Nashville Employment Lawyer

As an employee in Tennessee, you have legal rights designed to ensure fair workplace treatment and pay in exchange for your hard work.

Our knowledgeable Nashville employment attorneys can help you with a variety of employment law issues. This assistance may include collecting wages and damages owed for unpaid overtime, handling claims of workplace discrimination and retaliation, assisting in negotiating a favorable severance package, and filing legal claims in court.

One of the most common legal issues in Tennessee concerns discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Federal and Tennessee laws prohibits discrimination and harassment that is based on an employee’s age, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, military status, or disability. These laws also prohibit employers from retaliating against an employee who complains about such discrimination or harassment.

Race discrimination in the workplace often includes racially offensive slurs said by coworkers or supervisors, but it can also permeate the work environment in more subtle ways such as being treated unfairly in regards to performance evaluations, promotional opportunities, or unequal pay compared to other employees.

Our team of Nashville employment lawyers has filed numerous lawsuits against companies for claims of race discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment. If you are being treated differently based on your race, immediately contact our law firm online or at the number above.

One of the most common forms of workplace misconduct is sexual harassment. Experiencing this form of harassment can be traumatic and extremely stressful. However, you do not have to tolerate being objectified by supervisors or coworkers at work out of fear of losing your job. Federal and Tennessee law prohibit two forms of sexual harassment: (1) quid pro quo and (2) hostile work environment.

Quid pro quo sexual harassment happens when your job is dependent on your acceptance of unwelcome sexual advances. If you reject such unwanted overtures, then your career suffers.

A sexual hostile work environment is when you are subjected to severe or pervasive sexual language and/or touching that creates an abusive work environment that, for example, interferes with your ability to perform your job. Courts assess many factors in analyzing whether or not a particular work environment is hostile in the legal sense.

Despite statutory protections against retaliation, employers frequently punish employees who report misconduct at work. Retaliation claims are the most frequently filed claims every year with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Some employers violate the law by targeting employees based on a protected class for discipline and termination. For example, some employers are quick to promote one racial group while being quick to discipline a different one.

Employees often do not fully understand their workplace legal rights or how to enforce those rights. Some other common legal issues that arise in the employment context include:

• Failure to pay proper overtime for all hours worked
• Breach of an employment contract
• Refusing to provide medical leave to care for oneself or a sick loved one
• Denying a request for a reasonable accommodation for a disability

When an employment law violation occurs, there are often many options available to address the issue. A knowledgeable employment lawyer can help you understand all legal and non-legal options to figure out the best action plan for moving forward.

If you have suffered from unlawful workplace behavior, contact us online or at the number above.