When Should You Take Legal Action Against Your Employer?

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Many of us have had bad employment experiences. Whether due to hostile work environments, or unsafe conditions, everyone's got a story. But knowing when something is a bad situation and knowing when something requires legal action can be difficult to work out.

There are several different reasons why you might take legal action against an employer. Check out these situations outlined here, and see if any resonate with the experience you've had or are going through. If you find you might be in a place to take legal action, go to OzeranLaw.com to learn more about seeking out an attorney.

Illegal termination
Do you feel like you were dismissed unfairly? Well, you might be able to sue your previous employer.

Typically, a termination will be deemed illegal if any of the following situations occur:
– If you were dismissed without reason
– If you were dismissed despite having a verbal or written contract
– If you were dismissed immediately after filing a complaint against the workplace or the workers
– If you were dismissed in a way where supervisors went against company policy

You need proof that your dismissal was done without fair justification to create an illegal termination case successfully. Evidence of this might come in the form of your employment contract or some proof of a verbal agreement of employment.

Injuries at work
Work injuries are one of the most common cases brought against employers. Work injuries can be massively impactful, so it is fair that employees will want to bring legal action against those who should have been keeping you safe.

Often an injury case will result in companies paying out for your medical bills and the time you've had to take out of work due to the injury. Financial compensation is usually covered by your employer's worker's compensation insurance, but if—for whatever reason—this doesn't happen, you can pursue legal action.

Legal action is a good idea if:
– Your employer mismanages your claim for financial compensation
– You aren't provided with enough financial compensation
– Your employer's insurance isn't adequate for your injury

In order to launch a successful case, you will need evidence of your employers failings, whether that be by refusing to provide enough compensation, or poor insurance. If you are launching a case about your employer creating a dangerous working environment, you might need photos of the unsafe conditions or of the hazard that caused your injury itself.

Sexual / workplace harassment
Workplace harassment can take many forms. However, most commonly, workplace harassment looks like co-workers or supervisors making offensive remarks or generally performing inappropriate behaviors to make you or the environment you work in uncomfortable. Often, workplace harassment is related to discrimination.

Sexual harassment is similar to workplace harassment, but focuses more specifically on inappropriate sexual behaviours or language. Often, sexual harassment cases are brought forward when employees feel afraid to lose their job if they don't reciprocate such advances.

In order to launch a successful case against workplace or sexual harassment, you will need to prove that you tried to receive help from your workplace—such as filing a claim into human resources—and that this claim found no resolution. You may also need to bring proof of unwanted sexual advances for a sexual harassment case.

Discrimination
Discrimination case, while important, are a touch more difficult to pursue. In order to win a discrimination case, you have to prove that you were dismissed for discriminatory reasons that have no relation to poor job performance. You must prove both that:
– You were good at your job
– You are part of a protected class that is discriminated against

Should you pursue legal action against your employer?
These are just a few of many reasons cases are brought against employers. Legal action is often difficult to win; in the US, employees only won around 1% of all cases brought to federal trial for harassment, discrimination, or retaliation. Most cases are settled, dropped, or lost.

Yet, people still bring cases in the masses. In 2019, over 70,000 cases were brought against employers—and these were only the cases relating to discrimination.

If you believe you have a viable case, it is entirely worthwhile to bring it to court. Ensure you have a good lawyer and a bank of proof, and hopefully your case should go well.

It is essential to stand up for yourself if you feel you've been treated poorly—not only for your own vindication, but also for others who may have faced similar issues with that employer.