law violation, the first step is to document your complaint in written form to your immediate supervisor or the proper person, as provided in the company’s grievance procedure, handbook, or manual. If this remains unresolved despite going through the proper procedure and you still feel strongly about your situation, you can ask for counsel or advice from an employment lawyer in New York City to know your rights and evaluate your case from a legal standpoint. After a thorough review of your case, an employment lawyer in New York City will provide you with options, depending on the strength of your case: to pursue and go to trial or reach an out-of-court settlement.

Here are some of the other things that an employment lawyer would be involved in:

• pension and insurance claims (ERISA)
• severance agreement review
• non-competition
• harassment
• retaliation
• worker’s compensation
• wrongful termination

If you feel some sort of injustice in the workplace and are looking for an employment lawyer in New York City, we, at the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin, are here for you. We have offices in Manhattan, Brooklyn, NY and Queens, NY. You can call us at 212-233-1233 or send us an email at [email protected].