Everyone deserves to be safe and secure in their place of work. That's hardly a controversial statement, right? It's part of why these days, a lot of employers have started to place more emphasis on creating a safe and supportive work environment where everyone feels welcome.
Unfortunately, this isn't always going to work. There are always going to be some clashes in the office or other workspace, no matter how hard everyone tries to prevent that from happening. Sometimes people just don't get along, and that's okay.
What's not okay, though, is if the situation starts to escalate beyond that. Harassment is a concept that has several broad definitions, and only some of them will necessarily be applicable in the workplace. However, if any of them are happening, it can be a serious problem.
Our options may seem limited when we are the victims of this sort of thing. One option that we have is to look at resources like this one: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012420-055606, but admittedly, this is still rather limited in scope. What else is possible?
Well, as you may have guessed from the title today, another path we can take is to seek out legal representation. This doesn't just apply to harassment cases, either. Any time that you feel like you need representation thanks to an employer issue, this can come into play.
What is an Employment or Labor Lawyer?
Like many other professionals, there are a lot of potential fields that an attorney can get invested in. Employment and labor law is just one of them, though that's obviously the specialty that we're covering today. For the most part, the goal is to help represent employees who feel they have been wronged in some way while performing their jobs.
Of course, this is a pretty broad definition of what an employment lawyer might do, so let's delve into some of the specifics now. A lot of it will depend on the first that you decide to work with, so don't be afraid to do your research beforehand to see what others in similar positions have sought out.
Labor Law Matters
One specific branch of employment law is labor law, which is of course concerning unions. For the most part, these attorneys work with unions and their members for a large number of reasons. In fact, they can even help with establishing a union if there is an employer who is incredibly resistant to it.
Facing off against union busters, for instance, can be quite intimidating. However, if you get the help of a trained professional, it doesn't have to be that difficult to handle. That's the whole point here, after all, so it's worth pursuing if that's something that you or your fellow employees have been struggling with.
Harassment Cases
We mentioned this briefly above, but another issue that these professionals are well equipped to handle is that of harassment, no matter what type that you're dealing with. You can learn more about the different types on this page if you aren't quite familiar.
Sexual harassment is among the most serious of them, and it's not exactly a shock that we hear about it the most compared to some others. However, it isn't the only type of harassment out there. The important thing to note here is that harassment can be qualified as any sort of unwanted behavior towards a person, be it verbal bullying, sexual in nature, or something else.
Sometimes, the most difficult part is recognizing the signs of harassment. If you aren't certain if you have a case, you can talk with a lawyer or get a consultation to get some advice on that. While these can be hard circumstances, they're ones that we can navigate just a bit easier with help.
Wrongful Termination
No one wants to be fired. That's pretty obvious. However, as much as it can suck to be fired, what's worse is being terminated from your position wrongfully.
Employers these days often seem to think that the rules just don't apply to them. We all know that this isn't, in fact, the case and that they're liable to face some serious legal trouble if we are able to prove wrongful termination. Employment lawyers can help you to achieve just that.
Is It Worth it to Seek Legal Representation?
The other big question that many of us have to ask ourselves during this process is this one: is it really worth the time, money, and effort to seek out legal representation in these matters? Whether you're here in Los Angeles, anywhere in California, or even anywhere in the country, know that you do matter – and you should do your best not to let anyone take advantage of you, including your employer.
Although the severity of the case will obviously play some sort of role in this decision-making process, no matter the circumstances you're going through, it's important to know your own worth. If you've been experiencing harassment while working and there hasn't been reasonable action taken, if you were wrongfully terminated, or anything in between, it's not hard to see why getting help is a good idea.
A lot of the value will certainly depend on the quality of the lawyer that you find, so make sure to keep that in mind. What sets one apart from the others, then? One of the first things you may want to do is search for trusted and reputable law firms in the Los Angeles area (at least if you live here). Some of the resources that we've provided may help you with that.
From there, it doesn't hurt to check out some reviews from other employees who have gotten representation. See what they have to say, and if they've had a positive experience! Since a lot of these attorneys offer free consultations, that can also help you to get a sense of whether or not they'd be someone you're comfortable working with for a long period of time.
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