Everything You Need to Know About Protecting Your Rights as an Employee
If you are very fortunate, you will never encounter a situation where your rights as an employee are challenged or violated by your employer. Yet, if you have found this page, then you may be one of millions who will, at some point in their lives, need the guidance and representation of an employee rights attorney to protect and defend those rights.
In many cases, employees who have been wronged are not aware of the laws that protect their rights until they find themselves in a situation where these laws must be upheld to defend their interests. You work hard for a living, and you deserve for the rights and laws that protect you to be upheld.
Were Your Rights Violated at Work?
Even companies that make every effort to uphold the rules and laws that apply to employee rights can make mistakes. You may feel a loyalty to your company that might prevent you from taking steps to defend yourself, but you should be aware that any company who violates your employee rights should stand up to right the wrong that has been done to you.
Some common examples of employee rights violations include discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. You may discriminated against or harassed because of your gender, your race or ethnicity, your religion, your age, or any other differentiating feature. When you take action to protect your rights, you may be retaliated against by being demoted, fired, or otherwise disciplined for your actions. Your employer may not be obvious about this retaliation, and may come up with another, seemingly valid reason, for engaging in such behaviors. It is important to have an attorney on your side to investigate the issue, catch retaliation behaviors, and ensure that your rights are protected.
Other employee rights that you should be aware of include the right to time off work, the right to a fair wage, the right to reasonable hours, the right to privacy, and more. Any time that you are mistreated or wrongly disciplined, demoted, or fired, you should contact an employee rights attorney for help.
Contacting an Employee Rights Attorney for Help
You need your job, and you might even love your job. Chances are that you don’t want to lose your job or create problems in the workplace that will lead to further stress and difficulties. Yet, everyone deserves to work in a healthy environment with their employee rights protected and upheld. If your rights as an employee have been violated, you should not let it go or keep it under wraps in hopes of not rocking the boat or creating further issues.
In fact, your silence could open the door for other employees to mistreated. By speaking up and fighting for your rights, you also fight for the rights of every other employee who might find themselves in the same position. That is why you need to contact the employee rights attorneys at Cornerstone Law Firm for a free consultation.
Fighting For Your Right to Minimum Wage
Many people are unaware of the actual minimum wage requirements in their state. In Missouri, the minimum wage is $7.65 per hour, which is 35 cents more than the federal minimum wage requirements. When this changes, as it does from time to time, and is expected to in the near future, you should see your wages increase accordingly. If your employer refuses to pay minimum wage, then you need to talk to an employee rights attorney to see what you can do about it.
In some cases, an employer will fail to raise your wage with the minimum wage increase by mistake, though most employers know exactly what they’re doing and will make excuses that they hope you’ll accept for not paying you the legally required minimum wage. There are some cases where employees are exempt from minimum wage laws, such as waitresses who get tips to make up for the difference. Yet, even in these cases, employers are often required to ensure that the minimum wage has been met. In vast majority of jobs, there are not exemptions for employees legally entitled to minimum wage. If you are not being paid minimum wage, contact the attorneys at Cornerstone Law Firm to ensure that your rights are protected and you get the pay you deserve.
Fighting For Your Right to Overtime Pay
Legally, if you work more than forty hours per week, you are entitled to overtime pay, which is defined as time and a half. So, for example, if you make $10 an hour, then you should be paid $15 per hour for every hour after the fortieth one worked in a given week. This is time ($10) and a half (plus $5). Yet, many employers fail to pay overtime. They may do this because of a lack of understanding of what’s expected; but more often than not, they are intentionally avoiding paying what you deserve. They may force you to add hours from one week to the next week’s paycheck, for example, to prevent themselves from having to pay overtime for the week that you worked more than forty hours.
In the end, it doesn’t matter if your employer is intentionally avoiding overtime pay or is doing so without thought to what’s required. Either way, as an employee, you are entitled to the same employee rights as anyone else, and you should receive overtime pay for any overtime worked. Contact the employee rights attorneys at Cornerstone Law Firm to learn more.
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)
If you are a part of any uniformed service that causes you to leave work to serve your country, then you have specific rights to ensure that your job is protected when you return. If your rights under the USERRA are being violated, then an employee rights attorney from Cornerstone Law Firm will have the experience and expertise to represent you in fighting for your rights.
Your Right to Workers Compensation Benefits
Another aspect of employee rights in the US is found in the world of workers compensation benefits. Workers compensation benefits apply to anyone who has been injured or become ill due to their work related duties. More than 50K work related injuries occur each year, and cause employees to miss, on average, ten days of work for their injuries. When you’ve been injured on the job, you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits and allowed to file a workers’ compensation claim. If you are unlawfully prevented from doing so or if your employer retaliates against you or denies your claim, then you need the service and representation of a workers’ compensation attorney. The employee rights attorneys at Cornerstone Law Firm can help. Contact us for a free consultation.
