Employment Law
We will help you protect your livelihood.
Wage and Hour Disputes
Millions of workers are paid less than minimum wage or not paid overtime. This is wage theft, and it tends to affect those least able to afford it and causes many to fall below the poverty level. You work hard for your pay. In return, you have a right to be paid on time and in full. The duty of an employer to timely pay their employees minimum wage and overtime is one guaranteed by law.
What is wage theft? It is the failure of your employer to pay you the full wages that you are legally entitled to. Wage theft can take many forms, including:
Minimum wage violations: Paying workers less than the legal minimum wage.
Overtime violations: Failing to pay nonexempt employees time and a half for hours worked in excess of 40 per week. Some employers may try to mask overtime violations by having employees clock out earlier than they finish working, assigning work to be completed after hours, or improperly changing time punches.
Off-the-clock violations: Asking employees to work off-the-clock before or after their shifts.
Meal and Rest Break Violations: Requiring you to work through your legal meal and rest breaks.
Pay stub and illegal deductions: Taking illegal deductions or not distributing pay stubs.
Tipped minimum wage violations: Confiscating tips from workers or failing to pay tipped workers the difference between their tips and the legal minimum wage.
Employee misclassification violations: Misclassifying employees as independent contractors to pay a wage lower than the legal minimum.
Failing to pay you at all. You are entitled to be paid for the work you do. That can include being paid for commissions and also, in certain circumstances, bonuses.
We at Seattle Litigation Group will work to stop this wage theft. We want you to be paid in full and not suffer exploitation. Contact us now for a free consultation.
Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation
We at Seattle Litigation Group are determined to protect your civil rights as an employee. We believe that you are entitled to be free from discrimination, harassment and retaliation in the workplace based on your race, gender, sexual orientation, religious preference or other personal factors. Employers frequently do not respect employee’s civil rights.
You have a right to a safe workplace where everyone is treated equally without fear of harassment or discrimination. Employment discrimination is typically illegal in almost every aspect of employment, including hiring (e.g., job descriptions, interviews, screening), promotions and bonuses, firing and layoffs, compensation, training, benefits and work assignments. There are also provisions in employment discrimination laws that protect employees from workplace harassment.
Washington’s primary statute prohibiting employment discrimination, known as Washington’s Law Against Discrimination (WLAD) is set forth at RCWA 49.60 et seq. The WLAD provides that it is an unfair practice of an employer to refuse to hire any person because of age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification: PROVIDED, That the prohibition against discrimination because of such disability shall not apply if the particular disability prevents the proper performance of the particular worker involved. The WLAD is similar to the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), and Washington courts look to federal cases when construing the WLAD.
Workplace discrimination can be stressful and humiliating. It can damage your career. You need an experienced and knowledgeable attorney to fight for and defend your rights. If you think you may have experienced discrimination, harassment or retaliation at work, call now for a free consultation. There are statutes of limitations on cases, and you do not want to run out of time to be able to get a resolution and potential settlement.
Wrongful Termination
Were you fired for doing the right thing at work? Did you raise issues of pay or working conditions for yourself and your co-workers? Were you taking a stand regarding illegal or unethical conduct by your employer? And did this result in your otherwise unjustifiable termination? If so, you may have a claim for wrongful termination.
In Washington, employment generally may be terminated by either the employer or the employee at any time, with or without cause. There are two main exceptions to this termination-at-will employment relationship. One is if the termination violates public policy. The wrongful discharge in violation of public policy is a tort constituting a narrow exception to at-will employment. You must prove that the public-policy-linked conduct caused the dismissal and your employer must not be able to offer an overriding justification for the dismissal. Alternatively, an employer cannot fire you for raising issues regarding the terms and conditions of employment for your self and others in the workplace.
We at Seattle Litigation Group will work to obtain compensation for your job loss. We want you to have justice in the workplace. Contact us now for a free consultation.